He had sad blue eyes. That was the first thing I saw as I noticed the man in the grey winter jacket looking down to the lower part of Trafalgar Square. I'd noticed him because amid everyone else who stood around in groups of friends laughing and drinking as if we weren't in the middle of a winter in London, he stood alone, just looking down at people... and I'd been watching him as he watched them. And then suddenly as if aware of my regard, he looked straight at me and fixed sorrowful eyes on me.
My breath caught in my throat and despite the cold surrounding me, I felt my cheeks heat up. I turned my back on him and tried to join in the conversation that my friend Bradley and Micah were having.
"Soooo," Bradley began with an evil grin and rubbing his hands together, "Micah baby, almost midnight, any idea who you're planning on kissing?" I sighed as I watched a lecherous smile curve what were truly fine lips. "You can kiss me... or... you can kiss sunshine over here." As he said this he threw an arm around my shoulder, dragging me close to him. "Either way, I'll have one New Year's wish fulfilled."
Rolling my eyes I elbowed him in the stomach before shoving him away. "You're such a pig Brad."
"Yeah," Micah said, nodding her head vigorously, "and why would I kiss a pig?" She asked, her blue eyes sparkling with humour.
Brad made a great show of being put out before pulling the very curvy Micah to him and smacking a locked lipped one on her. "Because baby, you want to turn me into your Prince Charming."
Just as I could see Micah opening her mouth to deliver a stinging retort the first cries of the countdown started being called out in a chorus of different voices all around us. On impulse I turned to see what the sad eyed man was doing and looked up. Disappointment crushed me when I saw that he wasn't there. I let out a small cloud of white in the air as I exhaled and brushed my brown curls from my face with a freezing hand.
I was about to turn back to my friends when something about a man in a dark coat had me looking twice. He was tall...I'd say around 6'1, 6'2...tall for me in any case as I (much to my detriment) only reached what I considered a measly 5'3. He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his grey winter jacket - I blinked. Wait, was that the blue eyed guy? I squinted and barely acknowledged the 'eight's' that rang out as the great crowd continued with its countdown.
He walked like a jungle cat, grace and lethality emanating from the long lean body as if it were an expensive type of cologne. As my eyes, mesmerized, travelled back up from his long legs to his incredible top build...broad shoulders, narrow hips... not a sign of excess weight anywhere, I could feel my heart speed up and some kind of dizziness fill my head. From somewhere far away I could hear the countdown and Micah and Brad laughingly taking swipes at each other as they interrupted each other's count. But my mind was completely focused on the man who was walking in my direction. His features were...wow...he had black hair, it fell messily over a golden forehead, his cheeks were so high and sculpted that they seemed autocratic, his nose long but not so much that it ruined his face... he had a slight shade of stubble on his chin and over his slightly hollowed cheeks...and his mouth oh dear god his mouth was sin. Full lipped and looking like it had been carefully drawn by an artist his mouth had me going weak at the knees. He reached me just as I looked into his eyes - and I gasped at what I saw there. His blue eyed gaze... it was so sad...so tormented that it made my heart ache.
He stopped right in front of me and I was speechless...was I supposed to say something? He came one step closer and I stopped breathing. Tipping my face up to look at him.
