It was cold, dark, the middle of winter and I stayed way too long at the drinks night for work, once again having to run for the second last train out to Emerald, because the next one was another 30 minutes away and I didn't want to be sitting on the platform in the loop by myself on a Friday night at 11:00pm. I hadn't drunk too much as I had to drive home from the station, but still the night was pretty good. An old mate turned up and did drink too much, falling off his barstool and rolling his ankle. Staying around long enough to see if he was alright meant I had to bolt.
I sprang down the escalators and dived into the doors just as they were closing, then found my customary seat at the back of the train. The carriage was almost empty except for some girls giggling up the other end, so the i-pod went in and I tuned out completely.
This was why I jumped when three stops later she sat down opposite me. I had seen her a couple of times on the train but was never able to catch where she got on or got off. She wasn't a stunning girl by any stretch so I don't know what it was about her that made me lose my breath. Maybe it was the short cropped white hair, the face jewellery, or the tights and boot combination that worked for so many but on her seemed different. Silver tights, mmm...
"Nice, aren't they?" Oh shit...
"Sorry?" I replied, pulling the earphones out.
"The boots. Their nice, huh? That was what you were staring at?" She smiled, both of us knowing full well it wasn't.
"Um, yeah, sorry. They just reminded me of my friends."
I just remembered what it was about her. She had a confidence that radiated. When she spoke on the phone or to her friends, the silky command in her voice was intoxicating. I could tell she was persuaded the same way I was, she had that look about her, but confidence is the sexiest quality in a person that ever existed, and hers made my spine tingle...
"I've seen you on this train a couple of times before, but don't you usually catch the earlier one?"
"Um, yeah. We had a work function tonight though. I thought I would hang around, you know, cause..." Oh shit, shut up Holly, you're babbling. She smiled to herself, almost hearing what I was thinking and I felt myself going a bright red.
"So your other work buddies didn't go?"
"What other work buddies?"
"The ones you fight with on the way home. The others on the train."
"Oh no, they're not my work friends, I just know them from the train trip we share." A dollar for every time someone had assumed that. Well, actually, that would only be a couple of dollars, HA. Shit, how much had I had to drink...
"Awesome. Well, if you're not averse to making friends on the train, my names Leah." She held out her hand.
"Hi, Holly." I took it, and she squeezed, not too firmly, but as I softly let go, she caught my finger, dragging along it. Her eyes bored into me and I think that was the moment I lost control a little.
We sat awkwardly for a few seconds and it was all I could do not to drop my gaze back down to those gorgeous legs. She shuffled around in her bag for a minute and then pulled out her i-phone. As her attention was drawn to it, I took the opportunity to look her over properly. She had a black knee length jacket and silver stockings covering her knees as her crossed legs poked out the top of it. The boots were Ug boot style and came up over her ankles, and she casually kicked her leg out in a show of pent up energy. I traced her all the way up, begging for a small show of what was under that coat and starting to picture what she might look like without it, and without what was under it, when I met her eyes. She smiled that smile that said I know what you're looking at and I smiled back, busted again, but not really caring.
As her leg lazily kicked the air I crossed mine diagonally to hers. Her gaze never left her phone and I for a second wondered if I didn't give her the same feelings she gave me. I panged with disappointment and put my headphones in, trying to tell myself to get a grip, get back to the car and forget about this, when her leg grazed mine.
"Oh, sorry," she said, looking up quickly and smiling. "Not watching..."