All Our Lives

Chapter 7

I was taken aback by the soldier in front of me. He had come all the way over just to stare at me. I, of course, merely glanced back. Yet, unlike other men, he kept his eyes on my face; searching for something. Almost distant and longing.

    Soon his golden brown eyes darted away as he left. There felt a spark between us and the mood was intense. I rejoined myself by the automation of tilted glass and the feeling of booze as it touched my lips.

****************Reecesons point of view****************

“What the hell was wrong with me? All I could do was stare at her. You get all this courage to go over and be a creep. Dear me, you fail at life and nothing’s gonna save you now. Just quit already. Orlando just give me a gun to shoot myself.”

“Buddy y’ll be wife-less and lifeless with that attitude. The least you could do, is say something,” his point of view was far distant from mine, but how could he know if he isn’t the one infatuated.

“Yeah, okay, I know. Just something about her that has me losing my grip with reality.” I could feel my hands shaking so I rubbed them together. I was reminded of cold peaches you grab right off the shelf at the town's market stables.  

**************Marabeths point of view***************

    A few hours later and the means to dull my senses were limited to the contents of my wallet. I walked over to Layla who was behind the bar waiting for orders from anyone who desired to drown their night in drink.

“My two biggest accomplishments of the night have been finishing a beer and staring awkwardly at a man. May i go home now?” The smile on my face was as transparent as my beer glass.

    Layla laughed at me. “You had a staring contest with a man, where is he?”

    I pointed to the table of soldiers in the back, “the one in the white button down shirt.”

    She hummed and nodded, “oh great catch! Did you really just glare at each other the entire time?”

    “Yes, and I’m proud of myself for my self control.” I nodded.

    Layla shook her head and smiled. “Well that’s a start even for you.” Her remark cut deep as if I hadn’t been alive for 227 years of my life.

    “Thank you, I’ll see you at home and I’ll make you dinner!”

    As I left the bar I began to think about the soldier. I didn’t catch his name, how old he was, or what part of England he lived in. I just knew he was a somewhat mysterious man. His features were entrancing; his eyes were mesmerizing. I shook my head a bit trying to shake those thoughts from my mind and continued my trip home. As it turned out, I couldn’t forget those eyes, they were too beautiful to flush from my thoughts. How could I let myself get this way over a man. I couldn’t understand what came over me. As I got home and shut the door I let out an exuberant breath of air. I was flustered, maybe cooking would settle my mind. 

I gathered myself into the kitchen to see what I could make for dinner. Very few ingredients lay before me but chefs have made more out of nothing. We may need to go shopping later. Too bad the shops are closed right now. Maybe I could bring back some food from my Grandma’s instead. I was excited to see what she had this time.

I grabbed my basket and threw my sweater back on. The night had gotten slightly more chilly yet it still felt cheerful to me as always. As I left the house I heard the laughter of drunk men. It was indeed a sickening sound. Drunk men to me were all perverts. I continued to walk trying not to pay them any mind as a voice caught my ear. I jerked my head around and saw him. The soldier from the bar. He didn’t seem drunk like the others. Maybe he wasn’t a drinker. That seemed like a decent characteristic. Maybe that was a good thing.I continued to watch them. A pair of golden brown eyes turned to catch my figure. A faint blush crept it’s way to my cheeks. The male raised his hand up to wave at me. I stared at him for a moment and my body moved on its own. My hand waved back at him. He bowed his head before returning to his group of friends. I suddenly felt happy and nervous at the same time.

Why did he even pass by here? Maybe one of his friends lived in this direction? For some reason I wanted to find out. Us witches were pretty good at sneaking around. So I pulled my basket close and walked after them. This really made me seem like a stalker. Either way, I was curious.

****************Reecesons point of view***************

    My buddies got drunk again, but then again, they deserve it at the least. I swear I was going to have to think of a plan of how to talk to that beautiful woman. I don’t know what happened to the old me, but I needed to get back in shape. As I was walking, y buds home I realized someone was following us. I didn’t want to alarm the person so I just kept tabs on how close they were. I continued to walk the guys home. One by one I dropped them off home to their wives and such. And at each house the person following us had gotten closer. Then I knew that person’s objective. He was morseso following me! And I had planned to capture him. 

************Marabeths point of view**************

    Now I really thought that I was a stalker. Now I knew where all his friends lived. I didn’t mean to follow this far but curiosity had gotten the best of me. Even while knowing this I still continued to follow him. It was dark out so it was getting hard to see him. Soon I couldn’t see him at all. I stopped and looked around for him. I could feel a pair of eyes on me. I didn’t know where they were watching me from. I stopped and stood in place until I felt someone’s hot breath against my ear. “Are you looking for me?” the deep voice asked softly.

    I gasped and stumbled backwards a bit as an arm wrapped around my waist. I shivered and looked up at the man. Of course I recognized those golden brown eyes. “It’s you!” I said softly. My tone had a hint of curiosity.

    He held me upright then let me go. The man straightened out his clothing and gave me a smile. “And it’s you, from the bar or um, anywhere I happen to look...pretty much.” The man chuckled a bit.

    I didn’t know what to say after that. I completely lost my words. This had never happened to me before. So I wasn’t sure what to do. Of course, naturally I waited for him to make the first move. He shifted a little bit before he started to speak. “So may I have the pleasure of knowing your name, miss?” the man asked me softly.

    I cleared my throat and looked at him, “ahem, it’s Marabeth. And yours?”

    He chuckled softly and smiled. And smiled. “My name is Reeceson. Pleasure to meet you finally.” 

    I couldn’t help but snicker at his name. “What kind of name is Reeceson?”

    “What kind of name is Marabeth?” He fired back. 

    “My mother gave me this name,” I said with a sneer under my breath yet not to insult.

    “And my father gave me this name,” Reeceson jousted back with base in his voice.

    We both looked at each other and started to laugh a bit. Finally we began to talk instead of throwing glances at one another. He offered to walk me home but I kindly refused mentioning I could handle myself. His courteous nature behind his devenaire looks kept him from leaving my side so instead of leaving me to my wiles, he started following me home anyway. He really was a nice guy it seemed. Even though the walk home was somewhat silent, I felt like we were going to have a good friendship for now. Starting out slow would be fine with me. For now of course.