MC's Viking Warriors- Bolt #4

Juliet

A giant, terrifying man is sitting across from me, but despite his ferocious appearance and gaze, I am not intimidated. Maybe I would have been had he not shown me kindness with protecting me against those pathetic hyenas means I feel a sense of safety around him.

He is staring into his cup, not an ounce of expression or emotion on his face. I myself am trying to finish Rebecca, but I know the story so well and having this gorgeous man across from me is far more exciting.

From a few expert glances over at him, I can guess he's a few years older than me, under twenty but definitely older.

Taking a deep breath of bravery, I clear my throat. It's only a tiny noise but it's enough to catch his attention which surprises me, I thought he had been lost in his thoughts.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

He smiles slightly and leans back in his chair, he looks more calm than he did before. The tension in his shoulders slumps down slightly as his eyes scan my face, flickering over my eyes and then pausing at my lips.

"What makes you say that?" His voice is still gruff, as gruff as it was when he warned those boys away from me, but softer, less threatening. It's both what I imagined and not at the same time.

"I've seen the bikers around here, never you though. Meaning you're either a prospect, which I doubt from your lack of identification on that jacket, or you're not from here."

"I'm not from around here, you're right."

I nod, feeling slightly disheartened from his brief response, maybe he doesn't want to talk. I'm probably just bothering him anyway.

My gaze returns to the faded words on the yellowed page as I bite my lip and try to ignore the dominating presence before me.

"How do you know so much about bikers?" He asks, breaking the silence I had become reserved into accepting. Maybe he does want to talk then.

"I'm observant." I reply, it's the truth, there's not much else to say. "And it's a small enough town, you remember things."

He chuckles slightly, nodding his head in apparent agreement. My phone buzzes and I reluctantly look at the screen, it's my mum, she's outside and ready to take me to my viola lesson. Reluctantly, I pack away my things which causes the boy to look over with a frown.

"Sorry, my mum..." For some reason I feel the need to explain to him, to explain that I'm not just leaving, that I'd much rather stay and talk to him. The clench of his jaw and the brief nod to his head tells me in some way he understands.

As I walk past him his arm suddenly reaches out in front of me, stopping my movements but again, there's nothing aggressive or frightening about his actions. He looks up at me and there's almost something reminiscent of a smile in his eyes.

"Your name? Please."

"Juliet." I smile warmly at him, "my name is Juliet."

"Juliet." He murmurs, as if tasting the word on his tongue, "Like the play."

"One and the same."

"I'm Bolt, my name is... I mean."

I smile at his nervous trip over of his words, it's quite endearing.

"Like nuts." I tease.

He nods with a grunt and drops his arm so I can pass freely, as I walk away I find myself wishing I wasn't. I turn my head, hoping against hope that he will have turned his too so I can smile again, but he hasn't. He's hunched over with his head in his hands, frowning.