Perfect Stranger

Chapter One

Ding!  

The door bell above the diner sounded. 

Keara didn't even bother to turn away from the novel she was reading; "Bound by Light" by Anna Windsor. She gaped at a particularly raunchy paragraph.  

Wow. She thought. Kea was vaguely aware of the presence looming behind her, but was too enthralled to let it register in her mind.  

'Keara!' Bob, her manager, snapped behind her. 'Do you think that I'm paying you to stand around and read?" He said with a sarcastic look on his face. 

"No Bob, no you're not." Was Keara's smartarse reply. 

Keara walked over to the counter and stood in front of the customer. 

"What can I get you?" She asked as politely as she could, but the words sounded forced even to her own ears.  

"Can I have a full fat mocha with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top?" A deep male voice answered. Keara was still reliving the last line of the chapter, so she wasn't even looking at the customer; her gaze was set lovingly upon her book. Keara's fingers itched to feel the pages turn beneath her fingers, to be drawn back into the story.  

"That would be twenty dollars, thank you." The customer handed over two hundred dollars.  

"Um...there's two hundred here. I only need a twenty." 

"Keep the change." The voice answered. Keara finally looked up, her eyes narrowed and her mouth instantly turned downwards with contempt.  

"Hi, isn't this place supposed to be customer friendly?" Smiled the male standing in front of her.  

"Only on Fridays when I don't work all day." Keara told the stranger with a deadpan expression. The stranger answered her with a slick smile. Keara didn't return the smile, instead she handed over the coffee and his change. 

"Kea!" Melody called out. "Oh, my God!" she squealed.  

"Bob!" Keara shouted in return. "Melody's having an attack of the brain dead bimbos!" Keara turned back to her customer, only to find herself staring at the now empty counter in front of her. The stranger had vanished, all that remained was a piece of paper with her name written on it, cell phone number and what could only be the name of the man, who only moments ago stood before her. 

Good riddance. Keara thought to herself, then screwed up the paper and put it in her pocket. Kea walked back to where she was sitting and resumed the page that she was reading before she was forced to abandon the book, without another thought of the stranger.  

After the last of the chairs had been stacked and the floor cleaned, Keara locked up the diner. She waved goodbye to the other waitress- Melody had been taken to the hospital because she passed out, god knows why- and jumped into her SUV. As soon as Keara opened her front door she went straight to her newly fitted bathroom and turned on the hot water faucet; she added lavender and ylang ylang scented bath oils and foam for extra bubble.  

Keara stripped out of her clothes and climbed into the steaming bath. Aaaahhhhhh. She thought. Keara was exhausted, she fell asleep in the bath soon after she got in. 

Briiiiiiinnnnggg! Bring! Bring! Startled by the sound, Keara jumped, unaware that she was still in the bath, and splashed water all over the bathroom floor.  

"Hello?" She answered the phone. 

"Oh Kea, thank god." Her sister exclaimed into the phone. 

"Oh hey Khloe, um, I just fell asleep in the bath." Keara said sheepishly. "What's up?" She asked, changing the subject.  

"Ew, in the bath Kea? What have I told you about that? You're going to end up looking like great aunt Jules, when she wears anything but baggy sweats." Khloe scolded.  

"Urgh, God yeah, that is a bad habit." Kea shuddered at the image of their great aunt Jules in her mind. 

"So, what's this I hear 'bout you meeting Trey Knight?" Khloe asked her. 

"Who?" Keara asked puzzled. "I haven't the faintest idea who or what you're talking about Khlo." 

"Stop pretending, I know that he came into the diner today, anyway don't you watch E! Entertainment? The guy's all over the media."  

"No I don't watch E! Entertainment." Keara sighed down the phone. 

"Aaaaarrrrrrrrhhhhhh!!" Khloe screamed. "Turn over the TV Kea, now!" 

"Yeah Khloe, when I get out the bath." Keara said non-committedly into the phone. 

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow sis, mwah." Khloe blew her a kiss through the phone before hanging up.  

Keara got out of the bath and walked over to her bedroom. If she had turned on the TV Keara would have seen the face of her future husband plastered over the screen, but instead, as soon as her head hit the pillow Kea was out like a light.