As Tom stepped off the train, he was surprised by the chill gust of wind that greeted him. Although it was late September, the summer weather had hung around this year and he'd yet to feel the need to take a jacket with him on his daily commute to work. Sadly, it appeared that this was going to have to change now. Just as sadly, the light, floaty, and decidedly revealing outfits of the warmer months would disappear in favour of heavy overcoats and the like. Tom always noticed how good women looked in summer with a bit of leg on show. But, he hoped, he would still have the pleasure of seeing her – whatever she was wearing.
For a few weeks now, as he walked along his street on the way home, he'd seen her walking the other way. At first, she'd just been one of those girls you admire from afar. Someone to pique your interest for a moment during the drudgery of the daily grind. Someone you try to steal an extra glance at from behind your mirrored sunglasses, never expecting to see again. But he did see her again, and soon he began to look forward to that part of his day where he would hope to pass her.
Occasionally she would not be there and he would worry that she'd changed something in her life that meant he would no longer see her. But she'd always been back the next day. He would resent those times when he had to stay late at work, knowing that he'd miss his chance to catch her eye and share in that subtle contact. A slight nod of the head, a barely perceptible smile.
Tom had realised that she must live just a few doors down from him on the other side of the road but he'd never been able to pin down exactly which house it was. He didn't think it'd be quite right to just stop and watch her until he saw which house she went into. She probably thought he was stalking her as it was.
So now, as he turned on to his street, he felt that familiar tingle in his stomach in anticipation of seeing her. And there she was. He could tell it was her even though she was still a fair way away. As they got closer, he could see that she had done a better job of anticipating the colder weather than he had. A snugly tailored coat hinted at the slender curves that Tom knew lay beneath. The way it hung accentuated the long, jeans-clad, legs that he'd admired from afar. Her long, dark-brown hair hung loose today, its tight curls giving it a life of its own as it bounced along with her.
He waited for the moment when she would look up to meet his gaze. But that moment never came...
Nikki had never been one to make too much of an effort in her appearance. She liked to look good of course – who didn't? – but she wasn't one of those girls that spent hours in the morning putting on make-up and doing their hair. In fact, she tended to avoid make-up altogether, apart from the odd splash of lip gloss for a night out.
But recently, she'd caught herself having an extra glance or two in the mirror before leaving the house. Or, more specifically, when leaving work for the short walk home.
Men were such simple creatures at times; it was so easy to get their attention with a hint of cleavage or a flash of thigh. And Nikki wasn't averse to teasing them occasionally. She knew that she had a good body and it amused her to see men trying to act all nonchalant when they were secretly (and not as discretely as they thought) trying to ogle her. In any case, it was nice to know someone found her attractive. It had been a while since she'd had any form of relationship and her Mother's constant hints about finding a man were starting to make her feel just a little "left on the shelf".
So that's how it had started with him; a little fun after she'd seen him eyeing her up on her walk home. Once it became clear that she'd be passing him a lot in the street she'd started making sure she was worth looking at. Treating herself to a few new outfits. Nothing over-the-top you understand; just clothes that she knew highlighted her best features. Perhaps a skirt that was that bit shorter than she would usually think to buy. She'd even taken to making sure that she was wearing matching underwear, though heaven knows why since she wasn't exactly planning to show them off, it just gave her that little bit of extra confidence and swagger to her step.
After a few encounters with him, a strange pattern had formed in their little game: As they approached, she would watch him take in her appearance. She would watch as his eyes would linger a while on whatever part of her caught his fancy that day. But always, just before they became near enough that he would have to turn his head to continue looking at her, his eyes would meet hers and she would see the approval in them as the faintest of smiles would touch his lips. And he would never turn and look back at her. She knew because she often turned back to look at him. Sometimes hoping he would catch her in the act, although she had no idea what she would have done about it if he did.
So, in a way, she had been ogling him too. Although only from behind, which was fine by her since he had a very fine behind indeed. She wondered if he knew how well those jeans of his showed off this particular part of his body.
But today was different. She saw him turn the corner onto their street, saw him notice her and begin his endearing attempts to casually watch her. But, as they approached, a familiar old feeling crept up on her. Almost like she was having a... but no, it had been years since her last one. She'd convinced herself that she'd grown out of it. She'd even considered not wearing her medical alert bracelet any more. It couldn't be...
She went down like a sack of shit. That was the unflattering but best description Tom could think of.
One minute she was walking along, then a look of puzzlement crossed her face and then her legs buckled and she just collapsed. He was lucky it was a quiet street because he sprinted across it without the slightest look for oncoming traffic and crouched down next to her. It was pretty clear to Tom that she was having some kind of seizure; her arms and legs were twitching, her mouth was slack and her eyes closed. Looking around, Tom couldn't see anyone else. Not knowing what to do, but worried about her bashing herself on the hard ground or choking on her tongue, he gathered her head onto his lap, rolled her onto her side and gently tried to restrain the worst of the spasms in her arms. She had a few big twitches and a couple of times she caught him in the ribs with an elbow but, after a few minutes, she seemed to settle down.
Tom was just starting to wonder what to do next when a phone started ringing from inside her coat. Not knowing what else to do, he managed to find the right pocket and dig out the device. The screen said: "Parents calling". Great, perhaps they'll know what to do. "Hello" he answered. There was a short pause, then a confused sounding woman's voice replied "Oh, sorry, is Nikki there?"
"Well, yes but no" Tom said. "I mean, she's here but she's having some sort of fit. She just collapsed in the street. I think I've stopped her from hurting herself and then her phone rang so I answered it."
"Oh dear." Her mother replied . "We thought she'd grown out of that. She's got a mild form of epilepsy. It's been years since she had a fit. Is she OK?"
"She seems fine, she's breathing OK and I don't think she's bumped her head or anything. What should I do? Do I need to get her to hospital?"
"We used to take her there at first, but they can't really do anything for her so, after a while, we just used to put her to bed instead. Once the shaking stops, she's really in a kind of deep sleep. She'll usually sleep until the next morning and wake up as if nothing's happened. Oh, I wish she hadn't moved to live so far away from us. Who's going to look after her?"
As she was speaking, Tom realised just how cold he was getting sitting on the ground and that helped him to make his decision. He gave her is home phone number and address so she wouldn't worry that her daughter had been abducted by some madman and told her to give him a call in twenty minutes when he'd managed to get her into the warmth of his house.
That last bit was easier said than done. She was far from heavy but, she wasn't exactly cooperating either. God only knows what anyone would have thought he was doing if they'd seen him carrying some incapacitated young woman into his house over his shoulder. Once he'd got her into the house, mindful of what her Mother had said about her sleeping through 'till the next morning and not wanting to have to pick her up again, he just carried on upstairs and dumped her (rather harder than he'd intended) onto his bed. He knew that, in the films, this is the moment where he would undress her to "make her comfortable" but he doubted the outcome of that would be quite as successful as happens on the big screen so he made do with taking her boots and coat off and trying to arrange her under the duvet.
Then the phone rang and he was treated to a surprisingly pleasant conversation with both of her parents. No doubt her Dad had been informed of the situation and wanted to make sure his daughter was in good hands. They were both easy to talk to once he'd assured them of his good intentions and they'd assured him that she wasn't going to die suddenly in the night and leave him with a lot of explaining to do. One useful piece of information he gleaned from them was that Nikki usually awoke with a ravenous appetite after one of her "funny turns". So, after he'd finished speaking with them, and after a quick check to see that Nikki was OK (sleeping soundly now), he took a quick trip to the shops for supplies.
It was Friday night and he needed food for the weekend anyway so he picked up a few extras that he hoped would go down well the next morning.
On his return, he quickly went to check on the patient and found her still sleeping soundly. After fixing himself some food, he went upstairs and sat on the large sofa he had in his bedroom. It was an old thing, having been replaced as his lounge furniture a few years ago, but it was still comfy and made for a place to dump his clothes when he couldn't be bothered to put them away. It also made the perfect spot for him to keep an eye on his guest.
