It Happened Tonight

It was a surprisingly cool August night. The crickets could be heard chirping loud and clear, singing out their last summer symphonies with bellowed determination—they would soon be silenced by the Fall. A gentle wind rocked the trees, clipping their leaves from their branches, settling again, in preparation for the arrival of some distant storm.

On such a night as this, the last few breaths of summer love were being taken—yet they were still strong. Even with spring in the far past, the little lovers still frisked about, chasing each other up trees, flying together in the clouds, pollinating the world with their romance. This was even true in my own home. As I lied awake that night, a calming stillness gripped my inner spirit, and relaxed it. Whatever had been worrying me in the days before was now vanquished from my mind, for someone else lay next to me in bed at that moment.

I smiled and turned my head to the side. Even in the darkness of my bedroom I could see clearly the few tresses of her hair spread out on the pillow next to me. She lay silent and undisturbed, like the purity of fresh spring water. Just the sound of her lungs working air smoothly in and out was calming and reassuring—I could listen to her all night. Her head was turned away from me of course, but I could still see her soft blue eyes—they always seemed to sparkle, even in the dimmest light. And how she seduced me with those silky legs! Those lips! I wondered how she got away with such beauty...

We had just met only this evening of course, strange as it seems. I'm not quite clear on how it all happened. It just happened...She had caught my eye while I was waiting in line to buy The Dryers' new album. The store had just received a new shipment of CDs, and I happened to be one of the lucky ones who were in there when it arrived. Of course, since the store was already packed with other Dryers fans, when the new shipment was delivered, the store owners decided to just hand the CDs out at the front counter. A long line quickly formed, and was soon strung all the way out of the entrance. I found myself towards the middle of the line, although I had no worries about them running out of CDs—it was a pretty large order, from what I had heard. Nothing was going to tear me away from my place in line...Nothing, until I saw her. She was standing over in the jazz section, looking through various titles. Her long uncombed, hair hung down in several golden blonde strands, covering the side of her face. I didn't know if she even had a face. I craned my neck, trying to see around her, but to no avail. I sniffed the air to discover her wonderful scent, and I suddenly felt hypnotized by her presence. I just had to see her face!

I continued to watch her fingering away through numerous stacks of CDs. I watched her every move—my eyes did not stray from her for a second. I watched her walk slowly along the aisle, as the fur coat draped delicately over her shoulders swung from side to side. As she began to work her way down towards the rock section, closer to where I stood, she turned her head slightly, and I gazed upon her marvelous face.

I swear, right then we locked eyes and did not look away for a moment. She was stunningly beautiful. She immediately reminded me of one of those women who decorate the covers of beauty magazines. For a minute I wondered if maybe I had had seen her before—she definitely met the qualifications for a cover of her own. But there was something different about the way she smiled and the way her eyes were focused directly on me told me there was much more to know than that. Who was she?

Forgetting all about my other plans, I removed myself from the crowd, and began walking calmly over to introduce myself. I didn't know why, but I felt strangely drawn to her, like a fish to bait. She was reeling me in. As I approached her, my pulse quickened, but I felt very calm indeed. I leaned my body slightly against the CD rack, and smiled softly. She acknowledged my presence and looked straight up into me with those sparkling blue eyes and unfazed smile. My knees suddenly became weak, and I felt on the verge of keeling over. Maybe I even wanted to at that point, but I kept my stance firm. We kept our eyes locked. She did not shift her gaze at all, nor did I. We kept a strong focus on each other, as if we were searching deep within our souls for strength and confidence. My lips began to tremble as I felt the first words slide off the tip of my tongue.

"Hi," I said...

...Smiling in the dark, I shifted my weight to my back and stared at the ceiling. I could still hear her breathing softly. I tilted my head again, to watch her. She looked exhausted, with one arm tucked securely under her pillow, the other dangling freely palm-open over the bed. She needed a good rest. Entranced, I gently stroked her head, tracing her silkiness with my fingers. She was soft to the touch—but not angelically soft...just soft. "Hi." That word echoed in my mind. That one word had initiated a night of sheer dazzlement. Who knew it could ever do so much for me? Satisfied, I turned my head back to the ceiling and closed my eyes...

..."Hi," she answered back. Her voice fit her appearance well. She was a flute to my ears: light, but cheerful. I didn't feel so weak anymore.

"You like jazz?" I asked her.

"Yup. Wouldn't be over here if I didn't now would I?" she said, and snickered.

"No, I guess not," I said. "I'm partial to it, myself."

"Yeah?" She raised an eyebrow. I simply nodded my head, not straying my eyes from her for a minute. "That's cool," she remarked. "Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis?"

"Yeah, they're two of favorites," I said. "Have you ever listened to any John Coltrane?"

"Oh yes," she said "He's amazing..." she paused. "I actually don't know too many jazz artists. I just listen to whatever sounds good. I don't worry about distinguishing between them."

"Yeah, me neither," I said. "I just know the classic players."

"Like Davis and Armstrong," she finished.

"Exactly," I said, and laughed. She laughed too. We continued to look deep inside each other, searching for secrets, flaws, emotions, anything. I was burning up, but I felt no pain, only curiosity.

"So what brings you hear tonight?" she inquired.

"Oh, you know, just the usual browsing," I answered, which was not entirely true.

"That's cool. Same here. I was hoping to find some Sonny Rollins, but they don't seem to carry any."

"Oh, that's too bad," I remarked.

"Yeah," she sighed. Then, smiling, "I'll live though." I laughed along with her again. "Boy there certainly is a big crowd tonight," she said, looking over my shoulder. "Wonder why?"

"Yeah, the new album by The Dryers just came out," I said, looking back at the long line behind me.

"Oh, is that what it is?" she said.

"Yeah...I heard the store just received a large order of CDs, so they're just handing them out at the front, I guess."

"Hmm...pretty odd way to run a business," she said, changing her tone a little. "Oh well, if that's how it shall be then that's how it is."

"You're right on that one," I commented.

"Well thank-you," she answered sweetly, fluttering her delicate eyelids at me. "Aren't they a local band?" she asked.

"Who, the Dryers?" I inquired.

"Yeah," she said.

"I think so. I've actually heard them live a few times. They're pretty good. They're like rock, but they have this kind of unusual element to them. Their lead guitarist can make some pretty odd sounds come out of his amp."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they're a pretty wicked band."

"Hmm...I'll have to check them out sometime," she said.

"Yeah," I said, looking back at the crowd for a second. I suddenly remembered why I had come here in the first place. I turned my gaze back to the beauty standing in front of me. Nothing was going to attract my eye away from her again. "Hey, what's your name by the way?" I asked. There was silence. She just stared straight at me with those marvelous eyes, and leaned against the CD rack, throwing her hips out some.

"Oh what does it matter?" she said. "What are our real names, anyway? They only identify us. Why can't we have a different name each day? Just wake up every morning and be someone new? I'd much prefer not to have a name at all. You know what I mean?" I didn't say a word after that. I just stood silent, looking into her eyes, trying to get a grip on what news she had just spilled into my mind.

"Sure," I said. No more needed to be said. She kept her eyes on me. Her smile did not loosen at all. I felt I was living in slow motion at that moment. Everything else around me stopped and disappeared. I could see only her. I could not escape.

"Do you live around here?" she asked me, breaking my concentration.

"Y-yeah," I responded, somewhat startled. "I live about twenty minutes from here."

"Cool," she said. "I live about that far. Do you live in the Northwest section?"

"Yep."

"Me too! That's so cool. I've never seen you before, though."

"Yeah, I guess you could say I don't get out much," I said, swinging my feet from side to side.

"Oh...Well, I don't get out much either, but I make an effort to every now and then."

"I hear you!" I said, and chuckled. Again, she joined in with me. My stomach was beginning to boil. I didn't know if I was hungry or if I was just excited. I figured it was a combination of the two. And her next words would satisfy the two almost at once.

"So what do you say we get out of here and grab something to eat?" She asked, looking at me with those eyes. It was hard not to say no to them.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun."

"Cool, she said, giggling some. "I live for the unknown!" I couldn't help but laugh. She was quite an amusing character...and an attractive one at that. The closer I got to her, the closer I felt in spirit. It was quite a feeling.

So off we went, out of the store, into the cold evening. We kept our distance between each other, of course, as we walked. But there was some force at work, trying to bring us together, trying to make us touch. She was entrancing to every sense, no doubt. Only time would tell what would become of that night...

...A soft mechanical sound awoke me. My eyes slowly opened, and I again stared out into the blackness of my bedroom. She still lay asleep next to me. Only now she had shifted to her other side. Her face was turned towards me lightly, though not directly at me. In any case, I knew that she was thinking about me in her sleep, even if I couldn't see it in her eyes...Her face was the only face I wished to gaze upon. It comforted me just to look at her, just to watch her. She looked so innocent with her eyes closed, her expression untwisted and calm...I scooted closer to her, feeling her body heat surround me. My hand groped her bare shoulder, and caressed gently. A soft moan escaped her lips as she began to stir for the first time since she had fallen asleep. She liked my touch. She responded to it well...Placing my arm around her waist, I pulled myself against her, sharing with her my warmth, and shut my eyes once again...

...We walked through the fairly lighted parking lot, still keeping our narrow distance, but all the while feeling drawn to one another. Neither of us could know from this point what would ever become of those feelings, but they were strong indeed.

"Do you drive?" she asked me, as if questioning why we were walking through the parking lot.

"Yeah," I answered her. "Do you want to take my car?"

"I guess so," she said. "My car's a wreck right now. It needs a lot of repairs."

"Well mine's no basket of fruit either," I admitted.

She gave me a sideways glance. "Basket of fruit? That's an interesting comparison."

"Yeah, just an expression I picked off of some movie."

"Cool." She certainly could not be easily weirded out. That was for sure. We approached my faded blue Volvo, although you could hardly tell it was faded in the darkness. She seemed to like it well enough, as I caught her staring at it, looking over all the cracked plastic parts and dented metal. It seemed as if she was admiring it. Her car couldn't have been in that bad a condition! I turned my attention from the car and looked her over again, studying her features, her expressions. Still searching for what lay within her. What was she hiding from me? There was something, and I wanted to know what it was. I was certain I would know very soon.

She must have felt me staring at her. She instantly looked up at me, and gave me an impatient look. "Well? Are we going or not?" she asked, jutting her lower lips forward some. I nodded my head, dug my keys out of my coat pocket, and opened the door. It was even chillier inside the car. I shivered, my body still trying to adjust to the temperature. My arm reached over and unlocked the passenger door. She climbed in and sat down comfortably, resting her hand on her thigh. Oh how that sight was arousing to me! She surely did not have to make a big effort to seduce me. I felt determined to make this night memorable, and I was sure it would be when it was over. Smiling, I started up the engine and began pulling carefully out of the space. I was stopped shortly, though as an enormous SUV came speeding down the aisle, nearly missing my back side. I had heard it a few seconds before, its bass blaring, disturbing the tranquil outside, its engine roaring like a demon. I watched it race down the parking lot, and turn the corner without even slowing down, and saw its red tail lights move off into the distance. I was fumed, no doubt. People just drove me mad sometimes, especially on the road. No one knew how to drive, it seemed. I looked over at the beauty in the passenger seat. She retained her calm, innocent expression, unfazed by the near-collision. Her presence gave a warm feeling to the air inside the car. Suddenly, I didn't feel as angry anymore. Just seeing her smile in such dim light was purely intoxicating. No one could do me any wrong. Satisfied I put my arm around the back of the seat and continued pulling out of the space.

There were many places that we could have gone on this side of town at this time of night. All the nightclubs and bars were less than two blocks away. A lot of the partying students tended to hang out around there. But we were looking for a much more subtle affair...some place quiet and relaxed. I didn't get out of the house much of course, but I was familiar enough with the area to know where everything was. I did know of a nice little coffee shop/poetry type place that was close by. I wondered if she liked poetry.

"Do know of a place called Latona's Café?" I asked her, glancing from the road for a quick second.

"Yeah, I go there sometimes," she said.

"That's cool. I was thinking about going there. What do you say?"

"Sure, that'd be nice," she said looking at me, revealing her smile even more. "I actually haven't been there in a while. It'll be interesting to see what new things they have there."

"Yeah," I agreed fondly. My attention turned forward as I suddenly realized that I had nearly running through a red light. My pulse quickened, as I waited almost anxiously to see the red and blue lights flashing in my rear view mirror, but none appeared, and I began to ease up on the gas, swallowing harder.

"You know, you should really relax more when you're with me. There is nothing to fear."

"I-it's not you," I stammered.

"Oh," I heard her mumble, "Well then is it this?" I glanced over at her. She had turned sideways in her seat, giving me a wonderful view of her legs peeking out from under her black silk dress. I had the urge to run my hands over them, but I kept steady at the wheel. Beads of sweat formed on the tip of my nose, and I began breathing harder. I heard her giggle softly, and I turned my head towards her again, smiling nervously. It wasn't her I was afraid of. It was what lay ahead of me. My gaze kept shifting from the road back to her. Every time I looked at her, it seemed more and more of her legs were being revealed. Her smile did not fade, and she kept her eyes locked on me, showing off her delicate legs. She began running her fingers down her thighs, lightly tracing them with her nails. I could barely stand the anticipation. What was she doing to me? She was messing with my mind, of course, giving me a taste of her seduction. I was intent on returning the favor. She would pay for this.

As we came up over a small hill, I saw the white neon-lit sign of Latona's come into view. I pulled off into the nearest parking lot, and drove towards the small café. I looked over at my seductive beauty again. Her eyes were wide with amazement. She seemed entranced by the bright sign, even as small as it was. She looked eager to get inside. I parked in the nearest space and shut off the engine. Before I got out, I looked over at her again. She looked at me. We stared each other full for an entire ten seconds, my eyes in hers, our breathing in perfect harmony. My face felt strangely drawn to hers and our lips seemed to come closer and closer as we stared. Just before they touched though, she broke off, and said, "Well, let's go have some fun!" and hopped out of the car. I smiled, following along with her game, and stepped back out into the cold air. I hardly realized how hot and stuffy it had become inside the car. What torture she put me through! We walked towards the entrance, closer this time. I felt our hands brush light against each other as we moved. Things were definitely looking up.

I held the glass door open and entered after her. We were greeted with the mixed scent of dust, strong coffee, cappuccino, and human sweat. The air was as hot and stuffy as the car. The brick walls showed marvelous signs of aging and the floors were evident of years and years of feet trampling in from the outside. This surely wasn't a place for formal attire. But ah, this was college life. It felt just like home.

We stood in the entranceway for a short moment, allowing our eyes to adjust to the light. From what I could tell, the rest of the building was dark, almost deserted. I could hear voices coming from another room down the dimly lit hall a ways. This gave me some reassurance. As we both entered the room, there seemed to be no reaction from anyone to our appearance. The person up on stage continued with his act still keeping the audience's silent fascination. The crowd itself seemed rather small, but I couldn't know for sure about these places. I lacked certain knowledge about them anyway. I decided, for tonight, I wouldn't let that notion bother me, and followed her towards the back of the narrow room.

It was difficult, trying to weave through all the outstretched legs and tables, most of which were empty anyway. I did not know for sure why she wanted to venture all the way to the back of the room. It was far away from the stage, of course, and it was certainly darker. Why didn't she take one of the tables up close? There were plenty of empty ones. I sighed, and figured she had her reasons. Perhaps she couldn't see from close up? Or maybe the PA was too loud? Whatever it was, I felt perfectly fine with it. I wasn't about to dampen her mood any.

We stopped at the very back wall, at a round booth with a small table, and sat down quietly. The speaker was now a midget, almost entirely covered by the glare of the bright spotlights. As I settled myself into the booth, I took a note of the room. It wasn't as wide as it was long. It was very compact, poorly designed in my opinion. It looked more like a hallway than a room. The chairs and tables tended to take up a lot of the space, creating a hellish path to waddle through. How many toes had been stepped on and broken in this place, I wondered? I couldn't even imagine what it was like on a busy night!

Laughing softly to myself, I turned my eyes over to her. She was slumped forward, leaning her elbows on the table, resting her head on them. She didn't look at all interested in the speaker, keeping her attention directed towards me. I was beginning to find this attention a little intimidating. There was something about the way she looked at me with that absolute sincerity that kept chills running down my spine. It was kind of arousing, though. I could tell she wanted me. But did I want her?