Deep breath!
Deep breath!
She thought, as she coaxed her lungs to inhale and exhale in a slow pace, while she tried to get the loud thundering of her heart under control and out of her ears. This was it, she had prepared for this day and now it was finally here. Taking a step to the front of the room, she watched as a patient crowd stared back at her in silent patience. She took a deep breath as the eager expressions urged her on.
#
Lexy was finally taking steps to reclaim her life. That was what she told herself when she prepared for the blind date set up by her neighbor. A lot had happened to her over the years, trouble was all she knew. She was born in it, lived in it and thought she would die in it. But for the first time in all her twenty three years, she felt like she could actually get a better ending to what had been a terrible story.
Finally, she sighed as she took in the crowded room. He was here somewhere but she couldn't figure out which of the guys was hers. She wondered why he hadn't asked her to a nice restaurant, somewhere quiet and intimate. I know why, because you couldn't go to a place where you could be alone with him. Because you are a fraud and this whole brave act is a façade. And because you would rather be bumping elbows with a drunken group of bikers than risk being caught alone with him. Lexy chastised herself. But the optimist in her said that she was taking baby steps.
Her eyes stopped searching the room when she met a pair of excited eyes. She looked at the man and immediately knew that he couldn't be her date. She looked behind her, half expecting a gorgeous woman to be standing there. But there was no one but a large biker tattooed from his forehead to his neck. Lexy looked back at the kind eyes, and the man was now standing seemingly waiting for her. She didn't know her date's name; her neighbor seemed to think it would be more interesting if they discovered it for themselves. There was only way she could identify him, and the thought of her uttering those words, left her feeling stupid.
He stepped away from the throng of people and came into full view. His six something, tall frame was stacked with muscles. He was built like a brick wall and when he moved next to her she felt small. The desire soon fled from her and fear replaced it. His towering build made her panic and she felt crowded. Lexy took a step back and shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts that asked her to turn around and run.
"Knock knock..." the man said, his baritone voice going through her ear and vibrating through her body.
"Who's there?" she responded with a timid voice.
"Alexander Steele, but my friends call me Lex." He had a warm smile, kind brown eyes that held humor in them.
"That's why?" Lexy mumbled to herself.
"I'm sorry. I didn't get what you said." He leaned in towards her, his ear close to her face.
Lexy couldn't resist the urge; she turned her head into his neck and breathed him in. She felt a shiver shoot through her spine as she took in the heady scent of him. A mix of aftershave, musk and the mixed scents of beer and smoke from the bar, it made him smell like a man.
"What are you doing?" The man drew back with a puzzled expression.
"Sorry...I...I was just..." Lexy cleared her throat all the while cursing herself and her secluded life. If she had been let out, before this night, to know other men she wouldn't be reacting like a teenage school girl.
"Its fine, I go around smelling people I meet too." Her tensed body relaxed, she watched as he failed his attempt to hold back a grin, "Dogs do it, I don't see why humans can't do it too."
