Blind Romance
Chapter 1
Rated R
dime_of_dreams@yahoo.ca
Exiting the building, I sighed in contentment and relaxation of knowing the work day ended. Now, all I had to do was make a beeline for the nearest café and make sure I don't die of hunger since I, being my usual scatter-brain self, forgot to bring my lunch. Plus, with a mountain of work, there was no chance of making it to a food joint to purchase some fast food.
Walking in a fast pace, I was once again reminded of my crappy luck as it began to rain. And not wearing anything to cover my easily transparent white blouse, I broke into a run. Red hair wet and hanging, hands covering parts visible through my blouse I didn't want to whole population of New York to see, I entered the café.
My high heeled shoes were soaked, but grabbing the entrance door handle just in time prevented me from falling on my ass in front of the gapping strangers.
I must've looked like Hell judging from the stares I received, but at that time I didn't care if one of those annoying infomercial guys came in, saying I won a million dollars. I was tired, wet, cold and still hungry.
Wobbling in my damn shoes, I miraculously made it to the cash register, behind which stood an acne covered teenager.
Putting both of my hands on the metal bar to ensure my steadiness, I began surveying the menu poster on the wall for my order. Not taking any time to register what I was ordering, I called out the first five names from the top.
"Is that all, Miss?" squeaked the thin boy.
"And..." I wiggled my finger in the air, seeing if I needed anything else. "That'll be all."
Clumsily typing in the cash register, he turned his brown eyes to look at me once again. "Um...do you want that to go?"
"Yes! Now hurry up!" It was official, my patience had run out for the day. Damn kids!
Drumming my fingers on the metal, I waited until the guy returned with my food. I fished for a couple of bills and snatched the doggy bag, when he did get back, remembering to cover myself.
Spinning absurdly on my right heel, I lost my balance and waved my arms to prevent myself from falling. Luckily, a hand shot out and grabbed my waist, steadying me before I had come in contact with the floor. Breathing a sigh a of relief of avoiding public humiliation for today, I looked up to see who had helped me.
An arm clad in grey material securely wrapped around my waist was the first thing I saw. Traveling up to a pair of strong shoulders, to a chiseled chin and finally, a pair of blue eyes sparkling in amusement.
My relieved expression turned to an angry one as I looked into the face of my arch-enemy. I know what you're thinking, a 27-year-old woman having an arch-enemy? Well, if you think that way, you obviously never met James Conelly.
An arrogant and gorgeous man. And he knew it! Of course, with the way women behaved around him, he'd have to be blind and deaf not to. But after talking to him, I established that he was, indeed, a self-centered and obnoxious pig.
Slapping his unwanted hand away, I stormed out of the cafe, noticing the blank stares. What the Hell is it with people, anyway? Don't they know it's not polite to stare? I struggled to stifle a laugh as I thought about myself, probably the most unmannerly person in New York, raging to people about being nice.
"And just what is so funny?" The deep voice startled me from my thoughts. Whirling around, I came in contact with his chest, momentarily losing myself in his intoxicating smell of cologne and masculinity. The rain didn't seen to back down as it poured as heavily as ever. Fewer people were outside, and those who were, were strongly equipped with umbrellas.
Snapping from my silent reeve, I dislodged myself from his well build chest and looked up to those clear, blue eyes that always tainted in amusement whenever he was around me.
"Nothing that concerns you, jerk."
Lily: 1
James: 0
"Is that the kind of recognition I get after saving you the embarrassment of falling on your butt in a public place?"
Ouch.
Recuperating quickly, I raked my brain for a witty comeback. Inwardly sighing and accepting my lack of brain ability, I settled on glaring up at the jerk. Who was he, anyway, to play like some sort of hero out of a romance story? The guy was a cold, filthy rich bastard that thought he could get anything in life just by throwing around a wad of money.
"You know, Conelly. You got to play hero, so why don't you get lost, hmm?" His surprised expression told me everything I needed to know.
Another score for Lily! Hell, I'm on a roll here.
"And just what right do you have for telling me what to do? To my knowledge, this, currently, is a free country. Tell me when that changes." The jerk! Why, oh why, was life so cruel to me? You'd think after daily humiliation of losing battle after battle of wits with the man before me would be enough. But no! It seems like bad luck followed me like a shadow, even back in Elementary school, when I tripped on the stage during graduation and ripped my pants in front of two hundred people and classmates. Something my younger brother never lets me forget.
"Did you fall asleep on you feet?" The deep voice shook me out of my reminisce moment and I looked up to the blue eyes staring back at me.
Raising my arm and poking him in the chest repeatedly with my finger, I opened my mouth to tell him off but he beat me to it. "Do you always flash passersby, or am I an exception?" he asked, his full lips formed into a new found smirk that seemed to turn on any female witnesses. Wait! What did he say? Something inappropriate was said, what was it? Passersby...no, nothing there. Flash... FLASH!?
Retrieving my shaking arm from his chest and dropping my doggy bag in the process, I hurled my hands to cover my expossed and heaving breasts. Cursing under my breath, I whirled around and broke into a run to my apartment, bringing up my pace as I heard the faint laughter coming from behind me.
The slippery roads were Hell to run on, but that didn't seem to stop me as I wanted to get as far away as possible from the embarrassment. With almost becoming road-kill, my already racing heart was ready to pop out as I ran off, hearing the driver cursing full force at me, his voice slightly muted by the pouring rain.
Damn you, James!
And this was how I arrived at my one-bedroom, beaten up apartment; red hair sticking out, a heel torn off my left shoe, clothes soaked and expossing my assets for all to see.
Kicking off my high heels or what was left of them, I limped across the room and fell onto the coach in an unlady-like manner. Aw, screw being a lady.
Staring
distantly at the yellow ceiling - having a weird sense of style - I though;
could this day get any worse?
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