Breathless

Clicks on the pavement draw attention to him, everyone looked up and watched him pass by with a smoothness of motion that seems as if he is floating. Who was this person and why were people captivated by him. When I look closer I noticed that he was dressed sort of formally, black slacks, white shirt and black blazer. Cufflinks shined in the moonlight, no tie with top buttons undone. With my eyes moving upward I noticed his skin slightly paler than normal but blending with his light brown hair that was sharply trimmed. Altogether he looked sharp, almost severe, and I imagined that he would be someone straight out of a romance novel. As he vanishes into the street I notice his head turn and I felt eyes on me but I couldn't see him anymore.

I turn my head back to the table I was sitting at with Tal, and I had to take a few deep exasperating breathes. Apparently I had been holding my breath, why? And my finger tips are tingling. Catching my breath I look at Tal, staring at me like he was waiting for me to say something. I had missed what he was trying to tell me but honestly I am not sure it bothered me much. I came to Boston to restart my life, it was going nowhere in my sleepy podunk town in southern Louisiana. I want to attend college here, Boston College has one of the best historical programs in the country. I haven't been accepted and I have a feeling I wont be, if I am I would probably be the older in the class. Not a good look for the school. A 26 Year old Freshman, what in the hell was I thinking. I know what I was literally thinking, there is no way I am going to spend the rest of my life working at a gas station. Every Friday and Saturday nights, the same drunk rednecks walking through the door making fun of my history books and writing research papers that were just for fun. So now I live in Boston, working at a Grocery Store, still readying books and writing papers while waiting to the magic words…..Congratulations! You are accepted. After that I could worry about how to pay for it. I had a couple of ideas, but seemed to be better than the others. I could become a Sugar Baby, this sounded ridiculous but it wasn't like I was ugly. I have ice blue eyes, bright ginger hair and a slender frame. There was only one strange thing about me, I have one normal ear and one is pointed. No one really knows why, but I have always kept my hair long so it stays covered. I would have to clean myself up, I have a tendency to look rather….nerdy.

I had been single for almost two years when Tal walked into my life. I should probably say, ran into my life. He had been running down a sidewalk that was less than busy in the Boston side streets, while I was walking with my head stuck in a book. This is something I did often to make use of time that otherwise would be wasted. As I walked to the corner, Tal and I collided, after the dust settled our eyes met and a connection was made. He was gentlemanly, he made sure I wasn't hurt, and asked me out for coffee. We hadn't really been apart since. Tal was handsome, and treated people fairly, I guess I didn't understand why he was single when I met him. He had rich caramel colored skin, jet black hair that was always perfectly groomed and always smelled of a rich sweetness no matter the time of day or night. This was in stark contrast to me, with my red hair, blue eyes, fair skin and most of the time looked like I had tripped and rolled down a hill despite trying hard to look nice and put together. I was a jeans and t-shirt girl, and if I needed to dress up it was slacks and converse.

Now, six months later, we were sitting in a small cafe that I loved so much. It was adorable, it has the feeling of home while serving southern comfort food deep in the heart of the city. This big city had been blessed with a chef that understood this style of cooking with fried chicken, chicken 'n dumplings, grits and gumbo. The best part of this place is the sidewalk seating under a French Quarter themed awning, it makes sitting down to dinner on a beautiful spring night almost magical.

With Tal still staring at me I quickly snap to say, "I'm sorry, what?"