Another love story (Mads Mikkelsen)

1. People to see, places to be

Mads had just finished a vigorous work out at the gym and felt great. There was something about going to the gym that invigorated him, made him feel electric. He was damp with sweat which was visible on the front of his muscle shirt but he had thrown a grey hoody over the top to cover himself, just in case there were any paps waiting for him.

His phone buzzed and let out a quick trill, a text message. He pulled the phone from the dark sweatpants and checked it. Suddenly his mood wasn't all that great. It had been his ex, the woman who had put him through hell, the woman who was still, evidently, putting him through hell.

He sighed at the text and tried to think positive, but right at that second he wanted nothing more than to go home. Just crawl up, read the new script he'd been given- hence the heavy workout regime- and pour himself a taste of his favourite whiskey.

The roads were surprisingly empty that day, normally in a busy city such as this the roads would be chock-a-block with footfall and there would be a thin layer of petrol gas as they all queued to reach their destination. Maybe it was because it was after rush hour.

Sophie had met her best friend Jan for lunch. She hadn't seen Jan in nearly a month, jobs had got in the way. It seemed that being young and career hungry meant that you had to work a lot of unsociable hours which these girls had found out. When they saw each other at the cafe it was like no time had passed, they gossiped about everything and when the meeting came to an end because Jan had to get back to work Sophie felt as if all her building worries and concerns had just melted away, leaving her weightless, like a freshly inflated party balloon.

“I'll see you soon Jan, I miss you already!” Sophie waved over her shoulder as she walked away. She sighed with relief as she turned around and smacked right into a man in sweatpants and fell on her behind.

Mads grasped Sophie by the arm and helped her up, his phone still in the other hand.

“I am so sorry!” “I'm sorry!” They said together.

Sophie giggled.

“Well I was going to ask if you were alright but you giggled so...”

“Yeah I'm fine, I just wasn't looking where I was going.”

“You and me both!”

Mads found himself looking at her in her lovely green eyes, smiling.

They both looked at Mads' hand which was still loosely wrapped around her arm. He quickly removed it and looked at the floor. He was nervous. This wasn't a sensation he felt a lot, well not around women anyway, but since his wife had divorced him the new Mads found that he wasn't as confident as he thought.

“I'm sorry.” He said again as he dropped his hand.

“That's ok.” Sophie smiled. “Well I ought to be going, I have people to see, places to be and all that.”

“Wait.” He said quietly.

“Sophie.” She smiled at him once again.

“Mads.” He returned, reaching out to shake her hand, while desperately attempting to keep his steady.

“Hey, have I met you before?” She questioned, his face was becoming clearer in her mind and she wasn't sure if she was just suffering really really bad deja vu.

“I'm sure I would recollect if I had met such an astonishingly beauty such as yourself.”

Sophie blushed which made Mads feel ten times as confident.

“I know this is really sudden but would you maybe like to go out for dinner with me?” Mads asked.

Sophie looked down and in a moment of silence he began a quick list of doubts in his head: what if she has a boyfriend, she probably has a boyfriend, what if I'm coming on too strong? Maybe I should just leave her al-

“Yes alright, I would like that. I finish work at 7 this evening if you would like to pick me up?”

“That sounds perfect. Where shall I pick you up?”

“Oh sorry, yeah I forgot you don't actually know. I work at the Towers in the city centre, I work for a creative company called Social Solutions.”

“I know the place.” He smiled. His day was soon turning on its head once again, his moods were swinging from high to low in such a velocity that he was feeling a bit euphoric and dizzy.

“Well as I say, people to see, places to be. I will see you later Mads.” She winked at him as she spun on one heel and walked away.

Mads never once checked his phone on the way home, simply because he had forgotten about it.