02

02

What happened to him ? Did he have more scars to hide from my prying eyes ?

His finger twitched on his half-full glass, making a shiny ring click against it. Condensation sprinkled moisture onto his fingertips. Making my stupid brain wish it was my juices instead.

Printed across his knuckles were small words, but I couldn’t bring myself to lean in too far to see what they said. I didn’t want to seem too desperate for his attention. Plus---I’d find out eventually if they went deep inside my cunt. For fuck’s sake, you horny drunk bitch just say hello ! I mocked my ridiculous self.

So I took a deep breath, monitoring the bartender slowly making his way towards me. Reassuring myself I would be OK. He was human. I was human. Humans conversed with each other every day. And I kind of knew him from work. Well---kind of being the keyword.

« Hi, I don’t know if you…. » I said in one long breath not bothering to break my words into separate syllables.

« No, » he said, interrupting me mid-sentence. Heat rising on the flesh of my neck splattering scarlet across my cheeks, burning into my ears.

« I’m sorry ? No, I work…. »

« No, » he repeated in the same annoyed, gruff, deep tone, never bothering to lift his head to look at me.

My ego took a blow, knocking me back a bit—more than a bit. What the fuck was I thinking ? I was mentally thanking God the bartender had finally made his way towards me and I slid him my glass.

« Three Cosmopolitans, » I said, trying not to let the embarrassment infringe on my voice. I was a confident 24-year-old adult… I didn’t need this.

« And, another for him, » I leaned in, keeping my voice low, shrouded in secrecy, hoping C.J. didn’t hear me. I didn’t want to offend him any more than I had.

« Thanks, » I said, as he scooted the drinks towards me and gave C.J. his drink. I looked down for a split second and when I looked back up to give my girls a shrug, he was towering over me like a skyscraper. Letting my eyes take in all 6 »4’ of his very ripped stature.

His stormy blue eyes knocked me against the wall behind me, making my back hit the icy drywall with a thud. He took a step forward, my mouth fell open in…. I didn’t know what to do. He looked like a lion about to pounce on his dinner and I didn’t want to be that kind of dinner.

« I’m sorry, » I squeaked out, pointing toward the drink. « I just thought you might need a fresh one ? » I squeaked again, my voice sounding more like a tiny mouse than a grown woman’s.

He reached over and grabbed the fresh whiskey. His icy blue eyes inspecting the amber liquid. Like he was about to interrogate it for answers on why I had given it to him. He tossed his head back, shaggy brown hair shifting with him, drinking it all in one gulp. His Adam’s apple bobbed with his swallows. Sending off shock waves of arousal through my blood, despite the fear coursing through me. And set it back down onto the bar, deep stormy eyes never leaving my bewildered chocolate ones.

I felt stuck in his gaze, a power holding me there against my will with my mouth agape. My breaths stuck in my chest, burning, leaving me gasping for air in the bar. And he hadn’t uttered a word to me since « no ». The surrounding aura filled the air with a tension I could have cut with a knife. But I couldn’t walk away. I was a sailor stuck in his siren’s song, a prisoner for the entire world to see.

He towered over me still. His muscles rippling through his tight white shirt clinging to his pecs and biceps. He moved ever so slightly, reaching into the pocket of his fit jeans, pulling out a $50.00 bill, and placed it on the bar. All while staring into my eyes, never looking away from my gaze. He stared through me like he had seen me naked, with a storm brewing behind his eyes. Searching the contents of my broken soul, searching for something inside of me I didn’t know existed.

Finally breaking his stare, he strode off out the door, disappearing into the shadows of the night. Becoming an enigma as fast as he stood. Making my body shuddered with the release of his gaze, finally feeling my breaths came back to me in waves. I swallowed thickly like I had heavy cough syrup soaking my esophagus. My hands were shaking, taking the drinks back to the table like the ghost of the woman I was when I had left.

« What the hell was that ? » Yvette asked in surprise, reaching for her drink, eyes searching mine for an answer I could not give.

« Told you not to hold your breath, » I said taking a long drink, the hairs on the back of my neck still in the air.

« Did he….. ? » Amanda asked, leaning forward interested in what I had to say for a change.

« Not a fucking word, » I muttered in disbelief myself, taking another drink. Trying to calm the overactive nerves buzzing through my limbs and brain.

« But he stood there, and he didn’t ? » Yvette asked her voice dripping in confusion, eyes darting around.

« Not a word, » I confirmed again, still slightly stunned at the weird interaction I had had. I mean, who stares at someone like that ?

What the hell happened ?

I sat at my desk right outside my boss’s office, ignoring the hustle and bustle around me. Which made it difficult to concentrate sometimes. My coworkers talked over each other and laughed like they had no work of their own to do. Idiots. While I stared down, working, trying to prove my worth to the company. But I guess that’s what I had to do — impress. Hurray for being an intern !

My newest assignment sat in front of me. Overwhelming me with its medium-sized length. My eyes searched through the few pages I had left to finish, hoping to impress my boss. Thank God for small projects, I thought. I didn’t know how editors survived long edits.

I moved my trusty ruler down a line, letting my brain fully take in what was being said between the characters. Mindfully checking for grammatical errors, sentence structures, and anything out of place. Like a good editor would do, which I prayed one day I’d be.

« Meyers ! » I jumped out of my skin, yanked from the romantic piece that had captivated my attention.

My impatient boss emerged from her office with a stern look resting on her perpetual bitch-I-will-kill-you-face. Narrowing her beady glacier eyes at me with the ever-present scowl on her narrow lips.

« Coffee ! » She barked, holding up two fingers, and I shook my head on instinct. If she told me to jump from the tallest bridge, I’d comply like the lowly, desperate intern I was.

Ahhh- the perks of being a shitty office intern. Coffee here, more coffee there, and a few sandwiches from the local shop below. A little editing here and there or a lot of editing in my case (they loved my English degree here).

That’s how I had got this job in the first place, through sheer dumb luck and hard work. I needed this degree to continue my passion for editing whatever I could get my hands on. This company was my shoo-in into this exclusive world.