He was a tall, slim moccaccino with four sugars and extra soymilk froth.
For someone with those eyes, I expected something strong –something dark, black, and bitter. But for whatever reason, it seemed he liked things sweet.
How ironic.
I watched him carefully from my seat in the back of the coffeehouse. It was 12:17, and I should have been making my way to a 12:30 class, but instead, I was hunkered down at a booth, pretending to read the newspaper. I peered over the edge at my target, and desperately tried to convince myself I wasn't a stalker.
I didn't know he'd come here,
I reasoned.
But now that he is, I might as well get a good look.
I shifted the paper down to the table and fished for a pencil in my bag. As I dug through my purse, I snuck brief glances to the table in front of me where he sat, adding more sugar to his drink. By the third extra packet, I wanted to vomit just watching him.
What a child...
Once I found a pencil, I let the tip hover over the crossword section and pretended to fill in items. Occasionally he would look up to glance at my table or out the window, and I went through a range of motions – sipping from my empty coffee cup, glancing at the couple at the booth next to me, and scratching overtly sexual nonsense into empty squares on the paper.
When I was gifted with another opportunity to glance again, I made sure to glue my gaze to his face. I had to make sure that he was the same man I'd seen leaning against the windowpane the night before. With distance and darkness obstructing me, I hadn't been able to tell that he was Asian, but those eyes were something I just couldn't forget. Dark, rich, intense.
That morning, however, they seemed a bit bored and tepid.
He definitely wasn't boring-
looking
, though. He was actually...kinda cute.
For a rapist.
He appeared fairly young, probably in his early thirties, with straight black hair cut just below his ears. The real length was in his bangs, which drooped over his eyes when he moved his head or leaned forward to let his chin rest on his palm. Those little acts coaxed my gaze to his sharp jawline, and the height of his cheekbones. He had a distinct look – from the smooth, suntanned shade of his skin to the slight roundness of his nose, but I couldn't bring myself to look away.
Despite what I'd witnessed him doing the night before, I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to have that skin against mine.
For the third time in five minutes, he ran a hand through his hair – a restless attempt to shake a few strands out of his eyes. It was a cute tick, like Blaine's hair blowing, but the sight of it made me remember the careless way he'd smirked and repeated the motion before grabbing that blonde by her roots.
The longer I stared at him, the more vivid the scene became. I could see her breasts again, those puffy, pink nipples and the clamps pinching them tight. I touched my own breasts absentmindedly, and could feel the nipples tightening. Out of nowhere, I was overtaken with another hot flash.
Embarrassed, I looked down at the newspaper once more and tried to shake the image from my head. I'd never before been consumed by something so easily. All I could think about was that woman, and how helpless she seemed.
It was kind of...
"You're doing the puzzle?" A smooth, masculine voice invaded the privacy of my thoughts.
Grudgingly, I began to think of Mark, but then tensed up. The voice was much different than his. It was lazier...more humorous.
I looked up and found myself face to face with the stranger, his dark eyes boring into mine. He smirked at me, and I was unable to speak.
"I love these things. Let's see..." he sat down casually and pulled the sheet in his direction. "Boston Hockey team...six letters..."
My gaze darted to the paper.
"Wait—
"—
cock
," he read the word with a smirk on his lips. "Silly...you must know that's only four letters."
"Give it back!" I demanded.
"And what's this?" he laughed, a bitter, teasing laugh. "This crossword's pretty interesting. You've got down cum, cumdumpster, slut, fuck, hardcore, and what's this last one here? Oh! ga—
"—stop reading that!" I struggled to keep my voice at a whisper. "If you don't, I'll—
"—you'll what?" he leaned into me, so close that I could smell the sweet coffee on his breath.
I pushed back and up from the table. "I saw what you did to that girl last night. I'll call the cops."
He leaned back in his chair with a laugh. "Oh really? I didn't know sex was illegal in 'these here parts.'"
"You—
"—I mean, I know
peeping
sure is."
I flushed again, and was glad he couldn't see it in my face. Up until then, he was the pervert, not me.
"It's okay," his tone suddenly became more serious. "I saw you, too."
When I didn't say anything, he took it as his cue to continue.
"Up against the car, you know? Went out for a smoke and saw that guy fucking you." He paused to smile. "You like older guys?"
I started to reach for my schoolbag, but then noticed he was sitting on the strap.
"Not gonna answer?" he scanned my face for a moment. Although the slope of his eyelids him appear sleepy, there was nothing but pure seriousness and intensity in his gaze.
"Well..." he picked up my empty coffee cup and began tearing into the Styrofoam.
For someone so intimidating, he was rather fidgety as well.
"He was pretty harsh with you." With a free hand, he reached across the table to touch mine, but I slid it back at lightning speed. "Is that how you like it? Rough and dirty?"
That was enough for me. I grabbed the strap he was sitting on and yanked it violently. My schoolbooks scattered over the floor of the coffee shop, and instead of helping me, the man just chuckled and watched me scramble, with that same stupid grin on his face.
"Asshole," I muttered it under my breath. "I may have looked in your window, but at least I'm not a fucking pervert!"
I waited for his angry reaction, but there was nothing. Instead of reaching out to grab me again, he continued to sit there, smiling. His eyes though, I noticed, weren't anywhere near my face. I tried to ignore it and focus on picking up my things, but it was difficult to move under his stare. I could feel his eyes roaming down my body, making slow turns over my breasts and the curve of my ass. After a while, I half-expected him to reach out and grab it.
"You know..." he started, and for some reason I was compelled to look up. "You'd do really well in porn."
Although I wanted to get out of there, I couldn't find it in me to back down. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Your ass, sweetheart," he raised his empty cup at me. "Who wouldn't want to hit that?"
That was it. The final straw.
When I had finally collected all my items, I snatched the newspaper and headed for the door. I was home free. After facing off against the single strangest man I'd ever met, I'd be able to go home and forget the whole thing. With a bitter scowl on my lips, I glanced down at my watch. I'd missed my class completely, and the next didn't start for a few more hours. The best thing I could do was go home.
When I got to the apartment, I found Blaine lazing around on the couch as usual. It seemed she'd taken yet another personal day from work. As much as I loved her, Blaine could be ridiculously lazy when it suited her. However, my annoyance didn't stick around long. Normally, I would have been pissed knowing that Blaine had gotten into my closet, but after getting a good look at my roommate, I couldn't help but think she looked cute wearing one of my oversized college t-shirts.
"Home already?" she looked up at me, then at her watch. "Don't you have—
"—I missed it," I dropped my books on the floor and motioned for Blaine to scoot over.
When she turned over onto her stomach to make room, she gave me a flash of her tight, pink hi-cut panties. I tried not to pay attention, but it was hard not to stare. Unlike me, Blaine worked out every day for that gorgeous body, and as she stretched her long legs across my lap, I couldn't help but admire it.
'Maybe I should stop eating so much Chinese food,
' I gave my thighs a little pinch.
"I didn't hear you come in last night," Blaine broke the silence again.
Instead of acknowledging her, I turned my attention to the television. There was some ridiculous game show on, involving scantily clad women picking up items between their breasts. I watched it in silence for a few minutes, and then palmed my own.
"Do you think my tits are big enough?" I looked at Blaine, hoping to change the subject.