You're Welcome

Chapter 3

Its raining. Its the typical drizzling rain that Britain was famous for, the kind of rain although seeming harmless can soak you to the bone in minutes. The wind died down a little but its blowing hard enough to whip Sally's hair around her face. She pulls her hood up, tucking her hair in before hopping up on the bench, sitting on the table top. Sam hesitates before sitting next to her, only a few inches between them under the shade of the huge red umbrella.

Sally opens her cigarettes, taking one and putting it to her lips, the wind disrupting her attempts to light it. She feels that familiar sorrow close around her heart as she knows she should be frustrated, feeling only hollow and her thoughts wander.

Sam watches her, a haunted look in her eyes and he cups his hands around hers, shielding her cigarette and lighter from the elements. His touch jolts her and she only just manages to inhale deep enough to get it lit. She wraps her hands around Sams as he lights his own and she snatches her hands away as she feels her stomach tighten at the contact of his skin on hers. 

The rain pitter patters in a steady beat on the umbrella in the silence and the sounds of the city are far away enough to just be background noise. Sally takes a long draw watching the plume of smoke getting stolen by the wind, barely being able to see the smoke, the sky darkening with the coming of night and the promise of more rain. Sam's cigarette makes a hiss as he inhales deeply, watching her from the corner of his eye. He's trying to understand her, to figure her out. It usually wasn't so hard for him to get a feel for a person, to know what they're like, it was one of his many talents but he just couldn't get a reading on this girl. So he stays silent, watching her and waiting for her to speak. 

Sally bites her lip, closing her eyes. She can't understand it. She'd been hit on by much hotter guys, much more charming and all the other things that would apparently appeal but she'd managed to stay uninterested because she was. Now she's interested in a man who is quite obviously at the very least 10 years older than her all because of the way he had looked at her. Sally opens her eyes, looking out as she inhales deeply on her cigarette. She saw in his eyes a reflected sadness, that he understood her pain because he hurt too, he was lonely too. Sally didn't know how to process that thought. She accepted she was going to be alone for the rest of her life, she was fine with it, after all killing people with her misery would only give her no reason to exist. She shivers and her hand shakes, her fingers gripping the cigarette tighter. She feels so different. She can't explain it but the sadness eased when he had looked at her. It had been months of crippling sorrow that came in waves. She sometimes felt like a piece of wood on the beach, when the tide was out she was just melting into the background, nothing special and then the tide came in. It would crash over the top of her, dragging her down without a hope of ever escaping. No one to help her because there were hundreds of other sticks on the beach, what was so special about her? She'd drown, the pain filling every fiber of her being, just another casualty of life and when it was finished with her, it spat her back out on the beach.

Sam watches her, the self-torture on her face evident. She shivers and he has to stop himself from closing the gap between them and wrapping an arm around her. He doesn't want to scare her by moving too fast, they've barely spoken two words to each other. She doesn't even notice as her hood slowly slips off her head, slipping back to reveal her beautiful hair. He swallows hard, he can't help but notice her clothes turning slightly transparent in the rain. He wonders if that's all it is for him, if he just wants to fuck her and his answer comes like slamming into a brick-wall as her looks at the sadness in her eyes. He doesn't know what he wants, he just knows he wants more, more than just a drink in this bar and more than just a night in his bed. The thought of her in his bed sends a delicious shock through his body and he had to breaks the silence to distract himself.