by James, Jax
I turn the wheel sharply to the left, veering across the road and into the path that skirted the neighboring town. I heard the unmistakable sound of brakes hitting the pavement, most likely leaving behind scorch marks that would be forever etched into the surface.
I had pushed my vehicle into four wheel drive and was now holding on tight as I jumped various obstacles including an old tree that had fallen in the way. Lucky thing was that it was almost rotten and I practically drove right through it without even stopping.
Keeping my eye on the back of my vehicle, I wanted to make sure I had lost the person or not, but then felt this fear grip my throat when I saw that it was now following. This was not normal behavior for anybody and I had to think about what I had done to piss this guy off. I know that I didn’t cut him off, so why he had a jones on for me was a mystery.
You could see that he wasn’t very used to offload driving and was being extra careful not to hit some of the crevices, which gave me an upper hand to lose him in the various paths the crisscrossed this countryside. It took a little bit of doing, but eventually I looked back to see that I was alone, which meant that whoever was coming after me had found themselves lost or going back to the road to regroup.
When I finally came out of the path, I was in the back of the school where I worked, essentially on top of the football field where practice was in session. I got some strange looks as I drove across the field to the parking lot, but I did see that the coach was mildly amused by the whole thing.
I parked and got out to hear the coach yelling at me from where he was standing on the field “Larissa, I think it would’ve been easier for you to get here if you had actually used the road.” His comment was met with snickers and laughter from his students, but they weren’t exactly laughing at me, more like a laughing with me. I waved it off and continued into the school, but not before hitting my button for the alarm to go off on my car.
Chapter Three
My work consists of helping students find what they’re looking for inside the university. I also put on workshops for how to navigate the Internet and working with e-books. For the most part my job is very satisfying and I really do get a kick out of seeing one of these kids finding enjoyment within the pages of one book or another.
During the day, I checked my emails and did some surfing of my own, always coming back to this one man that had reached out to me a few weeks ago. He didn’t have a picture, but he described himself as athletic, tall, dark and handsome. It was probably too good to be true, but so far we had been getting on famously with conversations each day.
There seem to be this instant connection between us that was more intellectual than physical. Of course, I wanted to see a photograph, but so far I didn’t want to burst my bubble with the reality of the situation.
“I was wondering if you would like to have dinner sometime?" I know this quaint little bistro that makes the best hamburgers and even ships in their own Wagu steak. I know we haven’t been talking to each other for long. If this is too quick then all you have to do is say so and we can continue the way that we’re going. I certainly don’t wanna put any pressure on you, but I really am enjoying talking to you and would like to see you face to face.” I sent that message, while biting my lip and looking around to see if anybody was seeing how nervous and excited I was. There was no way that I was going to do this, but seeing what happened last night and this morning, I was beginning to see that maybe I was too closed off for my own good.
The only students around were those that were cramming for finals or had come in from the hot weather to cool off with the air conditioning that was wafting through the building. I don’t normally work on Fridays, but seeing that I wasn’t going away for the long weekend, I decided to stay in the one environment that I was most comfortable in. It made it easier for me to talk to this mystery man, who told me that he was shy and recently widowed after 10 years of marriage.
I was finding that we had a lot in common, things like great literatures like Shakespeare and Wuthering Heights just to name a couple. We didn’t go in for watching TV and were more into reading books and immersing ourselves into the story. There’s nothing like sitting down and opening up that one cover, before you initially engage your senses. You find yourself walking on the beach or perhaps strolling the English countryside, but it really depends on what genre appeals to you the most.
My tendencies lie in romantic overtures like holding a woman’s hand or lifting her across a puddle in the middle of the street. It’s not just the romance that I enjoy, but it’s also the mystery of where the story is going to go from one moment to the next. I guess I’m just a sucker for a happy ending.
My mystery man, Drake told me that his guilty pleasure was reading Stephen King or Tom Clancy. I’d never gone into horror or action adventure, but he reminded me that there are several novels out there that are a mix of romance and adventure.
He put me on to this one author that was able to mix both components together and I was in the process of reading one of those novels as we speak. It was about a woman that found herself mixed up with a drug cartel, basically finding herself in over her head only to have her knight in shining armor come riding to the rescue on a black Harley. I’ve never seen myself as the type of woman that would fall for someone driving a motorcycle, but the very idea of it made the adrenaline start to pump through my veins.
The computer told me that I had mail and I opened it to read “I’m not sure what brought on this change of attitude, Larissa, but it would be my honor to have dinner with you this evening. I just hope that you are not disappointed, as you have been so gracious in sending me a photographs and I have yet to return that sentiment in kind.” I didn’t even know that people talked like this, but I loved the way that he was using the English language. It told me that he was well educated, although I did have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about seeing him for the first time.
“I will meet you inside the restaurant and you’ll know me because I will have a red rose lying on top of the table in front of me.”
He returned with a message that said “That is so cool, and you will know me by a white carnation that I will have inside my jacket lapel. I really am looking for to this and I hope we have just as much of a connection in person as we do online. I have to get back to work, but please let me know if there are any changes.” I couldn’t believe that I had actually taken this momentous leap and all through that day I just sat there and wondered if I was doing the right thing.
My best friend Caroline came by to see if I wanted to go for lunch and I decided that maybe it was time to reveal my anonymous admirer. She had obviously been around the block a few times herself, so getting a little bit of advice wasn’t going to do any harm.
We found ourselves sitting at a café down the street, looking around and seeing all of these hipsters writing the great American novel or chatting with their friends that were sitting right beside them. “Have you ever been tempted to go on a blind date?” Now that I had ventured into this new territory, I was sure to get a lot of backlash from Caroline.
“I knew that there was something going on with you, but I didn’t want to pry. Come on, tell me what’s going on and I will give you my unbiased opinion.” She pushed back her long black hair and then straightened her summer flowery dress, before placing her hands on her chin as a sign that I had her undivided attention.”
“I have been chatting with somebody online and we have just recently made a date to see each other tonight.”
“I can tell from what you’re saying that you haven’t seen him yet, so I suggest that you get to the restaurant a little earlier than expected. That way you can scope out the situation and decide if he’s somebody worthy of your time. Take things slow, because there are a lot of weirdoes on the Internet, but there are also a lot of people just looking for somebody to fill that void in their life.” We continued to talk for some time, and she even offered me her opinion of what I should wear. Appar
ently, it was a good idea not to overstate anything and casual carefree attire was in order.
Chapter Four
When I arrived at the restaurant, I placed the rose on the table that we were going to be seated at and then moved into the corner of the room so that I could see who was going to show up. I was making sure that the man wasn’t dangerous, because we all fib a little on those dating sites.
I was wearing a white fashionable top, along with a black skirt that went down to almost my knees. There was that slit along the side that gave off a brief peak at my thighs, but nothing scandalous or too revealing.
The only reason why I was doing this in the first place was because he appeared to be different than any other man that I had met. He never tried to send me pictures of his junk, or even mention anything sexual in all the conversations that we had. I thought that was classy and gave him a leg up on the competition. The man was standing out from the crowd and I was now going to find out firsthand what this man looked like.
I found myself twirling my hair with my finger and then I think my heart stopped. In walked this tall, dark and handsome man carrying a motorcycle helmet underneath his arm. He was definitely dressed to impress with a black shirt that was opened at the top and a pair of black pants that were so tight that they instantly drew my eyes to the package that was outlined down the left side of his leg.
He sat down and waited, picking up the rose and smelling it with his eyes closed to enjoy the fragrance that was now moving into his olfactory senses. I steeled my nerves and gradually made my way over there, standing and looking down at his short black hair that was spiked just the right way to give him the air of a bad boy. The man was clean shaven and I think I might have been staring a little bit too long.
“Drake.” He raised his head to look at me and instantly I saw these dimples that appeared with his smile.
“Larissa, you look even more beautiful than your pictures and I don’t know how I got so lucky to find somebody like you. I’m sorry for being so secretive about my appearance, but I’m not exactly beating them off with a stick. Ever since Mary died, I have been struggling to get back into the dating world. You might say that I was a little gun shy, because frankly I didn’t think anybody could hold a candle to my late wife.” I found myself sinking into the chair and listening to his declaration of love for his wife and it only made me want to reach out and take his hand to comfort him.
His aftershave was amazing and it ignited something inside me that I didn’t know was still there. “I understand being hesitant too. I had my heart broken a few years ago. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth and believing that there were no good ones left.”
“Hey I’m not perfect. But then again who can say that they are? I admit that I have my flaws. I do leave the toilet seat up, but I can cook so that’s something that I have going for me.” My hand easily touched the back of his, as I let out this soft giggle that made me feel flushed. I was just happy that he couldn’t see beyond the buttons of my shirt, because if he had he would’ve known just how aroused I was. I was just hoping that that excitement didn’t show as a deep red shade on my face.
“I need to know what you see in me.” I didn’t want to pick at that band aid in case I was alerting him to the fact that I was damaged goods. Then again, I had already told him that my heart had been broken and even that hadn’t made him go screaming into the night.
“You had a kind smile and if you don’t mind me saying…a rocking body. I’m certainly not going to tell you that I am superficial, but attraction is one of the key elements of a new relationship. I really did think that you were too good to be true and that you were just telling me anything that I wanted to hear. Then I realized that I hadn’t told you of my love of books, not until you had broached the topic.”
We ordered a bottle of red wine to go with dinner and he picked a medium rare steak with all the trimmings and I chose the freshly made pasta with chicken and cheese sauce. “I’m glad that I came tonight and I only wish that I had enough guts to do this sooner. I guess better late than never.”
“Patience is a virtue and I knew that you would be worth the wait.” At that moment, he leaned over and kissed the back of my hand, making my pulse quicken and my heart beat a little faster. I don’t think any man had that effect on me, not even the good for nothing boyfriend that had cost me a lot of sleepless nights. If this was what love at first sight was like, then cupid had certainly done his job with his bow and arrow. I wasn’t going to get caught up in the moment, but I could see that we were more than matched for each other. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” He continued to quote Shakespeare, which was melting my resolve and making me want to kiss him.
I uttered breathlessly “I don’t know where you have been all my life.” We continued talking into the wee hours of the morning and I even mentioned to him about the Japanese lady that had been hit by the bus.
“That must’ve been horrific to see and you say that she said something to you that you didn’t understand. I might be able to help with that, because I have a colleague that works with ancient studies and languages. The only reason I mention it is because she is quite fluent in several languages. Perhaps you could tell me what she said and I could relay it back to her and get some information.” I had my mouth opened ready to say the words, at least as far as I could pronounce them anyway, when an alarm outside got my attention.
I didn’t even get a chance to say anything, as we both moved towards the window with everybody from inside the restaurant doing the same thing. What I saw was this man dressed in all black using a crowbar to smash the window out of my vehicle. At first I was terrified, but then this moment of rage came over me, until I steadfastly walked out and confronted this man. It was a foolish thing to do and most likely I wouldn’t have done it under any other circumstance.
“Get away from my car.” The man looked up from the inside of my vehicle, stared at me with these unmoving and cold and dangerous eyes. I felt paralyzed, but my hands were now bunched into fists and I could actually feel my fingernails digging into the palm of my hand. “I said…GET AWAY FROM MY CAR.” I think it was the forcefulness in my voice that made him raise his gloved hands into the air, as if to indicate that he was giving himself up. He got out of my car and walked towards me, until we were standing toe to toe against one another. Neither one of us was moving and we were just looking at each other.
Leaning forward, he whispered into my ear “You have no idea what kind of Pandora’s box you’ve opened. Trust no one, because you are in danger.” He backed away from me, pointing at me with his one lone finger, until he began to recede into the darkness of the shadows.
I felt a presence behind me and this hand touched my shoulder. In any other situation, I most likely would have jumped out of my skin, but all I felt was this eerie calmness. My hands were shaking, but they were still showing my resolve with my fists hanging by my side.
“What the hell did you think that you were doing? He could’ve killed you.” Drake was standing beside me and others from the restaurant and those that were looking on were doing the same thing. “We called the police and they should be here shortly. I’ve never seen something so courageous and I don’t think I would’ve been so brave if that was happening to me. I don’t know where you found the strength to confront him, but I have to commend you. That was the damnedest thing that I’ve ever seen.” His warm hand on my shoulder felt comforting, and I still couldn’t stop looking in the direction of where the man that had just stood in front of me had gone.
“I don’t know what came over me. I just couldn’t stand back and let him take what was mine. It’s not like I am brave or courageous but sometimes you just get to the point where you just can’t take it anymore. I hit that wall and I’m going to be damned if I was going to be a victim.” I still couldn’t get his words out of my head, but I had to admit that the adrenaline rush that was running through my veins at that very moment was like nothing that I felt befor
e. It almost gave me insight into why police officers and firemen put their lives on the line every day or how easily a man straps himself into the seat of our race car and drives out with the possibility of his own demise.
No wonder people gravitate towards extreme sports and dangerous professions, because this type of feeling was almost addictive in nature.
Reveling in that new sensation, I turned and grabbed Drake and kissed him before I even realized what I was doing. It was impulsive and not at all like me, but this experience had shown me that we only have one life to live and you have to take chances while you still can.
At first it was an awkward kiss since I took him by surprise, but then his lips began to move and the tip of his tongue began to play against mine. I felt his arm wrap around me and his fingers began to play down the small of my back. I sighed deeply and put my hands around his neck, while at the same time lifting myself onto my tippy toes.
This way I could reach him easier and I actually felt like they felt in the movies and on television shows. I sunk into it like a warm bath, allowing myself to feel something for this man, even though I had just met him in person this evening. Through our correspondence, I got to know him on another level and over these past few weeks I had started to fall for someone that I hadn’t even seen yet.
His kiss was not demanding or insistent, but it was more like he was letting me set the pace. Pulling away, I noticed that I had left this smear of my lipstick on his lips, and I used my thumb to clean it off the best way that I knew how. As we stood there, someone started to clap and then more people joined in until there was a cacophony of people applauding the kiss.