[Thanks again to angelic sounds for her wonderful editing!]
*
"Mr. Walker, you're back with us so soon. I'm glad. You seem to enjoy it here. Will you be dining alone?"
"Yes, Doug. I will be alone today." Doug watched as Alex Walker looked left, right, then past him his shoulder and behind him towards the bar.
"Are you looking for someone?"
"No, well yes, well no. How's Abi?"
"She's very well, thank you for asking."
"She's beautiful. You're a very lucky man."
"Yes, I am the luckiest man in the world. We've been together since college..."
Doug was interested to note Alex's shoulders slump, as though this piece of news had depressed him. Maybe he had a thing for Abi too? He'd have to nip that in the bud straight away.
"Yes, Abi is fine thanks. She's taking the day off today to take her mother to the doctor. We all live together, you know. It's like one big happy family, although it makes alone time for us quite difficult, as I'm sure you can imagine?" He winked in a 'guys only' fashion.
Alex nodded distractedly and Doug, seeing that he had made his point, called Luke over and introduced him to Alex. "Mr. Walker, this is Luke. He will be your waiter this afternoon and I sincerely hope you enjoy your meal. Alex, it was a pleasure as always. I'll make sure to tell Abi that you were asking after her." Leaving a crestfallen Alex at the table, Doug shook his hand and made his way back to the office, satisfied that he had done his work for the day.
********
Douglas Sanders had wanted Abigail Matthews from the moment he saw her running across the college campus on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Her shoulder length black hair had been flowing behind her, the sun catching the natural brown highlights that streaked through ever so randomly, making them more prominent in the sunlight. Her legs, long and lithe, had made short work of the expanse of grass that she was covering at quite a pace, he noticed appreciatively.
As his heart started to beat that little bit faster, he watched as she progressed rapidly across the campus towards the library that he had closed fifteen minutes earlier. He could see she was in a hurry and watched curiously as she reached the library doors and tugged on them. He frowned. Everyone knew the library closed at 6.00pm on Sundays, what could she possibly need in the library at this time? Captivated, he observed as she pushed and pulled at the door and then watched her pretty face run through a gamut of emotions; frustration, despair, resignation and finally anger. Doug watched her, his book forgotten in his hand and the light rain that had started to fall, largely ignored.
As a couple of minutes passed and she started to feel the drizzle, she gave up, kicking the door as hard as possible and obviously harder than she had anticipated. It was this that gave him his opening to speak to her.
He made his way across to her. "Are you ok?"
She stopped rolling about on the grass that all students were sternly advised to keep off of at all times and focused her attention on him.
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Douglas sank down on his haunches and looked her over properly. She was so pretty. Her cocoa coloured skin flushed as Doug took his time surveying her. She was unlike anyone he had ever been attracted to before. She looked normal. Not cheerleader, not nerd, not goth, just a girl who did not fall into any group or clique, just someone who went about her daily life. Someone completely different to him.