Short Story - Page 3

Behind her, Cosette heard his car start and back away. Somewhat taken aback by the way she boldly helped him, a spring came into her step. She was no longer daydreaming about the evening performance, she was thinking about his handsome face. The way his blue eyes seemed to soften after looking at her. The way his strong hands gripped the wrench as he tightened down the terminal.

She was thinking about how she wanted those strong hands on her body.

This thought startled Cosette. She had never thought like that before. Oh, she had had boyfriends and lovers, but none had affected her as Marius had. Just thinking of the effortless way he had interacted with her made her want to know him better. She wanted to run her fingers through his longish, blonde hair to know if it was as soft as it looked.

Cosette unlocked the door to her apartment. Once inside, she placed her bag on the bench just inside the door and hung her keys on their hook. She closed and locked the door behind her and just stood, leaning, with her back on the door. Sighing, she went into the bathroom and ran water in the tub, pouring some lavender bubble bath in. After a performance, she always liked to relax with a good book and a long soak.

Tonight, though, her thoughts weren’t on the words in her book. Her mind kept wandering to her encounter with Marius in the alley. She couldn’t understand why. They had only met for minutes and yet, she felt as though they had known each other forever. She couldn’t help but think about the way his eyes searched her face as he spoke to her. And she couldn’t forget the way his hand felt in hers.

She pulled the drain on the tub once the water turned cold. Without drying herself, she wrapped herself in her terry robe. Exhausted, she shuffled to her bed and fell into it. Almost immediately, she fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Marius drove himself to an all-night diner. He couldn’t get the image of the beautiful woman he had just met out of his head. He needed a coffee and a slice of apple pie. And he just wanted to think. Think of all the feelings that were rushing through him as he spoke with Cosette.

Stepping through the door to the diner, he blinked in the glaring fluorescent light. He spotted several empty stools at the counter and made his way over to sit down. The waitress took his order and set a steaming mug of coffee in front of him. As he sat there, absently stirring cream and sugar, he conjured up an image of the graceful ballerina.

He couldn’t believe how strong an urge he had to see her again. Never had he felt this way about a woman before. But, there was something about her. About the way she nervously fiddled with her throat and yet just dove right under the hood and helped him out. Although he understood that she had an early call, he still wished she hadn’t run off so quickly. He hadn’t even thought to call after her to invite her to join him for coffee.