Page 5 of Fallen Thorns
A stronger gust of wind passed over us before the woman continued talking. Neither of us moved.
“Sad about that poor bloke,” she said, crossing her arms and resting them across the thick stone.
“Yeah, awful.”
“You never think it could happen in a place as safe as this, do you?”
“No.” I swallowed. “You don’t.”
“And just after that young girl too…” she trailed off as though debating whether to say more, but thinking twice about it.
“That’s what I can’t get out of my head,” I said, sniffling as the cold breeze brushed face.
“How close they were.” The woman finished my thought, prompting me to face her again.
“That’s exactly it.” I didn’t blink.
But instead of continuing the conversation, the woman’s shoulders relaxed. She faced me once more and sucked in her lower lip, inhaling deeply.
“I’m Lucienne, by the way, or just Lucy. I prefer Lucy.” She held out a cream mitten’d hand and threw me another pretty, dimpled smile.
I nodded in mild awkwardness but returned my best ‘pleased to meet you’ face.
Silence followed, and she tilted her head expectantly. “And you are?”
“Oh, sorry. I’m Arlo. My name is Arlo.”
“Well, it is nice to meet you, Arlo.” She paused, still looking me in the eye. I shifted my gaze to the side of her face instead.
“So… you like my hair then?” She pulled at one of her long plaits.
Where is this going?
“It’s very… memorable,” I laughed a little, though not unkindly.
Lucy gave me a slow nod, yet her smile did not fade. If anything, it seemed to grow.
She released another deep breath. “I hope this isn’t too forward but... is there any chance we could perhaps meet again? Maybe grab a drink or something later?” She shrugged. “That’s if you’re free, of course. And... available.”
Available. Was I available? Physically yes — I had no urgent work or plans for the day therefore was most definitely free to go out, but mentally? I had no idea. I’d just met her, if we disregarded our brief, unfortunate encounter from the day before, but she seemed rather kind and innocent and she was pretty, too. Except she was a stranger. I could not fathom the idea of walking up to a stranger and asking them out.Is that what this is?
In any other situation, I would have worked my way out of this quite easily. I’d make up some white lie about being extremely busy, or asking to rearrange then repeat my excuse until the topic was dropped. Would you not need to get to know a person first? Learn their likes and dislikes, their routines and interests. How can you get all of that from a side profile?
But my mouth said yes.
In that moment, with her beaming smile and soft, fluttering lashes, I couldn’t say no. It was as if all other vocabulary ceased to exist.
Yes. The only answer.
Her hand grazed my coat and she pinched my upper arm. I cringed at the sensation as nervous needles gathered in my arms and chest, lingering for too long.
“It’s a date, then. Meet you here at seven?”
“Today?”
“Why not?” She winked.
A date.“Here at seven,” I confirmed with a nod.What am I doing?
