AFTER DARK

Chapter 4

The sun blinded my eyes as I stepped out into the bright daylight, the next morning. It was pleasant; not the typical hot and humid weather, which this once-a-desert land was known for.

We took The Metro, which dropped us at the stop from where Daria's office was five minutes walk away. Walking along the paved path, we came across various cafés and restaurants.

"Sing Tim Hortons," I read on the board, then looked at Daria. "Could we have some coffee? ... if you're not getting late of course."

Without pausing for a second, she walked right into the coffee shop. I followed her inside, breathing in the smoky scent of the coffee beans all the way up to the counter.

Daria placed the order for two. She knew what I liked, so I didn't need to make any effort to say anything.

While I waited, she grabbed the coffees from the counter and handed me my cup, smiling effortlessly.

We sipped coffee from our plastic cups all the way to the office building, after which Daria took on a whole different role. The minute we entered inside the building, Daria became stiff and surprisingly cold.

"Please wait in the lobby while I attend the conference meeting," she said, buttoning up her sleeves.
"Okay Madam," I replied, passing a wry smile at her.
"I'm serious ... keep to yourself and don't just amble around aimlessly."
"Wha- what? You think I'm an idiot?"
"No, it's just that ... I know you don't like waiting ... it makes you kinda edgy ... restless ... so ... don't do anything stupid okay?"
"Oh seriously?" I replied, with a flick of the brow. "Just go attend your stupid conference and don't worry about me."

The door opened, and Daria marched into the conference room, leaving me behind, to wait for her in the lobby.

The conference room door closed behind her, and I quietly sat down on one of the lobby sofas. There I found a magazine, which had an interesting headline, so I began reading it.

With only two people breathing in the lobby -- one me and the other, the receptionist, I didn't understand why Daria was so cautious about me embarrassing her in any way.

Leafing through the magazine pages, I heard one of the doors open. I didn't care to look up and see who had just walked in. I simply browsed through the images on the magazine pages.

With each passing minute though, I felt more and more intoxicated by the cool fragrance coming from the door that had just opened.

I wanted to look up and meet the person who wore that cologne, but I couldn't. I had promised Daria I wouldn't ruin her reputation, and by staring at someone with such intoxicated eyes (as I had right now), I was only calling for trouble.