Blood Street

Blood Street Chapter 6

Chapter VI

Nikki Staretz sat on the sofa in her Front Street apartment drinking a Margarita. She glanced out the window yearning to get a glimpse of the man she met last night. She never wore dresses, but she had one on tonight, hoping he would like it. This was reckless. Before leaving, he told her he would come to her apartment tonight. Her senses told her to say no, to tell the man she wasn't available, but she had no resistance around him.  

Nikki met the dashing stranger the previous evening at the Rock Lobster on Delaware Avenue where she had been out with two friends from work. It was odd for her to even go out. She was normally a homebody. A small town girl, in college she would stay at the computer lab late at night while her friends went out to party it up.  

The last thing she had wanted last night was to meet a man. After all, she was engaged. After leaving her friends to get drinks at the bar, she spotted him. She gazed at his cold, blue eyes from across the room as if in a trance, forgetting about the drinks and her friends. The only thing that mattered was her mystery man. His stare pulled her toward him as if he was so full of magnetism.  

She headed toward him. An inner voice told her this was a bad idea. Nothing good could come of it, but she quieted these voices.  

When she reached the man, it seemed as if everyone else at the club disappeared. She introduced herself. Despite the loud music in the background, she heard everything he said with clarity. It was like his voice echoed inside her head.  

His name was Alexei. By his looks and accent, Nikki concluded he was Eastern European. His complexion was fair ? no, pale was more like it. His face was enchanting. He was an older guy, probably in his late thirties. Neither age nor anything else mattered. When she held his hands, she felt amazing strength. When they touched, her entire body tingled.  

They spoke for a half hour. She was completely at ease with him, telling him intimate details of her life. She confided in him about her childhood, her hopes and fears, things she wouldn't even tell a close friend.  

When she spotted her friends, Alexei suggested they meet again tomorrow at ten. She agreed and gave him her address. When speaking with her friends later, she made up a story about how Alexei was an old friend from school. She wasn't sure why she had done that. Maybe she had been embarrassed since they all new she was engaged to Rico. 

Back in her apartment, she closed her eyes, still not believing this was real. Nikki had never approached a guy and invited him to her apartment, even before she was engaged. She was getting married in seven months. If Rico found out, not only would he call off the wedding, but he would want to hurt Alexei. Rico had a fiery temper. He was a foreman at a construction company. Most of her friends thought they made an odd couple because of the disparity in their education level and family backgrounds, but Nikki loved him. Yet her desire for Alexei overshadowed her feelings toward Rico at the moment.  

She watched the clock tick. It was almost ten. She breathed hard. What if he didn't show? If she didn't see him, she would rip apart at the seams.  

She walked toward the window, looking out at the street. There was no sign of Alexei. It was stupid to think such a beautiful man would keep his commitment. She turned around. Alexei stood ten feet away. Her heart fluttered. She didn't put more than a second of thought to how he entered her locked apartment so silently.  

"We meet again," Alexei said. 

"I was...I was afraid you wouldn't show."  

Alexei seemed to float toward her. "I wouldn't do that to you." He inhaled deeply. "Your scent is intoxicating."