Chance (2 page)

“Damn… You a fine piece
of ass, bitch.”

“Just let me pass,” she
insisted firmly, as she took another assertive step forward and tried to get
around him.

“No,” the teenager
answered, as he took a step to block her, grabbing his crotch for effect. “How
about you and me take a walk into that alley and see what we see? You can help
me with whatever, pops up.”

He smiled broadly,
obviously proud of his stupid joke. His friends laughed and encouraged him. She
ignored their filthy looks and tried to think of a way out of her predicament.

“Didn’t you hear what she
said?” A deep, manly voice asked from behind her. Although she couldn't see the
source of the voice, she was greatly relieved to hear somebody was on her side.
It's nice to have back up when trying to fend off a group where you're clearly
outnumbered.

The three boys looked
past her to see who had interrupted their fun.

Charlotte also turned to
see who had stood up for her. She was equal parts curious and relieved. She saw
a tall, dark haired man stride purposefully towards them. He brushed past her
and pushed the gang leader in the chest, forcing him backwards, away from
Charlotte.

“She said, '
let her
pass
.'”

“What the–
fuck
?"
The bully looked up, shocked by the larger, older man's touch. He stepped away
from the Good Samaritan, instantly putting a few feet of between them.

When he was at a safe
distance, he said, “Don’t fuckin’ touch me, man!"

“You heard the lady. Now
fuck off.
All
of you. Your moms are probably wondering where you are.”
He sneered at the three teens and stood his ground, crossing his arms over his
chest and standing tall.

The leader stared back at
him defiantly, without making a move. It seemed as though the stranger didn’t
need to raise his fists or threaten violence. Just the determined look on his
face and his wild, dark eyes drilling into them seemed to be enough to make
them think twice about pursuing the matter. The leader eventually dropped his
stare and looked to his two friends.

“Come on, these losers
deserve each other.” 

Relief obvious on their
faces, the other two boys bumped knuckles with him and laughed. All three of
them turned and high-tailed it away from the scene, down the street. Once they
were a safe distance away, they yelled some expletives back our way, but kept
moving.

As soon as they were
gone, the stranger's demeanor changed. His features softened. He was extremely
handsome, and his smile flashed a set of sparkling white teeth that seemed to
glimmer in the darkness of the now quiet street.

"Are you okay?” he
asked her, looking at her with genuine concern on his face.

“Yeah,” answered
Charlotte. “I didn’t need you to come to my rescue. I was managing perfectly
fine on my own.”

“Of course you were,” he
chuckled, as though he didn’t quite believe her.

“Don’t patronize me,” she
muttered, tugging down her skirt and setting off towards the main road, as she'd
originally intended.

“Is that it? That's all
you're going to say to me?” he called after her. He ran to catch up with her, quickly
falling into step beside her.

“What do you mean,
'is
that it'
?” She glanced over at him.

“Well, aren’t you going
to ask me anything? My name? Maybe, where I suddenly appeared from?”

“I suppose you’re going
to tell me anyway.”

“You walked right past
me. I saw the whole thing. I was standing by the doorway of the Red Door Club.”

“Oh, yeah? Very original
name, by the way,” Charlotte said sarcastically. She knew she was being rude,
but the whole incident had put her off balance. “How thrilling for you.”

“My name’s Logan. What’s
yours?”

“Charlotte.”

“Nice to meet you,
Charlotte.” He smiled broadly and offered her his hand for a shake, still
walking beside her. She sighed and took it, shaking it and giving him a small
smile for his effort.

“Nice to meet you, too. Now,
if you don’t mind, I think I’ll get a taxi.”

They'd arrived at the
main road where there were plenty of cabs driving back and forth, looking to
pick up fares. It was easy to flag one down. Although she lived just around the
corner, she didn’t want to walk the rest of the way after the unnerving incident
with the gang. Especially now that this Logan character seemed to have taken an
interest in her.

“You don’t want to…?” he
asked.

“No, I don’t,” she
interrupted, before he could finish his sentence.

“Right,” he said in an
annoyed tone, as she opened the door of the taxi and climbed into the back seat.

“Well, you’re welcome. I’ll
see you around, I guess,” he said, looking rather disappointed, as he closed
the door for her.

She peered at him through
the darkened car window, as the cab drove away. She was more than a little
disconcerted by the dark look on his face.

She thought about him during
the brief ride home. Her first impression of Logan hadn’t been great. Charlotte
was aware he'd been trying to help her, and he probably did. She'd certainly been
in a bad situation when he arrived to play the role of hero. Although she was reluctantly
grateful for his intervention, something about it had rubbed her the wrong way.

Charlotte had always been
a confident and independent woman. She hated the idea of needing a man to look
after her, to take care of her or come to her rescue. She wanted to take care
of herself. The fact he showed up to save her, was the first thing that annoyed
her about Logan.

His whole white knight
routine grated on her sense of independence. Charlotte took pride in her
ability to take care of herself—it was part of her identity. She hated playing
the role of damsel in distress. She despised the idea she might've needed anyone,
especially a man, to come to her rescue.

However, being realistic,
she couldn't help thinking that if he hadn’t been there; she would've had to
deal with those three boys on her own. The leader was a total asshole. He'd
been showing off to the other boys. His followers were trying to get the
admiration of the leader. It seemed as though all of the teens would be driven
to act out in ridiculous ways just to save face before the others. To make
matters worse, it would've all been done at
her
expense.

The odds had been seriously
stacked against her—dangerously so. Even at her best moment, three to one wasn't
a good ratio. Yet, she hadn't been at her best. She'd been wearing a short,
tight cocktail dress and heels on a damp pavement. In addition, she would've
been facing off against three teenage guys in sneakers and jeans, all with
something to prove.

It was impossible to say
how it would've worked out. She didn't know what they'd intended to do. Would
they have just moved on after trying to scare her? Would they have stolen her
handbag? Would they have actually touched her or much worse? They might've simply
been trying to amuse themselves by attempting to scare and bully her.

The fact that Logan had
intervened, meant she'd never know what their intentions had been, or how she
might've fared. Of course, his intervention might've been a wonderful thing.
Especially, if they were truly hideous and meant to do unthinkable things to
her. However, the situation might have ended with her walking away relatively
unscathed, feeling strong, independent and good about herself.

The second thing that rubbed
her the wrong way about Logan, was his attitude immediately after the incident.
It seemed as though he'd simply assumed she'd be interested in him. In
addition, he'd had a general air of arrogance about him, despite his apparent
friendly nature. She got the feeling he flirted and was pleasant with her because
he had an ulterior motive.

She couldn't help but
wonder if perhaps his ulterior motive was his only reason for intervening and
helping her in the first place. If so, that would make him as bad, or worse,
than those bullies. Either way, Charlotte wasn’t interested in a one-night
stand with a total stranger or anything deeper for that matter—no matter how
attractive he might be.

Later on, when she'd been
back home for a while, she became even more annoyed. However, this time it was with
herself. She discovered she was still thinking about Logan. She didn't like
that he'd somehow managed to wiggle his way into her thoughts. She didn't trust
him or particularly like him. However, there was something about Logan that
kept bringing her thoughts back around to him. She wasn't happy about it.

Logan had something both mysterious
and dangerous about him. She started to wonder why he'd been lurking around in
the shadows in the first place. When she'd spotted the boys, she'd carefully surveyed
the area; looking around for anyone or anywhere, she could quickly get to for
safety. She hadn't seen anyone in the area. Had he been hiding on purpose?

Was it pure chance he'd
been there?

Logan was so confident
when he dealt with those boys. He definitely had a menacing aura. It had been enough
to scare off the gang without him even having to throw a punch. In retrospect,
she couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed by him. Despite that, she purposely pushed
him out of her mind and tried to forget all about him, for the time being.

For a long time, Charlotte
thought another chance encounter had brought Logan and her into contact the
second time they'd met. It was only after they'd been in a relationship for a
while he'd confided the truth. Logan had gone out of his way to track her down.

He’d memorized the number
of the taxicab she'd taken the night they'd met. Then he'd used that
information when contacting the taxi company to track down the driver of the
cab. Then he bribed the driver to tell him where he’d dropped her off.

When Logan had finally confessed
to Charlotte about how he'd stalked her, she was so smitten with him, it didn’t
seem important. In fact, they'd even laughed about it. The fact he'd wanted to
see her again so badly, how persistent he'd been and the way he’d chased after her
had actually helped win her over.

Only two days after their
first encounter, she saw him again. Charlotte was leaving her apartment, heading
off to work in the morning. She barely noticed a man walking a dog past her as
she'd left her apartment. Thinking back on that moment, he must've timed it
perfectly. He obviously knew she’d be leaving for work around eight thirty a.m.

She'd later wondered
whether Logan had arrived early, in case she had an earlier start to her workday.
Maybe he'd walked up and down the street for a while before she actually came
out. She never did get around to asking him. She'd never gotten around to
asking him so many things.

“Oh, hey there! It's
you
again!" he said cheerfully, waving at her with a big smile. "It’s a
small world, isn’t it?”

It took her a moment or
two to recognize Logan. She stopped in her tracks, trying to process his
presence, which seemed out of place in such a familiar setting. He looked
different in the daylight. She noticed his eyes for the first time. They were deep,
dark blue pools that caught the sun and seemed to sparkle. He was dressed nicely
but casually, in jeans, a shirt and a suit jacket. His dark hair looked clean, was
slicked back and he looked freshly shaven.

His handsome face was lit
up with a pleasant smile. In the light of day with his sweet smile, he didn’t
seem anywhere near as intense or menacing as the man she'd remembered from the
other night, who'd scared away the bullies. He looked extremely attractive, but
she decided to play it cool.

“Hey, wow! Yeah, it is,”
she flashed him a grin in return, as she unlocked the door of her car with a
beep.

“Nice dog,” she said. It
was a friendly looking border collie, wagging its tail.

“Yeah, he’s great. You
can stroke him, if you like.” Then he raised his eyebrows and gave a laugh.
“That wasn’t a come on, I swear.”

“Well, it would've been a
really cheesy one, if it had been,” she smiled and walked over to him,
crouching down a little to ruffle the dog’s fur.

“Are you going to work,
now?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Where do you work?”

“Nyland’s—it’s a fashion
design company.”

“That sounds really interesting.
What time do you finish?”

“Now
that
sounds
like a come on,” she rolled her eyes a little, teasing him. She stopped fussing
over the dog and stood up straight again. “Are you going to ask me out for a
drink or something?”

“That depends…on whether or
not you’ll accept, Charlotte,” he answered, smiling again. “See, I remembered
your name. Does that earn me the honor of your company for a drink
or
something
?”

“Am I supposed to be
impressed by that?” she asked, teasing him. She'd just wanted to see how interested
he was in her, as well as how he'd respond.

“Of course. I bet you
can’t remember
my
name,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye and his
eyebrow raised in challenge.

“Yes,
Logan
, I can,”
Charlotte said, with the boastful looking smile of a braggart.

“Oh, very good.
I'm
impressed…and flattered. So, it’s a
yes
, then?" He asked with a
hopeful, yet somewhat cocky expression. "Shall I meet you at five o'clock
tonight, outside of Nyland’s?”

“I haven’t even told you
what time I work until,” she protested.

“I bet it’s five.”

“It isn’t. It’s five
thirty.”

His face darkened for only
a moment. It was almost imperceptible, as if he was annoyed he’d been wrong about
the trivial detail. Then, just as quickly, it was gone and he smiled. Later,
she wondered if she'd imagined it.

“Five thirty's fine. I'll
see you then.”

Charlotte wasn’t entirely
sure how he’d done it. The sly man had managed to ask her out on a date,
without actually asking and then had her accept, without
actually
accepting.
He seemed to be good like that. Hmm, he could wrap her around his little finger
and tie her in knots with his words. He was obviously smart and knew exactly
what he's doing. She found him rather charming with his clever manipulation.

That confident charisma
of his seemed to go a long way. Charlotte was already beginning to find his
arrogance more charming than annoying, especially when he threw in that winning
smile of his. He certainly was easy on the eyes.

“Come on, Max,” he tugged
the dog’s leash and set off walking again without giving her a chance to change
her mind. She watched him go, a little stunned at what had just happened,
including the fact she now had a date with Logan.

Charlotte waved back at
him when he turned to give her a final wave over his shoulder. She shook her
head and got into her car, finally heading off to work.

***

Charlotte hadn’t been
sure what to expect on their date. She’d been thinking about it on and off
throughout her day. Several times, she found herself unable to concentrate on
her job. She'd slip into fantasies about how it might go, where he might take
her and various amalgams of different possibilities and scenarios. Logan really
seemed to get under her skin… well, into her mind, at least.

She wasn’t particularly
fussy about where they went. She didn’t really care whether he took her for
coffee or to a swanky bar. In the end, she had a theory he'd try to get her
drunk. She wound up being pleasantly surprised with his choice.

Logan took her to a cafe that
was only about two blocks from her office. She felt safe and more in control there.
It was within her familiar safety zone. She remained determined that she wasn’t
interested in him. Well, not for anything other than as a friend, at least. However,
she got the distinct feeling, he was equally determined to become more than
friends.

Charlotte was very
pleased with how the next hour passed. She didn't know what to expect, but
their time together went rather quickly. The conversation was relatively easy
and relaxed between them, especially for such an early stage in their
friendship. It flowed without uncomfortable silence or tension.

Logan seemed to be
incredibly interested in her, asking many questions. He wanted to know anything
she was willing to share about herself, her job, her family, her friends, her
hobbies as well as the things she liked to do in her spare time.

He was a very good
listener. He made her feel special and important, seeming to care about everything
she shared. Logan asked great questions to probe further about things that
she'd said. Charlotte spent so long talking about herself, it took a while
before she realized she'd hardly had a chance to ask him any questions.

It was quite refreshing
to have someone take that much of an interest in her. He wanted to know who
she
was, what
she
thought about,
her
feelings and what she'd done in
her life. He showed appreciation for all aspects of her personality and life,
even things she'd deemed boring. Logan came across as being much more sensitive
and caring than she’d expected. As a result, she thought she might like to see
him again.

Still telling herself she
wasn’t interested in a relationship and she only wanted to be friends, Charlotte
agreed to go out for dinner with Logan three days later. It was on a weekend, so
she wouldn't have to wake up early the next morning. She could enjoy herself a bit
more, have wine and let her hair down during their time together.

However, no matter how
relaxed she'd get with Logan, she didn’t intend to go home with him or become romantically
involved. Charlotte went out of her way to make that clear while they were at
the restaurant. Over their very enjoyable meal, she told him she wasn’t looking
for a romantic relationship right now.

Logan seemed unperturbed
by her candor. He merely chuckled and replied amiably that what she wanted was fine.
Throughout the course of the evening, as more wine flowed and more amusing and
entertaining conversation passed between them, Charlotte began to warm to
Logan. She had to admit, he
was
sexy—in a very masculine way.

Initially, she’d thought
he wasn’t her type. The night she'd met him, he rubbed her the wrong way. He
came across as arrogant and brash. It had also bothered her that it seemed as
if he was expecting something in return for when he'd intervened on her behalf on
that fateful night outside of The Red Door.

However, now that they'd
spent more time together, she was seeing him in a new light. There was a whole
different side to him she wouldn't have guessed existed. She liked him. He was charming
and attentive. He was fun to be with and his warm nature and compliments were
disarming.

Of course, although she
didn't want to admit it to herself, there'd been something intriguing about him
from the beginning. She remembered how he kept creeping back into her thoughts,
despite her reluctance. She recalled the events of the first night they’d met.
She thought about his confidence and bravery as well as his impressive,
imposing nature that had somehow drawn her to him without her even realizing
it. The more she looked at him and spoke to him, the more she felt her
attraction for him growing. She realized he
was
her type. He had it all:
strength, maturity and control.

Those were all features
on her mental checklist; the features she looked for in a man. He had the
attributes she found most attractive. He was also older than she was, by twelve
years. That was a good age difference. Not too vast that people might think he
was her father or a pervert. She definitely preferred older men.

Then there were his
aesthetic features. He was rather good looking, an understatement. He'd always been
handsome in her eyes, but she found the more time they spent together, the more
attractive he'd become. By the end of dinner, he was completely gorgeous and
sexy to her.

The way he acted
contributed to his attractiveness. He was so suave. The deep blue pools of his
eyes served as a place in which she'd lose herself. His charm and charisma were
breaking down her defenses a bit more every time she looked at him. It could've
been the wine, but she found herself increasingly wanting to run her fingers
through his soft looking hair. The more time she spent with him, the more she
found inappropriate and slightly alarming thoughts running through her mind,
often involving them naked.

Their meal had been very
pleasant without any major developments in their friendship—or relationship. Any
way she looked at it, she'd had a good time, good enough to do it again. Of
course, Logan asked her, he always asked her out. He was persistent and
relentless in his pursuit of her affections. His tactic was beginning to win
her over, bit by bit.

Surprisingly and refreshingly,
although Charlotte gave him some clear signals, he was a pure gentleman when he
dropped her off at home after their date. He walked her up to her front door. When
they said goodbye, he leaned down over her and deftly avoided her proffered
lips. He lightly brushed her cheek with his lips instead.  

Charlotte was stunned,
realizing this had been the first date she'd been on in her life, where the guy
hadn’t at least tried to get to first base. Usually, they tried to get much
farther.

She also realized she
rarely, if ever, wanted to go as far with a guy on a first date. She wanted
Logan.