Love is a Losing Game

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – From strangers to soulmates

"I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's... it's okay," she chuckled. She wiped her coat dry and smirked. 

"Thanks, most people would threaten to call the police" Duncan joked.

"Yeah, people these days"

"Umm... well, let me make it up to you. Coffee, here at four?" He took a leap of faith, expecting a negative answer.

"Tell you what, I'll just give you my number and we can arrange something better than coffee, lunch maybe?" Laurence took Duncan's phone out of his hand and put her number in as 'Laurence *heart emoji*'. Giving his phone back, she smiled at him for a second and rushed off to work.

Ping! A message from an unknown number appeared on the woman's phone. 

>Hey! It's me, Duncan, the guy you bumped into earlier today.

Laurence decided to reply later; she'd seen all the movies and knew you had to wait at least three hours.

Not being able to wait much longer, she replied. Letting Duncan know she remembered him and they should arrange lunch sometime, she felt nervous about his reply. As they exchanged messages all through the night, plans were made for the next day. Knowing they had a strong connection, both were equally excited to get to know each other.

The next morning, Duncan awoke and rushed to work, without breakfast. Hoping to run into Laurence, he made sure to wait outside the cafe they met for a couple of minutes but he had no luck. All he could think about that day was his date with Laurence, he was almost certain he had met his soulmate. Still too early to tell but it was undeniable. 

Laurence took the day off, just to have time to decide what to wear. She woke up late, so she had her beauty sleep. She had breakfast which was not too big it would show but big enough so she would order something not too expensive for lunch. Laurence spent two hours picking a dress. She chose a dress not too formal or glam and not too casual. It was beautiful and had little grey owls on it and the base color was a mustardy – yellow color. It was perfect.

Setting off early to get there in time, and at exactly 12 PM, they both arrived and immediately obtained eye contact. Duncan was in awe at Laurence's ocean blue eyes whereas Laurence couldn't believe Duncan's emerald green eyes. Before they knew it, they skipped lunch and went straight to Duncan's house. Laurence was eager to get to know Duncan's physical side. "Slow down, let's have something to eat and get to know each other first" he stopped her before she took off his shirt.

While sharing a meal, they discovered they didn't care what each other's physical sides looked like anymore. It would be a nice bonus but when you're in love like this, you don't even care if they're aliens. There was a silence but to them, all it was, was a signal that it was time to get to know each other on their physical sides.

Gazing into each other's eyes, all they saw was beauty and tranquillity. A wave of anticipating and exciting feelings overcame them, all they knew was love. Pieces of clothing were flung all over the room and no one thought, they just did. They felt a sense of belonging and all they wanted was time to stop so they could have all the time in the world together.

A call interrupted the soulmates. It was work. Duncan answered the call and spent a few moments arguing with his manager until he shouted, "I'll be there! Just give me time!" And hung up. Laurence was confused but quickly realized that it had been three hours and Duncan's lunch ended more than two hours ago. Duncan got dressed and kissed Laurence goodbye. On his way out, he said, "There are keys in the bowl, you can leave when you're ready or just wait for me *wink*" in a rushed but loving manner.

Laurence decided to go home after getting dressed and do some work from home to pass the time. She felt guilty that Duncan got into trouble with his boss and planned a surprise for him. Not knowing what to do, she thought about what she would want. Laurence had the idea to take him out for a proper meal, one they wouldn't skip. She would pay no matter how persistent Duncan was and they would go to her's after where she would have rose petals over the bed.

Duncan went home, messaged Laurence after realizing she wasn't there and started cooking. He was halfway through eating when Laurence called. He jumped to answer the phone. He was so excited to speak to her again. She said she had something planned for 5 PM next Saturday and she said he would love it. His heart was flooding with love and he knew it. He had that feeling, the one you can't describe. He felt like his heart was opened by Laurence and he was falling deeply in love with her.

A couple of days past and they had made no contact until when Laurence decided to message Duncan. 

>Hey, how are you?

Duncan's face lit up when the message arrived and he immediately replied with an eager smile caressing his face.

>Hey, I'm great. How are you?

Before Laurence even had the chance to put her phone down, she had already received the personalized ping sound she had set for Duncan's messages. 'Same here. I know it's not been long but I missed you these last couple of days.' Laurence sent the message and regretted it but it was already too late. Duncan was typing. Her heart raced, each and every second felt like an hour. She thought she was rushing into things too quickly but it's a habit of theirs I guess.

>Me too, I thought you needed space If you were wondering why I didn't text earlier X

Eager to reply, Duncan didn't realize his finger touched the x button before he hit send. Laurence felt less nervous about the situation after the message as she thought it was on purpose to Express love and kisses. Nervous and complex feelings enveloped her more than ever before.

>Well thanks for letting me know you weren't trapped in a coma or something

She joked. She forgot her kiss on the end and quickly sent it after in a separate message. 

>You really wanted me to see that X huh?

Duncan replied only just realizing moments after that he sent a kiss first.

Laurence had been called by her boss so had to come up with a quick goodbye text. 

>What can I say, we take leaps. I have to go now, boss just called me into his office. I'll keep you updated and get back to me about Saturday. I need to book it. *winky face emoji* X

word count: 1165

(A/N)  Leave a comment for any suggestions about additions to this chapter or future storylines/ chapters. Thanks for reading and supporting me. NF