Masquerade Master

Chapter 1

It was nearly ten minutes past noon, my date was nowhere in sight and the large clock's ticking was slowly eating away at my patience. I put too much faith into those shady dating apps and nowadays, in the sex-crazed world of one-night stands, it was hard to find something real. I wasn't desperate but another night of drinking wine with my dog and watching reran sitcoms sounded like hell. Don't get me wrong, a good Moscato with a cringe rom-com can be a wonderful night but not when it's every night.

I glanced down at my watch for the fifteenth time in the last two minutes and as the aroma of ground coffee beans and baked treats wafted through the air, a pair of boots arrived in my peripheral. I looked back up and I was met with a striking pair of eyes, they were peculiar and I couldn't quite put my finger on the right word to describe them. There was a sort of edge to them and it sent a shiver down my spine.

I cleared my throat and went to speak but I was cut off by his words, "Hi there--Sabine?".

I opened and closed my mouth like a damn fish, the sound of his voice caught me off guard. Nodding, I offered a small smile while I internally fought to regain my composure, praying he didn't notice.

     "Yes, my name is Sabine. You must be Alex?" I asked and tentatively held my hand out to shake in which he returned with a smile, flashing straight pearly whites.

He took my hand and I made note of how much larger his hand was compared to mine, the roughness told me he used them often.

     "That would be me! I'm sorry I kept you waiting, I'm usually a stickler for punctuality but the morning got away from me," he said, a sheepish grin covering his features before he turned to the table next to us and pulled the chair out for me. I nodded and decided because he was cute and appeared to be sincere, I would let it slide this one time.

     "It's okay, I know how busy mornings can be, trust me," I assured him and his smile quickly made me forget any previous annoyance. Alex settled into his seat, pulling his sleeves up to his elbows before leaning forward slightly and resting on his forearms.

He asked, "So, how has your morning been? I'm hoping a little better than mine?"

I watched him toy with a rope bracelet on his left wrist and I folded my hands in my lap, leaning back to drink in the rest of his appearance. Before he had sat down I caught a glimpse of what he was wearing, a fitted, gray, long-sleeved shirt and dark jeans with black boots.

I was now admiring what I could see from the chest up and the way his shirt rested against his muscular form told me he was athletic. He was a sight for sore eyes! The thoughts that ran through my head were against my somewhat innocent nature and I could feel heat pool between my jean-clad thighs.

I cleared my throat and swallowed before replying, "Oh, it was pretty good I walked and fed my dog. Nothing much else, really, what made yours so crazy?".

His head cocked to the side as his lips spread into a lop-sided grin and he replied, "It was a bit hectic with work stuff but I got it sorted out." He propped one arm up, resting his chin on his open palm, and asked, "Setting the annoying stuff aside, what kind of dog do you have?" Alex's smile was something I quickly found to be charming and for a moment I lost my train of thought as I gazed at his lips, they were a soft pink.

     "His name is Baxter and he's a Mini Golden-doodle. A royal pain in my ass but his cute face makes up for it, I guess," I answered with a huff and Alex tossed his head back in laughter. I admired the way his jawline looked with his face upturned. Call me creepy but I liked studying people, I was a people watcher and you could tell a lot from body language.