He had been awake since 7 am. All night he had been restless, lying awake in anticipation. Today was the day that everything would begin. If he played his cards right soon everything would fall into place from there. He had to be patient though and God knew he had been. A little too patient in fact. He was ready to get the show on the road.
He puttered about his apartment, running on pure adrenaline and coffee. He hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast because he was too excited. Food was the last thing on his mind now. Now he was concentrating on getting ready.
All that was left for him to do was change his clothes. Decidedly he marched over to his closet and opened it with a flourish. Few clothes hung from the cheap plastic hangers that he had brought along with him. He had put a lot of effort into deciding which clothes to bring along with him, aware that he couldn’t bring everything. He eyes scanned the limited selection, searching for something casual and inconspicuous. The last thing he wanted was to be noticed.
Finally he selected a pair of worn blue jeans and a plain blue sweat shirt. He carried them to the bathroom, picking up the faded blue baseball cap from his make-shift bed as he passed it. Once in the bathroom, he quickly shed his clothes and donned the jeans and shirt, giving himself a careful once over before he placed the baseball cap firmly on his head. He peered into the mirror with a smile, satisfied that his features were somewhat disguised by the hat.
He took a deep breath and then slowly exited the bathroom, remembering to turn off the light before he left. His stride was quick and confident as he moved towards the door. He opened the door deftly and then proceeded to lock it, his mind racing as he did so.
Jessica had arisen early in the morning, unable to sleep, a knot forming in her stomach. She was tired. She had spent the better portion of her night lying awake in bed, wondering what on earth had possessed her to agree to meet Nick. She concluded that in her loneliness she had foolishly agreed to something that she knew she was no where near ready for.
Inhaling one last time, she ground out her fifth cigarette of the day. She only smoked this much when she was nervous. Sometimes she wouldn’t smoke for days on end, until she got nervous or bored or started thinking of the past. Whenever she was depressed, cigarettes were the first thing she turned to.
She sat at the bare kitchen table, her legs drawn to her chest. Nervously she twirled a lock of her blonde hair, her eyes closed in concentration as she desperately tried to come up with a way to get out of meeting Nick. She knew that it really wasn’t so complicated. If she really didn’t want to meet him, all she had to do was call him and give him an excuse. The fact that she hadn’t picked up the phone yet only told her one thing. She wanted to meet Nick. And that is what was making her nervous.
She rose slowly from the chair and headed towards her room. She glanced at her watch, noticing that she had time to shower and change before she had to meet him. Once in her room, she opened her closet scanning the array of clothes before her. She cringed inwardly at the expensive rack of clothes – all bought with her parents money of course. Her mother, a fashion maven always insisted that Jessica be dressed properly in the newest fashion. She had something for any occasion imaginable. Half the stuff in there she’d only worn once or twice. More than half of her clothes still remained in her closet back in New Hempstead. For a second she wondered if her mother had even thought of donating them to charity, but the thought was quickly erased from her mind. Of course she hadn’t. When was the last time did something even remotely charitable?
Sighing, she decided that it was safest to pick something simple. She didn’t want to give Nick the impression that she had actually spent a long time getting dressed up for him. After a few minutes of deliberation she finally chose a soft white cashmere turtleneck and a pair of black pants. Carefully, she laid the outfit on her bed and quickly made her way to the bathroom, butterflies swarming her stomach.
Nick sat at a corner table, casually drumming his fingers as his eyes strayed over to an attractive waitress. He watched, his eyes roaming her body as she precariously balanced a tray of cappuccinos in her hand. With a sigh he tore his eyes from her long enough to sneak a glance at his watch. He was early. He was never early.
He’d spent most of last night in his bed, thinking about today. He kept telling himself that she was a mere challenge. A way to prove to himself that he could indeed have anyone he wanted. Despite the number of times he had told himself that though, he wasn’t sure. He couldn’t deny that there was something extraordinarily compelling about her.
As he sat there waiting for her arrival, his mind drifted back to yesterday when he had asked her to meet him. For some reason he had been completely surprised when she said yes. That’s when he knew that there was definitely something different about her. No girl had ever been capable for causing him to doubt himself.
Despite his anticipation of today’s meeting, Nick still couldn’t believe that he was early. Dating was usually the part of a relationship, if it could even be called that, which he hated most. He even had certain rules and restriction when it came to dating. The first of them being that he was never early. He liked to make a girl wait for him. It made everything just a little bit more interesting. He had other rules too. He never saw a girl for more than a week so there was never any chance of him becoming emotionally attached. Also, he never brought them back to his apartment. The last thing he needed was a group of pissed off girls congregating on his doorstep. Finally, the most important of all his rules was that he never kissed any of them on the lips. As soon as did that everything became far too personal. Kissing always reminded him of her and how everything she kissed him he felt like a new person. It was as if the touch of her lips alone breathed life into him.
Reclining slightly against his chair, he caught sight of her. Nick watched as she spoke politely to the hostess who motioned in his direction. Nick stood up slowly as she began walking towards him.
Carefully he took another peek at his watch. Apparently she was early too.