Chapter One - Pure Chance
But it would never really happen like this…
He didn’t lose his stride, though perhaps his heart skipped a beat.
Time down-shifted to the hidden option between first gear and neutral, a familiar sensation to him though it had never before initiated from simply laying eyes on someone. The feeling washed briefly across his consciousness as he and his friend passed the girls walking the other direction.
She tracked his gaze, coyly, and they exchanged a quick game of Glances as he and his friend passed. The sounds of night traffic and the blowing of the wind all gained softer edging, and the surrounding light bent its will toward framing her in quicksilver halo.
He stopped, unable to take his eyes off her. Their eyes locked. Normally he didn’t like being nearly a head shorter than his friend, though he would never say so aloud. Now, though, he was grateful. His height placed him at the perfect level to see the green flecks in her eyes. She stopped too, eliciting a chorus of mild alarm from her friends, who scrambled as gracefully as possible to avoid collision. It reminded him of ducks on a pond, or butterflies scattering.
All eyes were on him, including a raised eyebrow from his friend, who had continued forward a few steps. One of her friends tittered softly, stopping when another batted her on the arm. The girl herself simply waited.
He half opened his mouth, but…
“Never mind,” he smiled, and caught up with his friend.
“Okay,” she scoffed. One of her friends began clucking like a chicken.
He turned and this time his gaze was penetrating, testing the weight of her intent. Her breath caught, and she inwardly congratulated herself on hiding it so well.
“You sure you can handle it?” he asked.
Her lips didn’t move, but her chin lifted. Everything about her bearing was a thrown gauntlet. In the empowering presence of her friends, she was a spotlighted princess. Her friends silently divvied up the roles of stage managers, line-prompters, and even walk-on extras if need be.
His lips pulled easily into a grin. “You got a coin?” he said.
This wasn’t the approach she expected. He didn’t look homeless.
“A coin?” she repeated, a small wrinkle appearing in her forehead.
“Yeah. 10 cents, whatever you got is fine.”
He ambled slowly closer. His friend settled into wingman position, happy to watch this scene play out. Guys will do little in the way of on-the-job support when outworking matters of the heart but will loyally fly you back to base whether you succeed magnificently or crash and burn.
“What do you need a coin for?” she asked, playing the You’re A Poor Boy card.
He casually pulled out his cardholder, giving it a shake. His grin never wavered. “Mine are a little intangible right now. If it makes you feel better, I promise I’m not about to do a magic trick and disappear.”
The props department girl had been fishing in her bag and had already palmed a coin to centre stage. She handed it over, bemused.
“Thanks. I love games,” he explained. “Ever play ‘Consequences?’”
She shook her head, one corner of her mouth raised; interested but not exactly lowering the drawbridge in welcome.
He took another small step closer. He hadn’t shaven in at least a day, perhaps two, yet he was by no means untidy. And when he smiled, so did his eyes. She liked that.
“Easiest thing in the world,” he said. “Each player makes a rule. Toss of the coin determines the outcome.”
He held out his hand, coin poised to flip. She lifted an eyebrow at it.
“What kind of rule?” she asked, looking at him under lowered eyelids.
“Like for me? If it’s tails? A kiss.” He grinned again. “Yours?”
A small hiss erupted from just behind her ear, a sharp inward breath by one of her friends.
“No thanks,” she said, turning to go.
He shrugged and caught the coin, holding it out to her.
“Okay,” he mimicked.
Turning his head slightly, he let out a low chicken cluck – but his eyes were smiling.
Now it was a matter of pride. She had become a spokesperson, a flagbearer for women everywhere.
“All right,” she said, cocking her head and crossing her arms. Her lips, so near to smiling before, now compacted into a thin line. Her eyes burned with shifting blueprints, clearly searching for some deep humiliation she could inflict. “Your pants. And you walk away.”
Ting! The sharp metallic ringing began before the final syllable had fully escaped her mouth.
“Done,” he said.
He didn’t even blink but locked her stare, eyes flashing merrily, seeming not in the least concerned as to the outcome.
Everyone else’s eyes were glued to the high-arching coin. Anticipation stretched the instant longer somehow. The little metal disk rapped clinking on the concrete and finally clattered to a stop, tails-up.
His smile grew and he closed the distance between them. Not greasily, just confident, stopping mere inches away. She opted for a low-angle eyeroll, more for the appearance of things, but gave the kiss graciously.
He was more than a gentleman, although certainly beyond simple affection. The kiss was – she tried to think of a better word for it than ‘tantalizing.’ Sweet and light. A summer breeze.
“Thanks,” he breathed.
He stepped back, turned around and went on his way, his wingman moseying alongside. Two cowboys, on the trail again.
“Hey!” she blurted. Her friends restrained the whispers they were dying to share with one another and settled for shifting their feet while trading meaningful glances.
He only half-turned this time. “Yeah?”
Her mouth was hanging open and she knew it. She felt she was tightrope balancing between affront and a snort laugh.
“Is that it?” she spluttered.
“What else do you want?” He asked with all sincerity, sounding curious rather than patronizing, as if whatever she asked was within his power to grant.
She stooped, picked up the coin, and held it ready to flip. “Your name.”
Her smile was very pretty, he decided.
He faced her and folded his arms, eyes twinkling. “We’re gonna be at this a while, aren’t we. That’s another kiss for me. Your turn; call it.”
Her answer was a flip of the coin and a grin she must have stolen off a tiger.
“Tails!” she declared.
Once more, all of Creation held its breath, or at least all of the spectating friends did. The coin bounced to a stop.
He smiled and stepped towards her. She tsked, though truthfully not disappointed with the heads-up outcome. He was a good kisser.
This one was slightly more passionate, his fingertips lightly brushing her cheeks to cup her face. Her fingers curled over his wrists, and the moment was over far too quickly, both finding a tiny shiver lodged in their breath where it hadn’t been before. He smiled an inch from her lips, fingers flicking at the hair tumbling past her ears.
And walked away again.
He heard a rustling behind him and a soft scrape.
“Name.” It was a command.
His head ducked forward as he laughed. He turned. There she was, one eyebrow and the coin raised defiantly.
"Better idea," he said, walking to her. "New game: Dinner. You and me. Right now."
She was quiet for a scattering of heartbeats, and then the corner of her mouth curled up. "Italian?"
He pursed his lips, inhaling a silent whistle. "Risky."
"Not worried.”
"Let's go," he said, extending his arm.
She took his arm, he tossed his friend the keys, and the respective His & Hers friends stood statue-still, watching themselves being ditched.
A tiny dinging announced the incoming trajectory of a coin which nobody moved to catch. It rebounded off a girl’s shoulder and clacked onto the pavement, ignored. In seconds, He and She turned the corner onto the main drag, and the group stood on the now-hollow sidewalk.
The friends stared at the empty edge of the far building for a few minutes. Cowboy #2 swallowed, turning his head slightly to peek around the corner of his eyelids, and found the girls doing the same in his direction.
Pursing his lips, he stooped, picked up the coin and faced the girls.
"So…” he said, clearing his throat and brandishing the coin. “Any takers?”
A fork in the path of destiny appears briefly, shimmers, and is gone.
A great voice booms.
“Hmm. Interesting choice.”
Voting for this chapter has closed. Read the next chapter to see how your choices shaped the story!
The choices were:
Choice #1: At dinner, His psycho ex-girlfriend is stalking them.
Choice #2: At dinner, Her brother (a cop) pretends to be her boyfriend.
