Chapter Two: First Impressions

Deeply staring into my eyes is a pair of the darkest sets of sapphire blue that​ I have ever seen and a set of lips smirking devilishly towards me. Just staring at him takes my breath away. I cannot seem to move or speak. My legs and arms become paralyzed. I probably look like a fucking fool.

What the hell! This is freaking embarrassing! Why can't I break from his stare?

He strums his finger across his parted lips and watches me with amusement. 

Oh, come on. Say something... anything. This is embarrassing as hell!

A sound I have never heard before lullabies through my ears. It reaches to the depths of my soul. It is nothing I have ever compared to. It is sweet and angelic, yet terrifying at the same time. It is terrifying because I know just from the sound of his voice, I will never be the same again. He hums within my ear, "It is nice to find you finally, you, Katrina."

The room spirals around me, taunting me with his odd comment and tempting lips. "It is nice to find you, finally, you."

A longing breath escapes within my lungs. I attempt once more to ask for his order in hopes the words will come. Finally, my hands can move as I grab my ink pen and begin tapping the top of the notepad. Now, all I have to do is ask for his order and be on my way. This should not be so complicated. 

Once again, I try, but nothing escapes my mental turmoil. My lips become dry lips, and it is as if my airway is cutting in two. What little saliva I can muster feels as if I am swallowing broken rocks, scraping the vocal fold, dragging and burning the center of my chest. My lips slowly part. He smiles patiently and strums his finger across the fine hairs on his chin. I look down at the floor in embarrassment. I might as well crawl back home and forget my stupid ass raise. 

Once more, he speaks, his voice. The sound echoed like a lullaby through my ears. "I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to find you, Katrina, but I promise, for whatever time we have missed, I will make it up to you."

“Make it up to me? This man, this... this stranger who has a pull on me claims that he knows me. Impossible! How can he? We just met.” 

“I-I need to get out of here! I-I need to go home!”

Looking towards the door, I weigh my options on how bad I need my job. Walking away for the night and leaving everything for the owner will surely get me fired, but this… this is too much.  

For the first time, I hear a tranquil voice echoing within my head. "Katrina, please be calm, my love."

He looks at me with concern and blinks several times. I shake my head back and forth and return the answer from within my own thoughts. "Are you actually talking to me with your mind right now? Impossible! Freaking impossible!"

Shifting his body to the side, the man slowly lifts his large hand and reaches out towards me with an open palm. His power and strength are a magnetic pull. My inner goddess cannot help but respond. "God, I could only imagine what his firm hands could do to me." Here I was freaking out, and still, he was affecting me beyond reason.

His tempting voice echoes through, " Don’t worry. We will have plenty of time for me to show you exactly what I can do, Katrina. Come. Sit with me and eat. You will need your strength."

 I swallow the hard. "Shit, you heard that too?"

“Yes, love. We are connected. I hear everything you say.” His words hum through my head.

Panic settles feverishly into the depths of my bones. I step further away from him, feeling the palms of my hands sweating and trembling.

 "Please don't be scared. I assure you I mean you no harm," he continues in a soothing voice.

My knotted tongue loosens just enough to allow at least a partial sentence. I stutter through my nerves, "I… I… ha-have to go!" 

Just in time, I spin around to see a small child skipping directly under my feet. I fumble forward, almost hitting the metal bar stools headfirst in front of me. Within seconds, the man has already caught me. He embraces me against his chiseled chest. His eyes travel longingly towards my parted lips. I cannot help but stare back at his perfect shaped mouth, but I notice it almost seems as if he is incapable of breathing. His chest is not moving. There is no rhythmic pattern to show the intensity of his blood pumping through his heart. What is worse, I am staring just as hard as him.

     The moment seems to pass too soon as he helps me back to standing on my wobbly two legs. Looking around the room, the customers are all staring at us. The little child covers her mouth and giggles innocently as she skips away with her pigtails bouncing in the air. Two women with pastel and bright red lipstick roll their eyes and mumble, "Get a room already!" Jealousy doesn't suit their already poor choice in wardrobe attire. 

As for the breathtaking stranger holding me, looking away seems to help break me free from the hypnotic trance. Backing towards the stained-glass door, I apologize and run. "I'm sorry! I have to go!" 

I am not sure what has come over me, but the moment the pads of my fingers grasp the hand, a single tear escapes my right eye. Brushing it away, I try to force the door open, but my feet feel heavy and weighted to the ground.

"Stay, Katrina.” The man whispers.

“I don’t know you,” I answer out loud. 

"I assure you, Katrina. We are far more than strangers, my love." The man answers sweetly. 

I stop and turn around to look towards him once more. A wicked smile slides across the corner of his lips as he continues to stand there with his hand reached out. He offers seductively, "Come. Let's eat. I know you are hungry. I can smell it upon your tempestuous skin." 

From the corner of my eye, I watch as Mr. Laeson walks around the counter. He sees me by the door. Crossing his arms in anger, he approaches us both with his chest poking out like a peacock. "Katrina? What the hell are you doing?" 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Laeson. I fell ill. I almost threw up. I have to go.” I lied, hoping he wouldn’t ask questions.

Mr. Laeson looks at the man and shakes his head. “No, you were fine a few minutes ago. Is there something going on with this customer, Katrina? Is he the reason you are trying to leave?”

The man steps closer to me, his nostrils flair towards Mr. Laeson. He warns angrily, "I don't want to hear of another man having affection for you, Katrina. Is that clear?"

 “What in the hell are you talking about?” 

Before I move, the strange man steps in front of me, not giving much space between the three of us. The man says nothing to Mr. Laeson. He stares with his fist clenching tightly to his sides. I watch in fear as his eyes appear to change from sapphire-blue to pitch-black. Mr. Laeson's breathing becomes labored. I watch in horror as tiny sweat beads drip in the center of his forehead and down his temples.

 "Mr. Laeson, are you okay?" I ask fearfully.

“He’s fine, Katrina. He needs to mind his business.” The man says coldly.

Mr. Laeson answers in a monotone voice, "Yes, I must be returning to work. You require some time off, Katrina. Please enjoy the evening off. I will cover your shift. No big deal." 

In a robotic form, Mr. Laeson moves his arms and walks over to me. I gasp as he grabs my notepad and walks away with an empty expression upon his face.

"Mr. Laeson!" I call out, but he doesn't turn around. He keeps walking to the back of the restaurant.

"You will not be working for him again! Do you understand me?" The man warns through his teeth. 

Shaking my head back and forth, the tears flow more rapidly down my terrified face. “Fuck you, asshole!” Never thinking twice about my next move, I run out of the diner and through the parking lot.