Cliché Love

#19 Stranger Love

"Jake!" Tatiana called out, perhaps want in to grab the attention of the unassuming boy sitting opposite to her at the crowded bar.

"Yeah?"

"You seem distracted, is everything all right?" She asked, after all, getting at call at quarter past ten to come meet her best friend at a bar raised a few questions.

"No, I mean, J-" His voice drowned with the music of the background making her lean forward to make sense of it.

"What?"

"I'll just come." She heard that loud and clear but only nodded her head. Jake left her sitting on the counter and went to what could only be the restroom.

Tatiana found herself alone and couldn't help but what wonder what had jumbled up the mind of her friend of ten years.
She shook herself off the thoughts of it being because of his ex girlfriend as that event was three months gone.

"Hey, beautiful." A respectably handsome man came and stood beside her, his black coat arm rested on the red counter top.

"Hi, stranger." She greeted, with an acknowledging nod.

"I'm Malcom." He extended his hand, taking his offer she shook it replying with her name.

"Why is it that you are seated here alone, beautiful?"

"Perhaps you didn't hear, my name is Tatiana. And, I'm not here alone, my friend has just left to go find a washroom."

"What a shame, beautiful seems to fit perfectly." He gave his charming smile, "Your friend wouldn't mind if I ask you for a dance?" He added.

"He wouldn't but unfortunately, I'm not much of a dancer, in fact bars aren't exactly my forte either."

"Or maybe you just never had the right partner." He said, one again laying out his palm before her asking for hers.

She thought for a while, Jake seemed so distorted and she wanted to be there for him. Yet what took him so long to come from there was beyond her.

"The more you think, the more I get hurt, beautiful."

"The more you call me beautiful, the more I get annoyed, stranger." She retorted, with a grin now. Tatiana was always the kinds who tested the waters before she dove in, mayhap that's why she was sans any lovers at the age of twenty six.

"Come on, one dance. I might turn out to be your Prince charming." He sent a wink her way.

"One and if you have bruised toes after a minute, hold yourself responsible." She said, not before looking at the direction Jake had disappeared.

"What's a few missing toes compared to your company?"

"You sure have your lines sorted, mister. Come here often?" She teased with a laugh. Surprisingly, his player ways though staring at her in the eye didn't seem threatening at all.

That's how they all fall for it, she thought to herself.

"Unusually, this is the first time I've visited this bar." Malcom had pulled her to the dance floor and started moving to the beat.

She wasn't exaggerating when she said she couldn't dance, she was close to Mr. Bean on the dancing scale.

"Damn, those moves. Made them yourself?" He snickered in her ear.
"You have till midnight, remember?" She replied, throwing a light hearted punch to chest.

Tatiana froze when the music changed to a much slower on and Malcom came closer.

He took her arms and put them on her shoulder and put his on her waist.

"How far had you planned this?"

"I'm on uncharted territory now."

"That's unfortunate, I was enjoying your confidence."

"Who said my confidence runs low in unplanned situations?" She just laughed at his antics. Just swaying with the soft beat.

"Hey, how about we do this when there aren't thirty sweaty bodies around us?"

"Aren't you a little too straight forward?" Tatiana asked, looking in his green eyes.

"When you know there is a pearl inside a clam, you take it out." He simply replied.

"I'm appalled at how fast you come up with these."

"Truth isn't that hard to tell."

"Some would disagree."

"Changing the topic will not make me forget that the previous remains incomplete."

"When I'm sure you aren't a serial killer, I'll see then."

"And what will prove that?"

"A woman can never reveal her secrets, don't you know?"

"Well then, beautiful, I'll be waiting."

"Well then, stranger, I'll keep you that way."

Before their conversation could move forward, a hand on Tatiana's shoulder forced her to look back.

"Jake! You're finally here, wh- what happened to your eyes?!" Tatiana had started out feeling elated for seeing her best friend but that soon changed when she took in his appearance.

"I ran into someone." Jake grumbled in response. Tatiana could still feel Malcoms presence and wondered why he hadn't left yet.

"I'm so sorry, Malcom. I will talk to you later, perhaps you could-" He didn't let her finish as he fished out his card and put it in her palm.

"Call me when you get a chance." He said with a smile and left the scene.
She took on glance at the card and froze.

"Malcom Denver, CEO of The Black Deck." She read out, he was the owner of the franchise. The biggest food chain in the city. But soon she shook her head, his position shouldn't overpower his personality.

"Come on, Jake, let's take you home."

It had been a few days since Tatiana had visited the bar and next day she had figured out why her friend was so disturbed.

His ex, one he hadn't seen in three months was actually pregnant and took this long to come clean to him.
Jake settled it all on his own, as far as she knew and had thanked her for her support but asked her to stay out of it. So she had.

As for the business card that still stated in her attention, the owner if it hadn't yet received a call.

She sat on a Sunday morning watching mindless things on the television and out of curiosity dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Stranger."

*******
I love the title of this one.

Love,
Rojesta.💜