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So it starts




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


 

LAX. Los Angeles, USA. January 2011.

Julian was on the phone making plans for the evening. He had just dropped off his girlfriend of 2 years at the United Airlines gates and was looking forward to a night on the town with his boys. Walking towards the parking lot to retrieve his car while talking, and not really paying attention to his steps, he accidentally pushed off a luggage cart. Before he could make a single move to stop it, he watched it bang into the rear of a car with a big smashing noise.

He flipped his phone shut as the furious car driver was coming out to inspect the damage, a thunderous expression gracing his face. While trying to calm down the angered man, Julian noticed that the cart and luggage belonged to a young slender woman who was looking at him with smouldering murderous eyes and had yet to utter a word.

The man was approaching her with wrath in his demeanour and Julian first instinct was to shield her of any harm; so, he came forward, blocking the man and telling him he was responsible and would attend to any damage. Business cards were exchanged and upon recognizing him, the driver smiled, asked him for an autograph for his wife, and went back to his car as the LAX patrol officer was already waving at him to move it.

Once the situation neutralized, Julian turned his attention back to the woman. She hadn’t moved, so he retrieved the fallen luggage, placed them back onto the cart, and started to mumble an apology, to which she just shook her head and said in an impatient tone:

“Save it! That’s what happens when wankers must be on their phone instead of looking where they’re going …”

Julian was speechless for a second and finally ground out, “Well, there’s no need for names, but if I’m a wanker, then I reckon, you’re a bitch …” He felt his temper rise and he was getting agitated, almost despite himself. She gave him a heated look, and countered, “You’re just preventing me from getting reacquainted with my bed, and right now, it’s pissing me off… Please move, so I can get a taxi to take me home!”

He couldn’t believe the way she was addressing him. Didn’t she know who he was? Julian McCarty, God’s gift to women all over the world and over? And no one, no one, spoke to him that way. He was simply stunned.

He just looked at her, unable to speak, quite taken aback, as it had been quite a long time since anyone of any gender, had actually had the gall to treat him with such contempt, and in public, no less.

She had bangs and long, layered curls, a pair of sunglasses perched on her head, and was wearing a simple white tunic in perfect contrast with her light caramel skin, and some sort of long, high, intricate boots completed her stunning silhouette. An attractive woman, very much so.

He wondered if she was wearing anything underneath the tunic. The thought caught him by surprise, and he shook his head, thinking, what the hell? She wasn’t even his type. Too temperamental, he thought. Yet, she was unnerving him, and he felt a spike of desire. They briefly stared at each other and something seemed to shift in the air. He was sure she felt it too, as she was the first one to move, turning her head, looking somewhat flustered, and trying to find some sort escape route.

She made the cart move, and started to walk away, leaving him behind her, mouth agape. He simply wasn’t used to being dismissed, much less by a woman, and certainly not by a bitch on wheels, no matter how gorgeous she was.

As she was about to cross the pathway to the taxi stand without another look for him, Julian caught up with her, and before he even knew what was happening, (seized by an overpowering urge), he found himself literally grabbing her elbow, spinning her sideways.

She looked at him, shocked, and trembling with fury, asked, “What now? Are you bloody insane?” seething, clearly exasperated, a slight accent on her words, she reiterated, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Before he had a chance to think, the first thing coming out of his mouth in a rushed tone was, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…Hmm…I’ll take you… “. He paused, and focusing on his breathing, said more calmly, “Yes. I’m sorry. I will take you, wherever you are going,” and continued, “This is the least I can do …”

Her head tilted and she repeated in a dubious tone, eyebrows arched and lips pouting, “You’ll take me?”

“Yes. Wherever.” he said, assessing her, suspended in time, and noticing sounds and people were receding around him, as his gaze was fixated on her face.

She was openly staring at him. Their eyes locked, and he realized, the amber of her irises was flecked with intense strands of green and grey making her look almost hypnotic.

One could get lost in these eyes, he thought, as he felt his throat go dry.

He noticed, he was so anxious for her answer: their surroundings seem to have completely faded. He simply didn’t hear or see anything anymore. He could only focus on the way she's stared at him, the way her glare made him feel: open, raw, and exposed. What surprised him more was his own reaction to the look she was giving him. He was suddenly self-aware. He could feel the muscle at his temple pulsate. Heat was suddenly consuming his body. He couldn't think and found himself unable to articulate a coherent sentence. He felt hot. Rooted. His heart pounding erratically and so loudly he could actually hear it in his ears. He almost felt light headed; the feeling was so strong, his hand grasped at the handle of the cart, grazing hers. Right there and then, as shocking and impossible as that seemed, just with that look, it dawn on him, he would beg her, he couldn’t let her walk out of his life when she just stepped in it.

“All right.” she finally murmured, lowering her gaze and breaking the moment.

He blinked, not quite believing it.

Afraid she’d change her mind, he quickly grabbed the cart with both hands and started walking towards the lot, not even checking if she was following. His thoughts were a mess. He was a mess, chastising himself, and thinking - what the hell are you doing? - All he knew was that something was happening, he wasn’t sure what exactly but he knew he simply couldn’t part with this woman being angry at him or worse yet, just disregarded as lint.

They reached the car and she said lowly, her eyebrow arched in surprise, “Dutch. You have taste in cars.” He looked at her, his own face registering shock she would even know what make his custom car was, and he hesitantly uttered, “Thank you…I think.” She flashed him a bright smile, and he was lost for words. He prided himself in being able to handle most situations without losing his cool too often, but that smile disarmed him completely. It was as if her entire face had been illuminated with some internal glowing device. All the lines and comebacks he might have had for her seemed to be at the furthest point from his consciousness in that instant; so, he just returned a small smile, unable to speak.

He opened and held the passenger door for her, and was rewarded with another smile, and his mouth went dry. Placing her bags in the small boot, he noticed the business class priority tags and the Hong Kong logos and found himself thinking, “No wonder she is pissed, the last thing she needed was a scene at the airport after a 15 hours flight!”

He settled himself in the driving seat, looked at her and asked with a soft voice, “Where to?”

“Home.“ was her short and simple reply.

He was puzzled, but before he could even enquire what she meant, she added with a pinning stare and an amused voice, “Or did you forget your own home address, with the commotion you caused?”

 












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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.