How did he know where she lived? Had he followed her last night? Why hadn't he answered any of her questions? Even told her his name? How did he have such an effect on her? Why couldn't she get him out of her head? The questions swam around inside her head all night long and by the morning, she felt like she'd again gone without a decent sleep. She got dressed and slowly made her way to work and worked her shift with an air of vacancy, well at least that was what her boss Thomas had told her. She left at 5pm and went straight home to hopefully get an early night, and once she arrived there, she showered, ate and lay on her bed and read for a while but her mind kept wandering. The touch of his leather glove, the light scratch of his stubble when he kissed her, the intense butterflies she had even now just thinking about him… The thoughts just wouldn't stop so she shut her book and lay there staring at the small patch of sky she could see out her window. She wondered where he was and what he was doing, for surely he and his friends had a wide social circle incorporating many girls, of which she unfairly felt envious of, if they were with him and his boys tonight. She rolled over and put that thought out of her head, she didn't want to think of him and other girls, she just wanted to think of him watching her and kissing her. He must like her otherwise he wouldn't have asked if she had a boyfriend. A boyfriend. Her thoughts went to Dylan, she hadn't really spoken to him since they'd had dinner, she'd have to talk to him tomorrow and see where things stood between them. She decided to try and sleep, so she climbed under her covers and closed her eyes only 2 hours later, images of her man in black continued to pleasantly haunt her and by morning she again knew she was going to have to power through running on barely any sleep.
'Do you own a bed?' Thomas joked when she walked in the store.
'Yeah, just not a very comfortable one.' She lied, smiling at him.
'Damn, girl, buy a new one.' He shook his head as he took a pile of neatly folded shirts over to the stand in the middle of the men's side. She placed her bag out the back and came out the front again to begin work. 'I need you to stay late, Dylan has called in sick.' Her chest sank as she sighed at the news, was he really sick or was he avoiding her? She hadn't really done anything wrong, not that she knew of, but maybe things were different in his mind.
She quietly worked her shift and skipped lunch, not feeling overly hungry, but by dinner time Thomas made her leave and go and get something to eat. Staring at the menu on the board outside the small eatery, nothing was looking appetizing to her and she sighed a little and looked up the street, fairly certain she wasn't going to find anything she wanted to eat there either.
'Hungry?' A deep smooth voice asked her and there was only one voice that could make her stomach instantly tense up like hers just had. She turned her head to see the man in black behind her and she turned to face him only for him to walk around to her right and lean against the side of the building causing her to do a 180 to continue looking at him.
'Not really, not for anything here, I have to go back to work soon.' She said, and he lit a cigarette as he looked her up and down.
'Nothin here satisfying you?' His question was full of innuendo and she looked down smiling, trying not to blush. She heard him chuckle a little at her and felt her cheeks burn, then when she looked back up at him, the look he gave her made her knees weak and she could swear he could smell her attraction to him.
'Are you going to tell me your name this time?' He eyeballed her and sucked in a lungful of smoke before he spoke.
'What's yours?'
'Star.' She replied, and his eyebrow rose.
'Star?' He asked, and she could see she'd surprised him.
'Yes, Star. I was named after my grandmother.' She informed him, and he nodded as he looked away and seemingly contemplated her answer, then he quickly threw his half-smoked cigarette on the ground and pushed off the wall.
'Well Star, I will see you after work.' He smirked at her and winked and once again he was gone, and she was left feeling angsty and discontented. She looked at her watch and saw it was time to return to work and she quickly walked back to the store but on the way, she realised he again hadn't answered her question. She still didn't know his name and she had no idea what he meant by 'see you after work', she'd never told him where she worked. Walking back into the store, she realised he'd just gone and left her with even more questions.
'Hey, there she is. Did you eat?' Thomas greeted her when she got back, and she nodded, lying again just to get him off her back. 'Good. Listen, are you OK to close up? I've gotta go. Close early, say 8pm?'
'Sure, I'll set the alarm and just pull the door closed right?' She asked, nervous. She'd never closed up on her own but had seen Dylan do it.
'Yes, the door will lock once you close it and just make sure the cash is secured in the lock box.' He reminded her, and she nodded in agreeance. He shot out the back and grabbed his jacket. 'Thank you so much!' He said as he quickly left the store, leaving her all alone. It was 6.30pm already so she didn't have long to go and as she served the half dozen people over the next hour, she felt more confident of having sole charge of the store. By 7.45pm, the store was empty, and she did a brief sweep of the floor and she shut the main door, so she could put the cash in the lock box and close the staff room before she left. She came out with her bag and she was shocked to find the blue-eyed stranger straddling a large motorcycle right outside the front of her work. Her heart skipped a beat, how did he know where she worked? First her home and now her work, he had to be following her or spying on her because this was crazy. She turned the lights off and took a deep breath before setting the alarm and tentatively opening the door to the sidewalk and stepping outside. A cold wind hit her as she closed the door behind her and she wrapped her jacket tighter around her then she walked with unsteady legs towards the man as he watched her every move.
'Hi.' She said, and he just looked at her with an amused grin. 'How do you know where I work? I never told you.' She asked him, and she decided she wasn't going to let him deflect or ignore her questions any longer.
'I know people.' He said, his eyes sparkling in the light of the street lamps.
'Did those people also tell you where I live?' She challenged the validity of his answer and he laughed.
'No. One of my boys knows someone on your street and saw you.' His answer made her pause, it was a totally reasonable answer, and she felt a little embarrassed in the way she'd asked him now. 'Where are you going now, Star?'
'Home I guess.'
'Did you end up eating anything?' He asked as he looked around like he was waiting for something and she shook her head, watching him and hoping he would ask her to go eat with him. 'So, you're still dissatisfied?' He asked, swinging his leg off his bike and walking towards her. 'I can fix that, come with me.' He told her as he brushed past her and she turned to watch him walk away but she stayed still, and he stopped. 'The name's David.' He said and turned his head to look back at her with that flirty smile draped across his face again and she melted and followed him.
He led her down a small alleyway about ten feet up the road but there was nothing down there and she slowed her pace and watched where he was going. He opened a hidden gate on the right and stood holding it open. 'Come on.' He encouraged her, and she cautiously followed him and walked through the gate ahead of him. He led her through the courtyard of an abandoned building and by now she was bordering on being scared about where this man in black, David, was taking her. He walked down a very dark side path next to the building which opened out to a street a block and a half away from her store and there were four food stands, all lit up along the street and he directed her towards the taco stand.
'Best tacos in Santa Carla.' He announced with a large smile and she smiled back.
'Perfect.' She said. They went to the stand and, once she had ordered, he told her to take a seat and he would bring it over to her. She sat at a small round white plastic table with a plastic umbrella in the center and looked at the other food stalls, but when he returned, he only had one taco. He'd paid for hers, but he didn't order one for himself, which made her feel quite strange.
'Thank you.' She said, as he handed it to her. 'You're not hungry?'
'I've eaten already.' He said, leaning against the garbage bin, his large black coat concealing the entire bin behind him.
'Oh, well you didn't have to…'
'I wanted to.' He cut her off and the way he said it, she got the feeling he didn't do anything he didn't want to. She sat there eating her taco with him looking over her and she felt so small, she'd always been a fairly confident girl but with him, she felt somewhat insecure. She ate quickly and in pretty much silence, and she wondered why he would invite her to dinner and not speak to her making her paranoia spike again over her fear that he thought she was stupid. She finished her taco and stood to throw her serviette in the trash, but he didn't move for her making her have to reach around him and as she leaned in, he moved his face, so it was right in front of hers. She looked down and felt her cheeks redden again and she heard him laugh. 'Would you like a ride home?' He asked her once she stepped away and she looked up at him.
'On your bike?'
'Yeah, is that a problem?'
'No, of course not.' She'd never ridden on the back of a motorcycle, but she didn't want to tell him that. They walked back more like a couple, but she wasn't sure exactly what type of couple. A couple of friends or were they now more? He led her back down the path they'd came and once they were back out on the street, he spoke again, and she realised just the sound of his voice made her feel warm inside.
'You don't talk a lot.' Her head shot up to look at him. 'I like that.' She exhaled, relief flooding her, but it left her perplexed as to what to do next.
'I thought you were thinking I was stupid for not saying anything.' She said, and he smiled.
'Nah, your vulnerability is appealing to me.' Her vulnerability? She didn't want to come across as vulnerable, she wanted to come across as strong and independent and interesting.
'Where are your friends?' She asked, and he looked at her sideways.
'Don't you worry about them.' He said coolly, harsher than she was expecting and she quickly looked away from him. Obviously, his friends were a sore point tonight.
They reached his bike and he straddled his seat and booted the engine. 'Get on.' He told her, and she hesitated before she climbed on behind him and gingerly held onto his jacket. He rode fast, faster than she was prepared for and by the time they arrived on her dark empty street, she was clutching onto him and she had to peel herself off his back in order to get off. She straightened her clothing and stepped onto the side walk and looked at him, he was so reserved, like nothing bothered him or could penetrate his cool exterior and she realised she felt very insignificant around him.
'Would you like to come in?' He looked at her carefully then up at her small apartment and shook his head. With that one action, she felt horribly embarrassed that he was judging her on where she lived, and she stood there awkwardly, in front of him, not knowing what to say, but desperate to keep his interest in her. He beckoned her to him with his index finger and she nervously stepped towards him when his hand slid to the back of her neck and he brought her to his lips. Her eyes rolled closed and she was immersed in the intoxicating effect he had on her again, the numbing of her mind and body when he touched her was so addictive for her and she never wanted this kiss to stop, but it did. He held her face close to his after their lips parted and for the first time when she opened her eyes, she caught a glimpse of what she felt reflected in his eyes also. His sharp eyes betrayed him, his pupils were dilated and there was a dreamy quality to them, before he pulled away from her and they went back to his cold calculating blue diamonds.
'Go inside. I will see you tomorrow.' He said, glancing up the street and she suddenly thought of Dylan.
'Oh, I can't. I have to work tomorrow and I'm busy tomorrow night.' She informed him, and he turned his head back towards her and she felt the heat of his glare almost instantly.
'Cancel it.' It was an order. 'I will see you tomorrow.' He started his bike and rode away without saying goodbye and she watched him disappear, slightly disturbed by his demand.