The Bar

A gentle glance across the room. A gentle glance was all it took, and she saw him. Dirty paint streaked jeans, faded holey band shirt, heavy tan work boots, but it wasn’t his clothes that caught her attention. He wasn’t tall, or thin, or in any other way immediately noticeable, but the way his eyes burned into her soul… she felt compelled to know him… deeply… intimately.
She had to take a deep breath to ground herself. She hadn’t come here to meet anyone, quite the opposite in fact. She was avoiding going home. Her husband waited here, probably playing another shoot’em up game in his boxers. But all the same, here she was, and for no good reason she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He glided through the room like he owned the place, joking and picking up conversation like he knew everyone there. He had a smile that made the room fall away, and a face that knew it. His hands were rough as he shook hands and joked with the people around him but he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.
His dark eyes surveyed the room until they fell upon that woman at the bar. Her black leggings held tight to her legs, revealing everything and nothing, a black tank top covered her chest, black hair falling on her shoulders gently. Her eyes were hidden behind think glasses, but they glittered with yellows blues, and greens. They stared at him with intensity, with fire, and then a touch of fear as she noticed that he was looking at her too. She pulled her gaze away and looked down the dark wood bar, breathing heavily as anxiety began to take hold. He tried to look away too, but something whispered in the back of his mind. He had to know who she was.
Excusing himself form the current conversation, he bobbed and weaved his way over to the bar until he stood directly behind her. He placed a gentle hand on the shoulder as not to scare her, but she jumped anyway. His touch on her bare shoulder had sent small shocks down her back. She looked up at him with almost a deer in the headlights look. Her mouth fell open but no words came out, stuck in her throat. He smiled softly at her fear, he hadn’t meant to startle her, but found a touch of excitement in it. He sat at the empty stool beside her, his eyes holding hers captive in the moment.
“You look like you need a friend.” His voice was smooth and deep, breaking the tension that had formed between them. She looked down and laughed shyly, her heart slowing down to and acceptable level.
“I guess you could say that.” her fingers trailing the thin rim of the half full glass in front of her. He watched her for a moment, trying to read her body language. She seemed shy, unsure of herself, almost broken in the way she hung her head. He normally didn’t go for the broken ones, but something about her forced him to stay glued to this seat. His hand moved from her shoulder to her hand that raced the glass, and gauged her reaction as she stopped, but didn’t pull away. She didn’t seem like the typical friday night bar hopper… so she was here to forget.
“You want to get out of here?” His head cocked slightly, a sly smile creeping in. Her brain screamed no, but her body and her voice said
“Yes.”