Chapter 6 – The Planets Bend Between Us
Two weeks later John found the young woman he's been intrigued by for some time already alone by the bar. Her brown hair was in a loose twist on the back of her head. Her frame reminded him of one of those crystal statures as he was hungrily eating every inch of her with his eyes. Piece by piece, devouring in the action.
She was thin, had fair skin, he even thought he saw her collar-bones sticking out that night they've bumped into each other on the dance floor…the night she bumped into him to be utmost accurate. Her features held a sophisticated sharpness as if they were carved by the sharpest of knives.
But her eyes. Her eyes reminded him of the ocean. John had a very good idea about the ocean and its depths, of its beauty and its danger. The time he's spent on the islands was his fondest memories.
He spotted her about a month before: same spot, same drink. She was wearing a floaty dress and was too busy with a puzzle cube to notice anything around herself. She wasn't flirting around, wasn't trying to gain attention though she was catching more than one man's eye. The air around her was sliced with some kind of mystery.
The next Friday she was there again: she, the cube, the drink.
She got him interested. He didn't know why but she did. Effortlessly so.
Ergo he went for the challenge. The girl didn't seem to notice anything or anyone…she couldn't be so into herself to ignore a fine bottle of Crystal.
Lilly was, to say the least, shocked with his request, never having heard a similar one from him before, he believes her exact words were: "I thought it was the other way around with you! Are you losing your grip or something?"
He just gave her a half-smile. He was honestly glad that Lilly was becoming herself again. It took her more than a year to start moving on from the Ghost drama. Managing the club helped a lot, being such a time-consuming job. Sometimes John thought Jake started the whole business only to take her mind off of the jailed ex-boyfriend. Lilly was a friend and he remembered how every and each one their crew promised to take care of her if there was anything to happen to Ghost. The same went for G and his sister Naomi. John himself didn't have anyone he needed taken care of in the case of…his disappearance. He enjoyed the life without commitment and complications. He was a player, a womanizer and thanks to the good looks he was gifted with he's never known a word 'no' in the female department.
That is until his expensive bottle of the best champagne was sent right back to him with a word that she's "not a sparkly drinker".
So, all in all the young woman by the bar was SO not John Rahway's type. That's why he had such big trouble establishing what drew him in.
Maybe the rejected champagne? Maybe the fact that she didn't fall to his feet the second she saw him? Or maybe, just maybe (but John was hesitant to let that even be a possibility) he just genuinely found her appealing in her mysterious fragile posture.
So it was only obvious that he found himself occupying the vacant space on her left. She was looking at the shelves on the wall behind the counter full of alcoholic bottles.
"Are you looking for some particular brand or is it a general curiosity?" He finally spoke when she didn't acknowledge his presence.
The girl in question was withdrawn from her thoughts and looked back at John, clearly surprised with his company.
"I was just checking if I could if I could count the right number of those."
"What's the verdict?"
"Well, with two lacking on the top right shelve, reduced number in the middle due to the bottles' forms and a suspicious gathering of syrups near the glass shelves…I'd say approximately 178." She kept her gaze on the wall as if still calculating silently.
"Approximately?" John chuckled.
"I could be wrong." The stranger glanced back at John, a small smile tugging on her lips.
"But you're not?"
This time she smirked.
"I missed seeing you here for the last two weeks."
"Stalker much?" The young woman asked, biting her bottom lip subconsciously; the action John found more than inviting.
"My eyes missed the scenery." He offered boldly which made his companion grimace.
"Lame. I think, you can do better."
She didn't want his flattery but dared him to give her a reason to at least want to answer his questions. That is despite the fact that John himself was sure that the electric bolt that flew between them during the accident bumping into each other on the dance floor hadn't gone unnoticed by someone who could count the right number of bottles in the dark bar with loud music as a distraction.
"You're the woman I didn't think I'd ever imagine to want to get to know. You already make me go out of my way and I don't even know your name."
She blinked a couple times and her clear blue eyes bored into his equally distinctive ones. Then, most likely satisfied with his words, she said:
"It's Kyna."
"I'm John."
Only after her reserved smile and a nod he finally took a seat next to her. One of the things he's learned during the time he followed her with his eyes was that she valued her personal space and didn't look kindly on some random invasions in it.
John half-smiled to the side when Kyna reacted much more appreciative seeing that his advances weren't too aggressive or valiant. He had to play a very accurate card this time and he was sure it would pay off.
"Can I buy you something to drink, Kyna?"
"You can try, John." She smiled, chuckling lightly. "Just make sure it's not Crystal this time."
John grinned like a Cheshire cat on the hunt and used his hand to catch the bartender's attention.
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Sooooooooorry sorry and sorry again for the wait, everyone, I'll try to make it up to you! ;)
Well, tell me what do you think? John is finally in the game…:)
