Shayna leaned down on the bar counter inside the pub called, 'The Highwayman', and recalled the events of the last 20 hours. She hadn't returned to her apartment since last night, after having spotted her boyfriend with her best friend Donna, in Donna's bedroom, while at a party at Donna's. She'd been roaming around all night, somehow escaped from a group of stalkers by hiding behind a bush, and then slept there. She returned to Donna's place in the morning, spying on her house, and seen her boyfriend leave. This left little doubt in her mind, and she'd been wandering around again, and she now found herself sitting at this bar, still clad in yesterday's white blouse and short, pink skirt, drinking beer.
*********
It was about 6 in the evening when Ryan headed downtown on his bike to the pub, 'The Highwayman'. Riding down the road, he pondered on the way his life had been shaping up recently. He found himself tired, and pretty much all alone. His band mates had deserted him, having given up any hope of making it big. His first, and till date, the last girlfriend too deserted him because he had no money to support the two of them, and hence she saw no future with him.
*********
Ryan walked into the bar, and headed straight for the counter. He ordered a beer and sat down beside Shayna. Shayna instinctively looked up and pushed back her hair and Ryan, out of the awkwardness of the moment, greeted her with a simple, "Hey." She replied with a quiet, "Hi," and looked back down. Ryan preferred a conversation to pondering the same sad stuff in his head again and again, and something made him feel that Shayna too could use a little distraction from her thoughts. So he asked, "How are you?" and Shayna shot back with a quick, "Crap". "Join the club," Ryan said, smiling pensively. She looked up, and asked, "What's up?" Then she looked at his attire, a leather jacket over a white vest and brazen jeans, and asked, "You with a band?"
"Was."
"As in?"
"They left me, or maybe I left them. Not sure which."
"Ahh.."
"And to top it all," he began to say.
"Your girl left you."
He looked at her, slightly taken aback.
"Welcome to my world."
"Your guy's been fucking around." He started to laugh.
After a moment, Shayna joined in on the laughter. There's something comforting about knowing that someone else knows what you're going through.
"So, what's your name?" Ryan asked.
"Shayna."
"Hey, I'm Ryan," he offered his hand.
She shook it. They took their drinks and headed for the booth in the corner. The booths in here sheltered its occupants from most prying eyes. They sat down and after a little small talk, told each other their stories.
*********
Shayna's had been absentmindedly brushing her feet against Ryan's legs while she told her story, and he too didn't seem to take notice of it as he looked hard into her eyes and listened to her. When she had finished telling her account to him, she suddenly realized what she was doing, but something kept her from moving her feet away. Ryan acted as if nothing was going on, and kept sipping his beer. After a little while, he too brushed his foot slowly against her legs, and after sensing no opposition from her side, he repeated the motion. She leaned back, and slightly parted her legs. His foot slowly glided up one of her legs, then back down. He repeated the motion again with her other leg, but this time pushed a little farther up, just past her knee, softly rubbing his foot with her thigh.
A gasp escaped her mouth, and she covered it with a quiet, coughing sound. He persisted, and kept rubbing her thigh slowly with his feet, and felt her part her legs wider.
Shayna casually moved herself a little closer to Ryan, sitting beside him. They both quietly ignored what was going on.
