Love Me?

Chapter One

I love her.

The first time I ever laid eyes on her beautiful form. I loved her.

It wasn't something that I had rushed into, or made myself feel. I knew it from the first moment I saw her. It was instant. The connection was evident, and once my heart had sold myself away to those gorgeous blue eyes, I was gone. I love her.

And that was where the trouble began.

I should have known. Why did I not think? Why did I not see it coming? From the first moment our eyes connected, how did I not know that this would be my future?

But then again my love for her isn't something I can control. I loved her then, and I love her now.

What I should have known was that, I didn't stand a chance all along.

My twenty-first birthday. One would assume I had gone out with some friends, had a few drinks, and maybe made a complete spectacle of myself because of all the alcoholic beverages I had consumed that night. My friends and I would wake up the next day with splitting headaches and I might have found a few bruises on myself that weren't there the night before, then my friends would gather around and relive the night telling me everything I had done because – obviously – being the birthday girl I would not have remembered a damn thing.

But alas, that was not my night. For my twenty-first I went out to a local bar, no big party or gathering of friends amongst me, telling me to order another round on them.

I had none of that.

Instead, I stood against a sturdy, mahogany bar awaiting the attention of the busy bartender fixing a drink for the rowdy men standing on the other end. My attention focused on the drinks lined up on the walls in front, afraid of the looks from the forty year old men that were sure to come had I looked their way.

I was never one for going for drinks, especially not on my own.

But there I was, a lone, fresh woman, taking her first steps out into the big bad world, waiting for the day my life would begin to change. It had too, hadn't it? Now that I was officially a grown woman, able to make my own decisions whenever I pleased without anyone telling me otherwise, there had to be something that would happen to suddenly make me realise just how old I had finally turned.

I was twenty-one now, a fully grown adult.

And yet, I still stood firmly against the bar as if afraid to leave it, even for a second, in case anything would happen to me. I was still awaiting the bartender to take my order, but at the same time praying for the creepy looking men in the corner to take their time with their orders so that the man would simply have to take forever to come to me. I had never ordered a drink for myself before.

I still don't know what made me do it.

What exactly it was that made me decide to head out to a bar by myself in the middle of a dark, dreary night. I could have waited for my closest friends in the world, Ron and Harry whom I had known since my youthful days at school, to come back from work so that they would have dragged me out of my room and forced me to go and have a good time with them in a club someplace. But instead, I went against it.

Instead I ventured outside, into the downcast streets of Central London, wrapped my black coat around myself to keep warm from the ongoing breeze in the sky. I entered the first brightly lit bar I could find, not even taking the time to read the name before going in and taking my place at the bar. Once I had made it there, there was no going back. I was out now, facing the world on my own.

If I could make it through tonight and survive, I could make it anywhere. That was the motto I had clung to that night, and I wasn't going to take it back.

Well that was the plan anyway.

But hearing the loud noises of the customers in the small, tightly packed bar my mind was beginning to tell me otherwise. Maybe I had made a mistake coming here. I knew the men in the corner were still leering at me, I could practically feel their gazes burning into my skin. I began to shiver.

Why was the bartender taking so long?

If he didn't get here within five minutes I was going to go. Forget about my plan of being here and not going back. I hated the stench of the place, booze and beer were stinging my nostrils and I really could not take it anymore.

I had decided to leave, my mind made up, and just when I began to grab my purse, laying still on the bar-top in front of me, I felt a figure brush past me.

My senses quickly took in the hint of a feminine fragrance, strong and pungent, and I saw the figure place themselves right there next to me, their arm just brushing against my own. Suddenly a new shiver made its way through me, but this one wasn't out of disgust, but more so, curiosity and intrigue.

Why would this person choose to stand so close to me when there was plenty of room along the long, slender bar?

The place was crowded indeed but the bar itself was quickly slowing down, people having now collected their drinks and sitting down instead. Except for the creepy men in the corner, apart of me knew that they were very comfortable where they stood.

Maybe that was it? Maybe the person had too seen the strange men at the end of the bar and decided to stay as far away from them as possible. That's what I had done anyway.

And I was glad for it too. I may be new to the real world, but I wasn't naïve. I knew to stay away from strange looking men when I saw them.

But then again maybe I was still slightly naïve, for I hadn't stayed away from the figure standing next me. The one whose body was beginning to press just the slightest bit closer every now and then.

No, I didn't stay away. But rather, I chose to do the one thing I would wind up regretting further down the line. I chose to break the curiosity and turn my head to the side and suddenly, I had found my change in the world.

The first thing my eyes laid upon was soft, pale features, like that of my own but this one was a shade darker. I had very pale skin; Harry and Ron were always one to joke about my always looking like I had seen a ghost.

This person though, this fair skinned, blonde haired woman standing next to me was certainly nowhere near the paleness of my form. Her skin looked elegant and rich, just like that long, red dress she wore that framed her luscious curves oh so perfectly. The woman next to me looked every bit rich and mysterious, and I knew just from looking at her that she was way out of my league.

For, there I was, this freshly new woman, standing anxiously at the bar alone, looking down at my worn out shoes every now and then and seeing how my black coat had loose strands hanging off around the edges from the many days and nights I had worn it. (Maybe it was time I had bought a new coat).

I was nothing compared to the elegant woman pressed up next to me.

Her soft, lithe arms reached up to the bar-top and leant on it, her body leaning forwards slightly to get a better look at the bartender. Whether she was looking to see how long he would take or not was questionable.

The bartender was young and had a strong, chiselled face, his arms working fast helping him to flex his muscles unknowingly; I couldn't blame her if she was taking a cheeky look as well. I'm sure any woman would have done the same.

I would have too, had I been into that.

But instead the bartenders handsome looks wasn't what was on my mind at the time, instead my gaze became permanently etched onto that of the gorgeous woman beside me. I just couldn't seem to get enough of her beautiful features and her long, flowing golden hair that clung to the side of her body.

She was definitely a stunning woman. And I was transfixed by her beauty.

Now that I had turned to look at her, I simply couldn't look anywhere else. Why would I want too when I had this gorgeous person to look at all night?

I would have been crazy to look anywhere else.

That was when said woman turned to face me, her bright blue orbs catching my light brown instantly and I couldn't help but take in a breath.

Every feature on her face, from her hypnotic clear blue eyes to her perfect love-shaped lips were beautiful and I just couldn't get enough.

From then on I was goner. I loved this woman standing next to me and I didn't even know her name. I didn't need too, for her beauty was enough. My mind was made up and I knew from that moment on; my life would never be the same.

I had fallen in love from first sight.

I couldn't stop staring. I wanted to stop. My mind told me to turn away, to look at anything else but those gorgeous eyes in front of me. My mother had always told me how it was rude to stare, and yet I didn't seem to listen.

I was engrossed by the luxurious woman standing beside me and I knew I wouldn't be the first one to look away. My body simply couldn't do it.

After what felt like an eternity looking into heavenly eyes the woman finally looked away, her gaze locking onto that of the many bottles in front of us. I couldn't help but wish that her eyes were still laid upon me, like they had been moments ago.

I already couldn't seem to get enough of her, and I didn't have the faintest clue who she was. But everything about her intrigued me, and I suddenly felt the need to know exactly who she was. Even just a name would have been enough.

I felt my mouth move to say something, what it would have been I do not know for the woman suddenly made to move. The woman's arm that was still brushing against my own slide slowly down from atop the bar and reached towards something in front of her. She then brought her arm back up and held onto something small and slim in her hand.

I couldn't seem to see what it was as her hand was wrapped tightly around it, cradling it like she was hiding it away from the world around her.

That only piqued my interest more.

This woman was making me more and more curious by the second. I felt my mouth go shut when her other arm disappeared back down to the same place and again returned with something else.

I knew that I shouldn't have been staring at her like this. But I couldn't seem to stop, now that she had these objects in her hands I wanted to know more, maybe they would give me more insight into the life of the gorgeous woman standing next to me. Her devilish red dress flowing side to side with every move she made.

She swiftly lifted her hand up towards her face and placed the first hidden object into the tip of her mouth, and I knew straight away what it was.

She was lighting up a cigarette.

Right here at the bar, in front of everyone. With a clear sign in front of her saying that this was a 'No Smoking Area.' She brought up her other hand and whipped out her lighter, her now free hand trying to switch it on, taking a few tries to get the fire to spark before bringing the bright orange flame towards the cigarette hanging just at the edge of her lips.

She did it all with such fluid motions, one would think she had done it many times before, like she wasn't new to smoking. She knew exactly what she was doing.

She didn't even care that she was breaking not only the rules, but the law of the state; she lit up and smoked her cigarette anyway, regardless of who saw her.

I fell in love with her even more.

She amazed me, and she hadn't even said a word.

Deciding to break the sudden tension I could feel between us I opened my mouth and spoke, quickly, before she did anything else to break me off.

"You really shouldn't be smoking here you know." I told her, trying to be stern but failing, my voice only coming out quiet and timid.

I almost scolded myself at my lack of voice. Here she was this sexy goddess and the only thing I could seem to say to her was that she shouldn't be doing something that, quite frankly, seemed to be attracting me more towards her.

I could be an idiot sometimes.

But before I could mentally argue with myself further the woman beside me gave me a hefty smirk. Her eyes flicked towards mine and her smile captivated me. It was but a grin, her finely shaped eyebrows pointing up slightly, but I was still amazed by her immense beauty. Everything about her was captivating.

Instead of replying she brought her cigarette, which she had taken out of her mouth previously, back between her tender lips and took in a slow puff. I watched on with such intrigue as her chest breathed in, before she took the cigarette and placed it back between her slender fingers and breathed out the smoke within her.

The puff of smoke wafted towards me and blew straight into my face; I coughed slightly at the strong smell of nicotine and toxic wafting all around me. I was never a big fan of smoking, I knew that it was dangerous and could kill. I refused to take any interest in anybody that took to smoking such things, but for some reason when it came to this mysterious woman beside me my mind didn't seem to care what she smoked.

She was still absolutely breathtaking.

Her lips formed into a small smile when she saw my coughing, and I suddenly didn't care about how childish I must have looked, trying to wipe away the smoke clouding around me. All she had to do was give me that hypnotising smile and I was all hers.

I couldn't look anywhere else.

"What are you going to do about eeett?" The woman asked me light-heatedly, her devilish grin still in place.

I saw the way her eyes sparkled as she looked towards me, and I just couldn't seem to form words.

My mind had gone blank. She spoke. She finally spoke, and she had the sexiest accent I had ever heard. This woman simply couldn't have gotten anymore perfect in my eyes.

"Kindly ask you to stop." My voice came out weak and timid, my mind not really thinking about my words as I was still too wrapped up in the woman's heavenly accent to think about anything else.

The woman tilted her head back, ever so slightly, and let out a bemused chuckle. The noise wasn't anything loud, and she hadn't laughed for long, but it was still perfect to me. It was then that I realised what it was I had said, I looked down in shame; of course the woman wasn't going to do that.

And she didn't either; instead she just smoked her cigarette even more, grinning naughtily, as if to tease me for what I said.

Neither of us spoke for a beat, and then the woman broke the slight silence first.

"Why are you 'ere on your own?" She changed the subject, speaking the words as if trying to make conversation, but I caught the way her eyes flickered to mine for the barest of seconds before looking away.

It was almost like she genuinely wanted to know.

"What makes you think I'm on my own?" I challenged her authority, my chin lifting up slightly as if to prove my braveness of even questioning her.

I should have known I wouldn't have won; of course I didn't stand a chance against a woman like her. She seemed to know everything, which fascinated me even more.

For the woman didn't give a reply, she simply turned to face me and stared me straight in the eyes, her blues all but melting my insides, and raised her finely shaped eyebrow as if to say 'Am I wrong?'

Of course she wasn't wrong, she didn't even know me, but for some reason she just knew me. And I could only blush in response, the blood shooting straight to my face I knew that I must have been so red. I looked back down at my shoes as if to hide it, but I knew she had seen it already.

I heard her let out a small throaty chuckle. She knew she had won that round too.

"So why is a beautiful girl like you all alone tonight? Should you not be out, dressed up with friends." She stated, her tongue efficiently rolling out the words as she spoke, her French accent becoming clear.

"It isn't like I don't have friends" I answered back to make my point clear. I didn't want this person to think I was an absolute loner, granted my popularity wasn't soaring; Ron and Harry were probably the only two I could count as my true friends, but I did know people. I just chose to be alone tonight instead.

"Did 'zey keep you waiting?" She asked curiously.

"No, I was the one that bailed on them actually." I told her, letting out an amused chuckle at my own stupidity.

Why would I choose to go out on my own, when I could have so easily been having fun with the boys tonight? That would always be an unanswered question.

The woman seemed surprised at this revelation for her raised eyebrow lifted in shock this time around with her mouth opening the smallest fraction of an inch.

"I know, it probably sounds silly, I could have had a good night. But for some reason I wanted to be on my own tonight." I spoke truthfully. I don't know why I was revealing so much to this stranger, but for some strange reason she didn't feel like a stranger to me.

"Nobody wants to be on 'zeir own, especially for a night." The woman stated wisely. Her voice sounded sharp and dark, almost as if she had thought of those exact words before. Did she not want to be on her own?

Then how comes she was? I hadn't seen her come to the bar with anyone else in tow. This woman was becoming more and more interesting as the night wore on.

I saw the lost and thoughtful look arise on her features once she had uttered those words, it made me wonder what more she was thinking in that beautiful head of hers. But the look didn't last long; the darkness surrounding her soon disappeared as soon as the woman straightened up an inch and cleared her throat.

"I'll buy you a drink, oui?" She asked me, but her eyes didn't quite meet mine and I knew she was still in another place, for she had a far-away look in her ocean blue eyes.

I gave her a quiet reply, 'Okay', anyway and was surprised to see that she had heard it for she raised up her elegant arm, catching the bartenders attention instantly.

The handsome man in all his muscled form made his way over and leant forward towards the woman next to me. His eyes seemingly fixated on hers.

She didn't seem to be looking elsewhere, her eyes looked straight on as well, and she gave him her mischievous sideways grin, her eyes locking onto her prey.

I would have been fascinated with the scene in front of me had I not got this sudden feeling inside of me. It was a warm, brewing feeling that seemed to come from within and I couldn't help but clench my fists at the sight in front of me. My eyes narrowed in on the man so easily flirting with the woman in red.

"What can I get for you?" The man oozed out confidently, his eyes never leaving hers, that only made the anger inside of me intensify, and I didn't even know why.

I never felt this feeling before, but I knew straight away that I didn't want to feel like this again. I never did like being angry, only when Ronald was involved.

"Two disaronno and coke please," She coaxed out, her words heavy and silent, something of which piqued the bartenders interest as he gave her a winning smile in response before quickly disappearing.

It wasn't until I knew the man was out of sight that I felt the warm feeling inside begin to fade away, and soon my hands unclenched their tight hold. I took in a breath before letting it out, what was getting into me? I had never felt that level of rage before.

But I didn't get a chance to question myself any further as the woman beside me turned to face me bringing her cigarette back towards her precious lips. That was all it took for my attention to revert elsewhere.

The bartender was the last thing on my mind.

I stared on in fascination as her chest breathed in one last time, before blowing out the smoke, but this time she avoided it going in my general direction by curling her lips to the side and I watched in interest as the smoke blew out fading away behind the woman in red. She gave me her mischievous grin one last time before she looked away, my hazel brown eyes staring longingly after her.

I already hated whenever she looked away.

With her cigarette now all gone, she stubbed it out onto the countertop in front of us and she let out a heavy sigh.

The bartender hastily made his way back over to us, placing the two drinks in a small glass in front of us.

"On the house," The man said, cocking his eyebrow at the woman beside me.

I gave out a small chortle, 'what a typical way to impress someone', I thought sarcastically.

The woman beside me didn't seem to mind though as she gave him a playful wink in reply. That seemed to please him, he gave her a goofy smile back, his eyes looking longingly after her as he made his way over to his next customer.

Idiot.

Just as I was about to lift up the drink and take a sip, the woman suddenly caught my attention by snapping her head towards me and meeting me directly in the eyes.

Time seemed to stop as all I could see was breathtaking blue and gold, her face was the picture of perfection.

I couldn't look anywhere else.

"Let's say we blow 'zis place and 'ead over to mine." She let out with a practiced smirk, her eyes locked onto mine and I was hypnotised.

Without even thinking of the consequences I nodded my head, a bit too eagerly, but that seemed to be the only answer the woman had in mind.

She grabbed my wrist, gently, her soft touch shocking me and before I knew it I was being dragged outside of the unknown bar, thoughts of the night ahead flooding my mind and suddenly I was glad I had chosen to go out alone that night.

This was the perfect way to celebrate my twenty-first.

We quickly left, my giggles of excitement floating out behind us, and the two drinks were left untouched on the countertop.

A/N: I have a few idea's as to where I would like this fic to go, but I wanted to see if it piqued any interest before I continued further. So what did you think, please let me know your thoughts in any way you'd like :)

-Y.A.M.L