He was not from here, part two..
By: Aïcha Elina Haïdara
Tags: Lovestory, Short Story

A week had gone by. A week exactly. A week since I had had my dream-like encounter with the god-like beauty mystery man. I had spent most of my time trying to deny the fact that I could not stop thinking about him. At work, while spending time with my family, commuting anywhere, or while having our regular wine and dine stress release dinner filled with the spiciest gossip. Even after spending an hour describing this man and the feeling he had given me to my friends, I could just go on and on and on. My friends think it was just a one-time encounter that would make a good low quality, B-class rom-com that you would watch on a lonely rainy Sunday after watching all of the box office classics.

I used to hate going to the Core X class every Tuesday and the only reason I go there is the ongoing social pressure. My core is not my fittest part and the only thing I hear and see every day at work, on social media, and even on tv is being green and healthy and what food is bad for you and how fat is our nation’s number one enemy. I’m sure soon we cannot even eat carrots because there are some vitamins or too many carbs that we amazing humans should not have. Even if I don’t agree with this worldview, it has consumed me so much that I’d rather go with the depressed flow seasoned with self-hate.

Like always the street is full of people minding their business and being in a hurry going to the grocery store that closes at midnight. It is like people are afraid of stopping for a moment, taking a deep breath, and realizing that nothing bad will happen. Maybe they would stop being so stressed and angry with the world all the time.

It was almost time. Almost time to get the answer to the question I have asked myself every minute of every day for a week. Will he be there and will he remember me? I could feel butterflies getting even more excited than me in my gut. I tried to hide my smile as I approached our spot. The place where we had met. This was it. This was the very moment I needed and I had been dreaming of. I had to slow down and gather myself by taking a few deep breaths. What if he wasn’t there and what if he was there. I don’t know which one was worse.

As I took my last deep breath in and let go of the gathered air, I lifted my eyes and met his green eyes. There he was. I skipped at least three heartbeats. I could not control myself, I was smiling from ear to ear. He was mysterious and had an even more intense look in his eyes than I could remember. I was drawn to him. I wanted to know everything about him and at the same time, I felt like I already knew. Without realizing I had walked up to him and was now standing right in front of him. I had entered his world as I no longer existed to the others either.

Did he recognize me? For a split second, I was not sure if he did but it was when he offered his hand accompanied by a half-smile. His eyes were smiling even if they still had sadness in them. Sadness that got my curiosity going wild. His smile revealed a row of uneven teeth. They were shining bright as if the sun was out just to make his smile melt my heart even more. As I gave in to his salutation and shook his hand, I was not sure if I was even on this planet anymore. A quick and firm handshake gave me everything and more than I could have hoped for. I was filled with this unknown confidence and strength.

We stood there speechless for a while until I dared to open my mouth and asked him for his name. I felt closer to him. We have officially become acquaintances that can successfully introduce each other on a first-name basis. He must have noticed that I was feeling timid and took charge of the conversation. I could listen to him talk for hours with this profoundly deep voice. His thick southern accent got my soul dancing while I tried to keep my focus on the words coming out of his mouth instead of the way his words filled me with lust. After a few minutes later, he started looking over his shoulder as if he was expecting something to happen or someone to see us. Who could possibly see us? We were not here anymore, we were floating on cloud nine in a parallel universe. All of our troubles were just small memories of our lives before now. His calm, charming and captivating aura started to shift to a colder and uneased one. I then remembered that he is still working, working on the street. I was again disturbing him. Out of the blue, my lips proposed a meeting with him. A meeting this weekend, on a Friday evening at this very cozy and calm bar that was just around the corner from his working spot. I could tell that he was a bit surprised at first as his thick eyebrows jumped up even if he tried to keep his calm. He quickly agreed to the meeting. Him agreeing to the rendez-vous filled me with butterflies dancing all over my body. I don’t think I have ever been this fulfilled with joy.

It was time for me to leave as I was starting to run late for my ever so lovely Core X class. I hated that class but somehow it was a perfect excuse to leave this situation as if I stayed here any longer I might explode and set all the butterflies free. We said our goodbyes, this time with an amicable yet passionate hug. Feeling him and his body against mine made my heart skip a beat and I had to gasp for air. This would be a day that I would forever remember.

To be continued.