Nathan's a good looking man, tall and broad shouldered. Naturally blessed with lean, chiseled features, he's something of a small-time con artist. Nathan likes to rely on the kindness of strangers. He enjoys people's trust. His toffee coloured eyes give the impression of generosity and warmth. In his presence a person can be made to feel both interesting and appreciated. He's aware of the affect he sometimes has on strangers, making sure his self-effacing demeanor keeps his manners endearing and his tone sincere.
Nathan has experienced a string of bad luck lately. Somehow, he'll have to turn things around and get his act together. Something's got to change, and quickly, though he's not too sure where to start. Right now, in need of a coffee with no money to speak of - he rings a friend and arranges to meet her at a coffee shop.
He closes the front door of a mate's place, having spent a night on the couch. He marvels at a beautiful woman walking by, her heavy hair swishing at her back. He imagines the way it might smell. She stops, not far away and kisses another man on the street. Nathan sighs, making his way to the coffee shop, affected.
Over coffee with Carla he tries to play the caring friend, listening to her whinge about her estranged husband, her unmanageably large house and her recent foray back into the dating pool. He orders a toasted sandwich for himself and she helps him eat, breaking it into tiny pieces and slotting it into her mouth between sentences.
He's acutely conscious that he'll have to ask her for money, sooner or later. She pops broken pieces of a cold, toasted sandwich as if to punctuate her sentences and never once directs an inquiry his way. When he can take no more he gets up briskly, forgetting his mission as he pulls his backpack across his shoulders. The childish gesture shaves ten years off him. Carla blinks up at him, catapulted from her own discomfort.
"I have to catch a bus." He kisses her warmly before lurching out of the coffee shop and off down the street. It doesn't occur to him to look back, saving himself from a view of her astonishment. Now, directionless and devoid of cash, Nathan assesses the day stretching before him.
On the train Nathan sits next to a 'suit'. She smells of fresh grapefruit. A navy skirt hugs her well-proportioned lower body and across her lap the fabric stretches so tight it appears likely to split. Nathan tries very hard not to admire her openly, for fear she'll catch him looking. He wants badly to touch her. He lurches with the movement of the train and the effort of trying not to invade her personal space. They get up simultaneously for a stop, exchanging a glance. Each stares back into identical, honey-brown eyes. After she has gone, Nathan can still feel his heart running. He is still able to catch the faint scent of her perfume. An involuntary rush of blood to his groin forces him to shift his weight.
After the train he makes his way up the stairs into too-bright daylight and pounds the pavement, deep in thought. After a while it starts to rain and he's forced to search for somewhere to escape the weather. Before long Nathan finds himself in a library, attached to a shopping centre. At least here he can read, stay out of the rain for a while and work out how to face the rest of the week.
He choses a book from the shelves, lazily observing all the action around him. The amount of people coming and going increases through the lunch rush. His blood cools in his veins. At one point, Nathan notices a familiar body in the sea of people passing by. Appreciatively he takes in her shape and size, the Venus-like proportions of her figure and the faint lure of her perfume. He recognizes the woman from the train. Goose-bumps forming on his arms.
Nathan plays it cool, calming himself. She senses him staring, turns to look at him and a shock of recognition passes over her features. She smiles shyly and turns away, plonking herself into a comfortable chair adjacent to his, a magazine on her lap. Relaxing, she takes off her work jacket. Her expensive, cream blouse moves like liquid. The fabric is elegant and thin, pulled taut across her ample breasts. Her tanned arms are smooth and freckle-free. Nathan's feels his moment had arrived.
"Hi."
She looks up from her reading, cherub lips forming into a smile.
"I want you to blow me." The words appear on his lips before he can vet them. Blood rages in his ears.
"Here?" Her tone is thick with disbelief.
"Can you think of somewhere better?"
"Well, as it happens I work here. I know somewhere..." Her tone is changing as she forms the words.
