Chance Encounters (Sample)

Two

Danica rested against the bar top, her skin sticking to the drink-covered surface. She pushed her hair over her shoulders, exposing the low-cut neckline of her dress as she twirled the stem of her wine glass.

It had been a while since she'd drank. She wasn't drunk, or even tipsy, but that wasn't by choice. The bartender had provided her and her friend with a steady flow of alcohol, none of it giving her even a slight buzz. He'd served them with surprising speed. Danica didn't miss the way his eyes dropped every time he approached them, openly admiring her cleavage for only a second.

"Can I get you another drink?" He asked.

Playing with her hair absentmindedly, Danica considered it for a moment before thinking better of it. She pushed her empty glass towards him as she guarded Kelly's full drink, ready for her return from the girls' room.

"I'd better give my friend a chance to catch up first."

With a light laugh he nodded and said "let me know if you need anything."

When Kelly returned from the bar, she snapped up her drink and flashed Danica a pearly white smile. Her long blonde hair and slim frame, paired with the tight sequinned dress she wore, attracted the attention of most of the room's men. It was clear she couldn't have cared less - she was there to have fun with her best friend.

"I think you've pulled," she said, nodding across the bar.

Despite the bar being as busy as it was on every Saturday evening they'd been there, with patrons queued up, cash in their hands, the barman's eyes remained on Danica. He was cute, sure, and there was little doubt in her mind that his hazel eyes and strong, stubbled jawline had attracted many patrons before her, but she wasn't interested.

The romantic in her had died long ago. Now, it was hard for her to see any men as anything but potential friends.

"I'm not interested," Danica insisted, tapping her fingers against the bar. "Don't play matchmaker tonight."

"Fine." Kelly huffed, then added, "but I think you need to start opening yourself up to the possibility of meeting someone. I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy. I don't need a man for that."

"You're an independent woman, I get that. But it's been 2 years since Shaun--"

At the mention of her ex, a feeling of unease crawled into her chest. It burrowed further in until it flowed through her veins, spreading like icy water inside her body. The tell-tale sting of her eyes made her turn her head in whatever direction she could to avoid her friend's gaze, which grew more concerned as she halted mid sentence.

"I'm so sorry, Dan. I didn't mean to bring him up so flippantly."

"It's okay," Danica said, waving her apology away.

But it wasn't okay. Danica didn't know how to tell her friend that her merely uttering his name brought everything flooding back as though it was yesterday. She wished more than anything that she could see him. He should have been there with her in the flesh, looking at her with his bright eyes and giving her smiles that set her heart alight. Instead he was tucked safely away in her mind, the memory of him only resurfacing when others mentioned him.

She missed him body and soul, and in moments like that, it crushed her.

"Let's get you another drink," Kelly said. Wrapping her arm around Danica, she gestured to the barman. "I promise not to encourage you to find anyone. Someone will come into your life when it's time for it."

As quickly as each previous time, they were served their drinks. They'd stuck to wine for the night, a crisp white that wasn't really to her taste. But Kelly swore by the stuff, and was insistent that it would grow on her.

"Please don't tell me you're talking about 'fate' and all that crap again," Danica said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Of course I am! There's someone out there for you, and you'll meet them at the right time. It's fate."

Fate was something Danica had no faith in. Life was cruel, and things happened with no rhyme or reason. No greater power brought other people together, she thought, and if she met someone it would be through chance and choice.

"It's fortuity," she insisted. "If I were to bump into some handsome stranger on the street, for example, it's because we both happened to be walking in the same place at the same time."

Danica hadn't intentionally referenced the way she'd met Fraser the day before, but the thought of it brought a slight blush back to her cheeks. The business card laid undisturbed in her pocket, as it had been since he gave it to her.

"Because you were both meant to be there," Kelly said, before noticing the red tinge to her friend's cheeks. "Why are you blushing? Did this actually happen?!"

"Do not make this a bigger deal than it is," Danica warned. She took a sip of her drink, her face turning slightly as she clicked her tongue to get rid of the dry, bitter taste. "Someone's dog ran knocked me over yesterday on the way home from work. The owner offered to take me for coffee and gave me his number."

"And you took the number?" Kelly asked, her expression remaining suspiciously neutral.

"Yes."

As expected, her friend erupted in a series of squeals and claps as she smiled gleefully. Although Kelly's enthusiasm and investment in her non-existent love life drove her mad, Danica wouldn't have her any other way. She'd been with her through everything, giving her endless support, love and wine.

"I know you don't think this is a big deal, but it is," Kelly said. "Not because you met someone, or that they invited you for coffee. Because you took their number. That's a huge step for you, babe."

After years of rebuffing any man's attempts to give her their number, Danica supposed Kelly was right. They quickly changed the subject, both knowing that it would only make things uncomfortable. As they drank and enjoyed each other's company, the bar growing steadily more busy, Danica's fingers itched to reach inside her pocket to grab the card. She resisted until she got home, her head swimming a little and her body aching from dancing.

Hope soon turned to disappointment as she pulled it out only to find it crumpled, the ink on it distorted from the rain that had soaked her jacket. When she'd hung it out to dry the night before, thoughts of it's pocket contents hadn't entered her mind.

Placing the destroyed card on the table, Danica took off her shoes and sunk into the sofa. She turned on the TV, her fingers jamming the buttons on the remote with more effort than needed. Her head lolled backwards onto the cushion-backed sofa as she silently cursed her luck.