Stunned entirely, I stare at Cheryl, my inside increasingly hardening with cold. She has to be kidding, right? Or am I simply that stupid?!
She scoots closer to me on the leather seat, moving on her knees, now, and my breath hitches at the top of my throat. Then, she starts laughing abruptly and slams her right hand on my left shoulder.
"Gosh, I'm messin' with you! You shoulda seen your face..!"
The woman lifts her left hand and wraps her slim fingers around my jaw, pivoting my head to make us face one another completely. Her vibrant green eyes plunge into mine, causing my heartbeat to derail from its normal rhythm. She is truly so outstandingly pretty... I inhale subtly, at a loss for words, thoughts, everything. Out of nowhere, the automobile violently swerves to the right, before coming to a sharp stop, sending Cheryl flying across my lap. Fortunately, her arms instinctively swung around my shoulders and neck, and I pressed my hand to her hip to minimize the momentum, thus avoiding that she hits her head on the doorframe.
Within the following seconds, it strikes me that I am touching her hip and she is embracing me. Horrified, I remove my hand from her jeans, although her left knee between my thighs and her face nuzzled above my collarbone and below my right ear are still very much problematic. I don't mean I dislike it, but this should not... This kind of proximity is not acceptable with someone I barely know whose life I am not currently saving. I am done saving her from brain trauma or an inoffensive cranium bruise.
Aware of my heavily thudding heart, I manage to evenly inquire:
"Are you alright?"
Cheryl lifts her body off of mine and brings her arm away from my shoulders, recuperating the spot she occupied to my left on the seat. A spot without any physical contact involving my person.
"Yes, thanks for catching me. It looks like we're here." She smiles at me, seemingly dazed or lost in thought.
"Yeah..! Thanks for the ride and the collar chain, too! Again."
I pick the gift box up from the floor of the limousine.
"Happy birthday..! Again! I'll text you!"
We wave each other good night as I exit the luxurious car, and then it vrooms away. I look down at my digital watch, clenching her present safely upon my chest with my other hand. 8h49 PM. At least, I only have to wait five minutes for the next bus.
~
Seated comfortably at the far right end of Joseph and Cedric's living room couch, I am distractedly watching the commercial break. The couple owns a 40-inch television screen and their sofa is covered in dark corduroy, but these are likely the two most costly components of their apartment. Tonight, they invited me over to watch a hurling game with them, as per our usual hang out practice. We have genuinely never done anything else than watch hurling games together, which is, incidentally, absolutely convenient.
Cedric is presently sat on a thrifted rattan armchair at the left extremity of the couch. Joseph is crunching away on a tortilla chip, concurrently setting a large plastic bowl of those down on the coffee table. Cedric asks me:
"Tanza, what are you doing next Saturday?"
To mentally conjure up my schedule more efficiently, I question him back.
"What date is that?"
His husband replies swiftly, chewing on another chip, "The second."
"On December 2nd, then," repeats Joseph's partner.
YOU ARE READING
Fascinating Villains
Action[ONGOING] "You're delusional. I should've seen it before..." ~~~~~~~ Tanza is an agender paramedic. They rely solely on themselves, and the last thing they need is for an incredibly attractive supervillain to disturb their (relatively) quiet existen...
