by Steven Wolff
CHAPTER 2
MARCUS
Anica turns and sees a tall, handsome man showing a beautiful smile. He's wearing a dark gray Ralph Lauren cashmere sweater that hugs every chiseled curve of his manly body. He's also wearing nice Khaki pants that match his sweater. His facial features are that of a European model with dark eyes, his short straight hair shiny and black, almost with an Adam Levine look that really works for him. Anica is spellbound as her jaw relaxes in awe of his handsomeness.
“I hope not...” she says not breaking her stare.
“Hello, my name is Marcus, but you can call me Mark.”
He extends his hand out to shake with a warm, friendly smile.
Anica places her hand into his and notices how smooth his hands are with such a nice grip, not to hard, not to soft. She keeps her hand in his as long as she can, not wanting to let go so she can savor his very gentle touch.
“Anica Storm, nice to meet you Mark!” she responds with a big friendly smile.
Mark checks the row number with the one on his ticket.
“Row 29 Seat B, I guess we're going to be sitting together for a while.”
“Oh darn.” Anica jokes as her eyes take in all of Mark's yumminess. He reaches up and opens the overhead compartment to stow his bag, and in doing so his shirt comes up a bit, revealing a peek at his lovely abs. Anica’s body begins quivering uncontrollably as she grabs the armrest to brace herself. A look of shock and disbelief comes over her as she tries to regain her composure.
‘Wow! What just happened?!?’ She thinks to herself, smiling. Whatever it was, it was brought on by the accidental show. Anica shamelessly glances over at his body once more, hoping to catch another glimpse while he's preoccupied with settling in. Mark glances down from time to time to catch Anica staring back at him. She quickly stares away, playing off that she was eyeing him. She’s fixated at how his face is rugged, yet smooth; his eyes also seem to express so much without even saying a single word.
He’s someone she could just look at for hours and never grow bored. Even his masculine but gentle voice is pleasing to the ears. He can read a phone book and she wouldn't even notice. Her eyes follow his every move of his body like a cat follows a laser dot in fascination at how handsome Mark is.
'And to think… he's going to sit next to me!'
Anica closes her eyes momentarily to try and regain some semblance of herself, as she can't help but take in the smells of his soap, and the cologne he uses. She's getting that tingly feeling again and it makes her shake her head up and down while smiling with her eyes closed. When she opens her eyes Mark's face is inches from her own, watching her in amusement.
“Aaaggghhh!” Anica pulls back instinctively. Mark laughs at Anica’s face turning bright red in embarrassment. Even though she's embarrassed from being caught off guard, she notices his laugh is infectious. She can't help but laugh too. Mark sits down in his seat next to her.
'Wow, this guy can't be real! He's just, what's the word… Perfect?' Anica thinks to herself. Maybe there's something, some deep secret he has... Maybe he lives with his mom? No… he's too well dressed. Maybe he’s a hit man? Nah, he’s too nice. There has to be something wrong with him. Maybe he's married! Look at his finger! Is there a ring? Oh please don't let there be a ring!'
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Mark says.
Anica looks at his ring finger and there's no sign of any ring, no tan line or rub line to show where one's been. Mark notices Anica is preoccupied with his left hand.
“What's so interesting about my hand?” asks Mark.
“Huh? Oh… I was just remembering how soft and gentle they are.”
Anica made that up but he seems to believe it. Mark smiles at Anica and asks, “Would you like to feel it again?”
Anica nods her head up and down several times. Mark raises his hand in front of her and parts his fingers. Anica wastes no time interlacing hers in his, squeezing them tight. They fit naturally in his as suddenly her body starts to quiver uncontrollably on the inside. Anica closes her eyes and smiles softly.
“You okay?”
Anica nods but doesn't say anything for about twenty seconds and then opens her eyes wide.
“What happened?” Mark asks.
“Heaven.” Anica said with a warm smile on her face. She sits back in her seat, still holding his hand as she collects herself.
“Do you want to know a secret?” Mark asks looking left and right to see if anyone else is listening. He leans closer towards her and whispers “Between you and me... It took me several passes before I could build up the courage to talk to you, much less sit down next to you.”
“You did? Why?” Anica asks with a bewildered look on her face.
“You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?”
“No?”
“You are incredibly beautiful; you have no idea how lucky I feel just to be able to sit next to you.”
If Anica were a block of ice, she would have melted in her seat; it's the nicest compliment anyone has ever given her.
Mark continues, “There’s just something about you that is special... Unique. I can't put my finger on it.” Anica looks at him holding her hand.
“You know what I mean.” He smiles.
“You don't seem like all the other women and trust me, and that’s a good thing!”
Anica's face starts turning red again as she looks away, smiling, as she can’t believe such an incredible compliment could be coming from such an incredibly handsome guy.
“Thank you” she says with sincerity. In her mind there's an inner dialog about if she should say something sarcastic like 'Yeah right, you probably tell that to all the ladies,' but there's another part that is unfamiliar with how to respond to that.
'What if he's sincere and telling the truth? Don't blow this Anica, what ever you do, don't screw this one up! He's perfect and sweet and oh my god is he incredible eye candy! Michele would be so jealous! You totally deserve him...'
A sniping voice enters her head at this point, the voice of self-doubt.
'No you don't.'
'YES I do!'
'Look at him; He's out of your league…'
'But he likes me; that makes him fair game!'
*DING*