Hidden Depths

Paris - Continued 2

Rashid looked uncomfortable and out of place as the penguin-looking waiter perfunctorily placed a cup of coffee on the table in front of him.  The TV in the corner of the café showed footage of the latest terrorist attack to hit Europe.  Normally he would have been transfixed by the morbid scene, but this time he hardly noticed it.

'So, what is the name of my knight in shining armour?'   

'Call me...Rich,' he said, braving a flash of eye contact before staring back at the coffee.

'OK, "call me Rich", where did you learn to fight like that?'

'I've been boxing since I was eight, but...' he stumbled over his words... 'well, I suppose I've just always been fighting.' 

He braved another glance at his companion.  She was definitely older than him and held herself with the confident manner of a top predator in its natural habitat.  Although she had just been attacked, she was calm and unflustered and, rather than looking down at him like most Parisians seemed to, she regarded him with a kind of benevolent curiosity that made him even more nervous than her incredible good looks.

'Well, I know good when I see it and you're pretty good.'  She took another sip of her frothy coffee and looked at him in the candlelight. 

'So, why did you get involved?  Most people up that road didn't look twice.'  She slowly licked the milk from her lips.

Rash didn't know if she was doing it on purpose, but this girl was having a mesmerising effect on him.  He stared at her mouth for a second too long then physically twitched as he struggled to compose himself.

'I just stepped out of my hotel and I was in the middle of it.'

The girl took a deep breath and leaned back.  'Well, I'm glad you did, Rich,' she said.

There was a long silence as she looked at him, as if pondering a decision.  For Rashid, the quietness was an awkward agony.  The source of his torment then looked at her watch and quickly finished her drink. 

'I have to go to work,' she said, as she stood up and straightened out her dress.  She walked round the table towards him and slowly bent down until her face was just centimetres from his.  Rashid's jaw dropped with surprise. 

'Thank you for saving me...Rich,' she said, kissing his open mouth with hers. Rash felt a rush of hot tingles shoot from his knees up through the core of his body, then dance around his neck and scalp.  After a few seconds of unprecedented bliss, the girl finished the kiss and slowly stood up straight.

She smiled at him as she brushed her hair behind an ear with one hand and pointed to the drinks with the other. 

'Are you alright to get these?' 

Rash turned his head towards the table to look at where she was pointing.  He put his hand to his wallet then looked back at her, but she had already turned and was walking coolly out of the café.

Rashid couldn'treally believe that his first kiss had been with the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen. He decided it was best to stay seated for a while and slowly finished his drink.