Drop-Dead Gorgeous Ch 4

CHAPTER 4

I sat in the diner blowing a wad of gum that was nearly the size of my head.  Boredom had taken over; it was 4 pm, and the business was getting to its slow period.  I turned to the television and flipped the channel to some talk show I didn't recognize.  Hey, anything was better than just standing there, staring out the window.  Part of me was hoping for Mr. Gorgeous to show up; I don't know why.  He had scared the hell out of me last night with his dark and mysterious routine, but for some reason, I still wanted to see him.  Yeah, he was great to look at, but he was also making life far less of a boredom than my life had been before that fateful day he spilled his coffee all over me.  What was wrong with me?  I needed a shrink to come and slap some sense into me.  It would be good if Mr. Gorgeous stopped dropping by and freaking me out by saying I was in danger.

"Katarina, can you put the chairs on the tables so Victor can mop the floor?"  I was yanked from my thoughts when I realized that it was almost closing time.  No Mr. Gorgeous around...  Zelda smiled warmly as I turned to look at her.  Zelda's husband had opened the pizzeria in 1956, hoping it would become a large chain of diners, and when he died in 1970 of heart failure, Zelda vowed to keep the diner running no matter what the circumstance.  She was in her mid 70s, but she in no way thought of retiring any time soon.  She loved to make jokes, and she and Stella were "gal-pals."  I quickly did as I was told and began to put the chairs up on the tables.  Periodically, I would turn and look out the window for any sign of Mr. Gorgeous.

Nope; nowhere to be found... I continued to place the chairs on the tables as the sun began to set.  It really was a beautiful sunset.  It was almost fall, so all the leaves on the trees were beginning to get a reddish-orange-brown tint.  It blended beautifully with the backdrop of the sky.  I let out a sigh as I thought about how romantic it looked.  Mr. Gorgeous popped into my head that second.  Stop that! Are you the psycho, Kat?  Why are you having romantic fantasies about that crazy, sexy...? Kat! Stop it!  What is wrong with me?  He needs to get out of my system...  I glanced out the window again.  "He's not here," I heard someone say.  I turned to see Stella watching my little show while I talked to myself.  "Who are you talking about, Stella?" I asked with confusion.

"Your mystery man," she stated simply.  Oh, she knew about Mr. Gorgeous?  "What are you talking about? What mystery man?" I tried to sound as though I was not guilty of daydreaming about anyone other than maybe Orlando Bloom.  "Don't pretend with me, Katarina.  I know about that sexy piece of meat that came in here yesterday and ordered some pizza... When I was having my break?"  Stella was on to me...  "Oh, you saw that?" I finally admitted.  I could feel myself blushing.  "Of course I saw that.  I'm not blind, sweetheart.  Mystery man was making me melt!" Stella replied while she began to fan herself just thinking about him.  I too would have given in and agreed, but I knew Mr. Gorgeous a little better than Stella, and I wasn't really too thrilled with the mysterious type.

"Yeah, well he isn't here," I finally stated, about to go back to my job.  Stella let out a smoky laugh and a little cough at the end.  "That's where you're wrong," she replied giddily.  My face was turning red again.  What?  What did she mean?  "Stella, what are you talking about?" I dared to ask.  Stella pointed out the window behind me.  "Mystery man looks like he's waiting for you by his car.  It's a beat up old thing, but standing next to him, anything would look like solid gold..." Stella swooned.  I rolled my eyes for a brief second and turned around.  Sure enough, there, outside under the street lamp that had just turned on, stood Mr. Gorgeous, staring at me, while I stared at him.  Surprisingly, I wasn't really shocked.  I had hoped he would show up, and sure enough, cutting it a little close, he had.

Did I dare to go outside and talk to this man?  Was I about to make another stupid and rash decision?  Yeah; my life was boring, and Mr. Gorgeous was making it interesting.  I took off my apron and turned back to Stella, asking her if it was ok with my eyes.  Stella nodded.  "Lucky girl..." she muttered as I slowly made my way outside.  Mr. Gorgeous always seemed to dress up in a way that made him look sexy.  That is, I guess anything would make him look sexy, but tonight he had this "bad boy" look about him.  He was wearing ripped-up jeans with hiking boots, a black fitted t-shirt, and over that, a leather jacket that a biker would wear.  I was nearly fawning all over him.  I just loved it when guys wore black t-shirts... It just made them look so, sexy...  And now Mr. Gorgeous was wearing it, and I was almost drooling-wait, I was drooling.  Mr. Gorgeous began to laugh as I snapped back into reality.

Wait, I'm either supposed to be mad at this guy or terrified of him; I'm not supposed to be gushing over his features and his looks...  "Hi," he replied in his sexy, husky voice.  Okay, maybe I can fawn over him a little bit...  I wasn't sure what to say, so I didn't speak.  "You knew I would be here, didn't you?" he asked leaning up against his beat up old Volkswagen.  A Volkswagen?  What kind of a car is that anyways?  Well, Stella was right; it did look good when it was next to Mr. Gorgeous.  "I guess I was sort of hoping to see you again... but only so I can get some answers," I replied.  Mr. Gorgeous seemed to be looking me over.  I had changed out of my uniform and was wearing my favorite pair of jeans with flip-flops, a graphic T that said, "My boyfriend's out of town," and a grey sweater on top of that.

"I knew you would come," he replied.  Smart-ass...  "Have you thought about what I said to you last night?" he asked.  Had I thought about it?  Well, of course!  That's all that had been on my mind since he left, creeping into the shadows.  Of course, I didn't want him to think that I was into him, so I tried to play it cool.  "Not really," I replied coolly.  I was getting good at this...  "You're such a liar, Kat," he replied with a laugh.  Damn!  He was on to me...  "Okay, so I have thought about it.  What else am I supposed to do?  You come to my house, by the way, I don't know how you found out where I live, and you tell me that I need to come with you because I'm in danger!  What am I supposed to do?  That's not really something I can get out of my mind..."  Mr. Gorgeous got off of his car and moved closer to me.

I could feel myself tense up as he got closer.  "For once in your life will you please just listen to me?" he said with annoyance in his voice.  Why was he talking to me like he knew me?  Why did it sound like I had disobeyed him millions of times before?  Mr. Gorgeous could see my confusion and tried to recover.  "Sorry, you're just a lot like my girl was..." he explained.  Okay, enough about the girl.  I've had just enough of this.  Who cares if my life is boring?  At least I know I'll be safe here...  "Look, I'm sorry, but I just can't go with you.  I don't know you, and you kind of creep me out.  So if you will please just leave me alone, that would be greatly appreciated," I stated with more bravery than I thought I could muster.  I began to move onto the street, looking back to see Mr. Gorgeous' face.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you..." I replied, not looking too much to where I was headed.  Mr. Gorgeous was no longer in the spot that I left him.  Suddenly, I saw a car come toward me, and it wasn't breaking.  The headlights were nearly blinding me and I had no chance to move.  So, this is it?  Death by hit-and-run accident?  Oh well, at least one of my last memories will be of Mr. Gorgeous...  Wait!  I don't want to die!  I'm too young to die!  I'm only nineteen years old!  God, help me!!  The next thing I knew, I felt someone push me in another direction.  It wasn't the car that was heading for me, but someone else had pushed me, more like jumped and tackled me, into the grass.  I was out for a few seconds, but as I awoke, I saw Mr. Gorgeous hovering above me, along with Stella, Zelda, and Victor in the background.  "Is this heaven?" I asked.  Mr. Gorgeous smiled in relief.  Oh, his smile was to die for... bad choice of words.  "Sorry to disappoint you, kiddo, but you're still here among the living," he replied.  "What just happened?" I asked, a little more than disoriented.

"Oh, Katarina, we're so glad you're okay!" replied Zelda as Stella and Victor began to move back into the diner.  "Will you take care of our Katarina, young man?" she asked, looking at Mr. Gorgeous.  If I didn't know it, I would have thought she was fawning all over him like Stella was...  "Of course I will," he replied as Zelda moved back towards the diner.  He turned back to me, still crouched over my still body.  "Good, now we're alone," he stated.  I don't know why, but when he said that, it made me tingle all over.  It might have been from the fall, but nonetheless, I felt tingles everywhere.  "Will you tell me what happened?" I asked.  "Or will you just keep your mouth shut?" I added smugly.  Mr. Gorgeous rolled his eyes.  "That, what just happened, is evidence that you're in danger, Kat," he said.

"What?" I questioned, feeling a little confused and getting a splitting headache.  "That was no accident, Kat.  That person was trying to kill you.  They were going to hit you.  Why do you think they didn't slow down when they saw you going across the street?  They actually sped up.  Will you believe me now?" he finally said, a little breathless.  I managed to make myself sit up.  "Are you the one who tackled me?" I asked.  Mr. Gorgeous smiled.  "Yeah...  It's because I knew it was going to happen," he stated.  What?  Huh?  What did that mean?  He knew I was going to get hit by a car that was trying to kill me?  It was all getting more complicated as I tried to unravel this mystery man.  "What are you talking...?" I began to ask, but he cut me off.  "There's no time.  I can't explain right now, but I need you to come with me," he said, looking around as if there was someone watching us.

"Why am I not surprised?  Of course you would say something mysterious, then not explain yourself... You know, you're giving me a very bad impression of yourself, Mr. whatever your name is," I stated in annoyance as I got to my feet, feeling a little dizzy.  Just stay on your feet, Kat.  I'm not going to fall back and have Mr. Gorgeous catch me.  It's all too "romance movie."  But I couldn't hold any longer, and sure enough, Mr. Gorgeous was there to catch me.  "You need to sit down," he replied.  I was in the crook of his shoulder, and I could feel his breath on my skin.  He smelled so amazingly good.  I was almost lost inside of him, but I wasn't going to let that happen.  I managed to get a grip on my legs and stand up.  "I'm fine," I stated stubbornly.  Mr. Gorgeous rolled his eyes, obviously growing very impatient with me and my attitude.  "Kat, I need you to get in that car with me," he finally said after a little silence filled up the space.  I was about to protest, but when I looked into his eyes, I saw something I didn't expect to see.  There was a shine in them, as if he was going to cry.  Was he about to cry for me?

Why would he be crying over me?  He didn't even know me!  "I'm sorry, but I've got to ask, why me?" I finally asked with such curiosity.  Mr. Gorgeous turned to his car.  "If you knew that someone you cared about was going to die, and you knew the exact year, day, and time, wouldn't you want to save them?" he asked.  How cryptic...  I hesitated for a moment, and suddenly my father's face popped into my head.  I missed him so much.  He had been dead for so long.... I missed that father figure in my life as I went through high school and boys.  "Yeah..." I finally answered.  But what did that have to do with me?  "Then I need you to get in the car and come with me," he said.  I was ready to tell him that there was no way in hell I was getting into a car with him, that I was not going to trust some stranger who seemed more like a stalker than anything else, but my heart stopped me.

For some reason, it was telling me to go with Mr. Gorgeous.  It was urging me to listen to him, but why?  I looked at him for a moment, feeling that tingle I felt just moments earlier, and I knew it wasn't from the fall.  He held out his hand, urging me to take it.  The next thing I knew, I was grabbing his hand and following him to his car.  "I know that this is not easy for you, Kat.  Trusting a stranger with your life isn't easy, understandable, but I promise you, I will tell you everything you want to know-in time," he stated.  What was I doing?  I was actually going with him?  What about my mom?  What about Sarah?  "Wait, how can I just leave this place, leave my home?" I asked.  Mr. Gorgeous turned back to me.  "Sarah will be just fine, and Zelda's isn't part of your future," he stated.

Oh, just like that?  How did he know my mother's name?  I was going to press him further, but it seemed as though he was in a hurry.  He looked behind me onto the street and I saw panic fill his eyes.  "What?" I asked.  I turned to see what he was looking at, and there, not too far off, was the same car that had just tried to run me over.  It was coming back, and it wasn't slowing down.  Mr. Gorgeous pushed me into the car and got in alongside me.  He put the key into the ignition and revved the engine.  The next thing I knew, Zelda's diner was disappearing behind me, and I was in a 1967 Volkswagen with a complete stranger.