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This little romance features tears and laughter, cheating and love, as well as cracked ribs. What else does a romance need?
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Sarah could barely see where she was walking due to the tears in her eyes. It had been a very, very bad Friday the thirteenth, which capped off an awful, awful week.
On Monday her boyfriend of eight months broke off their relationship by text. He didn't even have the decency to talk with her in person and, when she tried to call him, ghosted her and blocked her calls. She never knew why he left her. Was it someone new or what?
On Tuesday the program she was working on with her coworker Scott completely crashed. They had a deadline to present the whole thing to their boss on Friday for a potential roll-out the following week. She spent hours, even working until ten p.m. two nights, trying to find out what had happened, but to no avail.
On Friday when she confessed to her boss the program was not working, he blew up and swore at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Scott lean over his computer, tap a few keys and present the repaired program to her boss. Instead of being pleased, he yelled at Sarah and suggested that if she couldn't do the minimum work to keep the business going that she might want to consider a new job. He then formally gave her 'the one and only warning' that her job was on the line.
After he had left, she went to Scott and asked him what had happened. Scott was evasive and didn't answer her question directly. He claimed he had found the problem 'by luck' but she wasn't buying it. She told him she didn't believe him and accused him of sabotaging the project just to ruin her job and make him look better in their boss' eyes. All the while she was talking, he avoided looking at her directly, confirming in her mind he was indeed the cause of her troubles.
It was quite dark when she grabbed her coat, purse and computer bag and rushed out the door. It was very windy and mixed snow and rain were falling on the slick, snow and ice-crusted sidewalks, forcing her to walk gingerly and carefully. At one point she wandered over towards the curb to avoid deep, wet snow only to have a car speed by, drenching her with freezing, slushy water from the gutter. Water seemed to be everywhere and even her computer bag was soaked.
It was at this time that her frustration and anger gave way to a simple melt down. She began to sob as she shivered and stumbled another mile down the street before turning into the quiet alley which led to her apartment. She was not able to see well and walked into an icy patch and suddenly lost her footing. She crashed down flat on her butt and her computer bag went flying. Weeping, she leaned up against a wall as her will to fight deserted her. She became numb to her situation and didn't see the two men approach her. One grabbed the computer bag and the other went up to her.
"What have we here?" he leered at her. She didn't respond and kept crying. "Here little lady, I've got something in my pants that'll make you smile." He reached down and started to fondle her breasts. Unable to muster any response, she rolled over onto her side and kept shivering and crying. She vaguely felt a hand slide up her frigid leg to her panties but was shivering so hard that she was unable to defend herself.
She felt herself get severely lightheaded but became vaguely aware of a sudden snapping sound and loud swearing. With her eyes barely open, she saw a figure looming over her as she heard groaning next to her. Her last conscious thought was a surrendering, 'I might as well just go ahead and die right now.'
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Her first awareness as she woke up was how warm and toasty she was. No shivering, no wet clothes. She opened one eye only to see a darkened room with only a bit of light from a towel-covered lamp in the corner. Stretching out, she felt her bare legs rub under a sheet covered with blankets. There was a scent of exotic aftershave or cologne on her pillow. After rolling over, she saw a granola bar and a glass with water on the bedside table.
'Where am I?' she asked herself as she picked up the glass and took a few swallows. Realizing she was famished, she unwrapped the granola bar and finished it in no time at all. With her thirst slaked and hunger eased, her head fell back on the pillow and exhaustion overtook her once again.
Later, the soft rattling of dishes slowly pulled her from sleep. Opening her eyes, she could see faint daylight showing through a curtain. 'It must be morning, but where am I?' she thought. 'And more importantly, where's the toilet?' Looking around she saw an obvious closet door and next to it a door which was slightly open and appeared to lead to a bathroom. With her bladder screaming at her, she jumped up and stumbled through the door. Right as she got there, she realized she was wearing just a long T-shirt and no panties. She sat down and did her business before standing in front of a mirror.
What she saw was frightening. Her long blonde hair, which she normally wore in a simple pony tail or a French twist, was a mass of curls and knots. Her face was streaked with dried tears. Slowly she ran her fingers through her hair and tried to minimize the mess. A quick wipe down of her face with a moistened facial tissue took care of the streaks. Finally, when she felt herself to be presentable, she went back into the bedroom. She looked without success for her clothes and took a blanket from the bed to wrap around herself before she cautiously opened the other door of the bedroom.
There was a tiny hallway which led to a living area. A couch had a rolled-out sleeping bag on it but otherwise the room appeared neat and tidy. Suddenly a man poked his head around the corner and looked at her.
"Oh, Sarah, I assume you go by Sarah, good morning."
"Uh, morning. Where am I and who are you?"
"Yes, well, you are in my apartment where I brought you last night after finding you shivering and being molested. Oh, and I'm J.J. McLain, at your service."
"I remember yesterday up until I was drenched by a passing car. After that, well, not so much. So, you found me...?"
"Yeah, I was walking home from work and looked down an alley and saw two guys molesting you. The one was, well, he was feeling you up and it was clear you were pretty much out of it. I jumped him and I'm afraid he's now dealing with a broken knee. The other one took off with one of your bags."
"Oh, shit, which one?"
"A big one, looked like a laptop bag. Your purse was still wrapped around your arm. That's how I got your name."
"How come I don't remember any of this?"
"Well, I'm no doctor, but it looks like you were very cold and in shock. Since you were still shivering, I knew you couldn't be too cold, you know, too hypothermic, so I decided to bring you here and get you warmed up."
"It seems to have worked," she responded. "I'm toasty warm now."
"Yeah, and you look a whole lot better."
"Uh, I'm a little embarrassed to ask this, but how'd I end up in this big ol' T-shirt?"
"Sarah, you were drenched, cold and not at all following any instructions. I had to, you know, remove the wet clothes."
"My bra and panties?" she asked with a bit of exasperation.
"Both soaked, had to come off. I took you to the bedroom, sat you up on the chair and quickly pulled your clothes off, toweled you dry and pulled the T-shirt on you. Then I put you into the bed, turned on the electric blanket. When your shivering stopped after about forty-five minutes, I turned off the blanket. Left you some water and food. And now, here you are."
"I, uh, I guess I should thank you for saving me. Yesterday was an awful, horrible day which capped off a terrible week. Quite frankly, I think I would have been just as happy to lie down and die in the alley."
"No, don't you start talking like that when I'm around. I spent a rotten night on the couch to help you and so you can't go and give up now. I won't let you," he chuckled. "Breakfast?" he went on.
"Yes please. I'm famished. And thanks for the power bar, by the way."
"I make a mean cup of coffee, if you're interested. I've planned for eggs and toast. OK with you?"
"Sure, sounds great. Uh, my clothes?"
"They should be out of the wash soon and the drier after that. Mind wearing what you've got for another hour or so?"
