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Harrison
The Present…
I knowI’m pushing my luck, but I can’t resist. There’s something so attractive about her, and it isn’t her sexy good looks.
There’s this chemistry between us that I can’t explain.
"Hey, Natalia." I walk a bit faster until I’m beside her. "Mind if I walk with you a bit?"
"Actually, I do." She frowns. "I don’t know you from a hole in the ground."
"I rescued you." I mock-pout. "I'd think you could at least be nice to me."
"Myauntrescued me." She enters the subway via the kiosk. I follow her through. We walk to the platform and wait with a couple dozen other riders.
"I helped," I say, trying to be as unthreatening and good spirited as possible. "I tried, at least. You can’t blame a man for trying…"
She forces a quick smile. "You did try, so thanks."
"You're very welcome." I bow with a flourish of my hand. "Always glad to rescue a lady."
She laughs lightly. "I'm not a lady. Just a woman and I don't need rescuing by a man."
"Of course," I say and nod. "You only needed an excuse to leave a dull party."
"Exactly." She turns to check the tunnel for the oncoming train, but I can see her cheek rise in a smile she is trying very hard to conceal.
We stand in silence for a moment, and I fight to find a reason to keep standing there with her.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" I immediately kick myself for such lame conversation, but I want to keep talking to her as long as possible.
"None of your business."
Then, I know that she doesn’t, because if she did, she'd say so to get me off her back.
"That means no," I say, enjoying her resistance. "Can I ask you out for a drink some night?"
She turns to me and gives me a once-over. "You can ask. I'll say no." She smiles briefly as if she scored a point. I love her spunk.
"Okay." I smile back. "How about you call me if you'd like to go out for coffee some day? Is that more acceptable?"
The train comes roaring into the station, and she moves forward a bit.
"Yes." She has a self-satisfied grin on her face. "That's more acceptable. I'll call you if and when I want to have coffee with you."
“Good, because I know this great little Russian café down the street with really great coffee and honey cake…”
The train stops and everyone stands to the side while the riders get off. Finally, when the crowds clear out, it’s time for herto get on the train. I want to continue with her, but I don’t want to push too far. Instead, I let her get on and stay on the platform.
"I also make great conversation,” I call out.
She seems surprised that I don’t follow her on and goes to a pole, grabs hold of it, and finally, looks directly at me. I can tell she’s trying to keep her expression neutral, but she fails.
I blow her a kiss, wondering if she'll call me. Something about her tells me she won’t. She’s on the shy side. Feels a bit uncomfortable with strangers. She’s probably an intense woman, although she looks pretty enough to have been first cheerleader in high school, delicious curves, and exotic coloring with jet black hair and hazel eyes.
She’s a contradiction.
I like that. I don’t like predictable. After four years in battle, predictable feels like death.
