New Beginnings

Chapter 1:Beautiful Dresses & Coffee Stains

"Listen lady, there's no way in hell I'm paying £100 for this piece of trash!"

"Ma'am, wasn't it you who said this dress was- how did you say it? ah- the most gorgeous thing you'd ever seen in this whole wide world? I think something that extraordinary deserves at least £100? Really, that's cheap!"

"Well, guess what bitch, I've never been outside London, so that was purely an expression. Trust me, this £50 is the most you can hope for," I wave the bills in her face, holding the beautiful blue dress firmly in my fists.

"100 Pounds. Take it or leave it." The woman behind the counter eyes me coldly, obviously displeased with my haggling.

I sigh, "But I don't have that kind of money," I quietly mumble.

The woman looks furious, her eyebrows raised so high that they almost disappear in her blonde hair, "Well then," she states in a very controlled voice, "I think that belongs to me". And just like that the unbelievably soft material is snatched out of my hands. "Have a nice day, ma'am," she ends the argument.

Recognizing defeat, I edge out of the shop. I don't think I'll be going back there very soon.

It's been an absolutely terrible day. I failed two assignments, had a massive fight with my best friend about her pedophile boyfriend and once again got ignored by the guy I was in love with for two years. I thought, when I saw the breathtaking dress, that it was the thing waiting to lift my mood and a reason why I'd bothered to get up this morning. And then this happens, because hey, absolutely nothing good can ever happen to me.

And that's what I was thinking, at 4:30 on a Tuesday afternoon as I trudged along the busy London streets. That's what I was thinking when we met.  He slammed into me, hard, enough to dislodge my shoulder blade. Ok well, I might be exaggerating but it sure fucking hurt as much. I felt something scalding hot soak onto my stomach and chest, as coffee seeped through my white shirt. My jaw dropped as I looked down at the rapidly increasing brown stain right in the center of my favorite shirt.

I looked up at the stranger. Most of his face was hidden under dark tinted sunglasses, all I could see was a well-defined jawline, a stubble flecked around it and very pink lips twisted into a grimace, expressing his annoyance. He was clad in black combat boots, very skinny black jeans, a matching leather jacket and a white vest under it. His hands held a now empty tray with four slots for the coffee cups now lying on the floor. He had the typical fuckboy look, and I immediately wanted to get away from him, not all girls are into that kinda thing. I opened my mouth to speak when,

"Can you watch where you're going?" he snapped.

That irritated me so much, I was going to forgive the prick, because hey it wasn't his fault I was having a bad day. But this sure as hell was not on me.

"Um excuse me? It was you who rammed into me like a fucking rhino! What were you sleeping behind those glasses or something?" I snap back.

"This whole shirt's ruined now, do you know how fucking expensive this is?" he points at the tiny brown hole on the left bottom of his white tee. That's when I explode,

"You must REALLY be blind to not notice this." I jab at my shirt, which is practically drenched in coffee, "And if I remember correctly it was you carrying four fucking cups of coffee while texting, not me. So it was your responsibility to take care of them and not pour them over every person that passes you by! You're goddamn lucky I'm not making you pull out your wallet and pay for the damage on what happens to be my favorite shirt ever Hey leave that alone, what about the fact that you've fucking burnt me! I should ask you to pay for my medical expenses! What a bitch," I finish contemptuously.