To be continued 3

Part 1: click here
Part 2: click here

"Hi"; and held out her hand...

A soft handshake making sure he doesn't crush her delicate hand. He was mesmerised by her beauty.

On any other day, she would have shrugged and moved on, but today it was different. During her drive till Macy's, she argued with her alter-ego... questioned... judged & weighed the pros and cons. And finally concluded... pros weighed more! One silent promise to herself, "I will let go... And I shall do it at any cost!" And when the price to pay is a handsome and charming man.. it wasn't difficult to abide by her rules. She smiled naturally...

He realised he had held her hand more than 30 seconds now had started to stare. He let his grip loose; and she pulled her hand back. Not knowing what to do with her hand she started fidgeting with her bag. She looked down at his worn out shoes... jeans that hadn't been washed since god knows how many days; a grey coloured round collar T-shirt hung loosely from his broad shoulders. He wasn't heavily built; but adequate enough to swipe a girl off her feet. A tanned chiselled unshaven face with soft eyes that didn't look away from her face.

"So... looking for something specific in here?" He finally spoke breaking the silence not knowing where the conversation shall lead to. "Actually no... just looking around!"
"Hmmm... Have you come to this outlet before?" "No... 1st time" "1st time yeah... Thought so! Haven't seen you before."

She was cheeky enough to ask, "You remember everyone who comes here?" She wore a sly smile...

He smiled subtly and replied, " A beautiful face is hard to forget!"

Her cheeks turned pink... she diverted her mind by looking at the tank top she held. 'Shopping was therapeutic' she agreed to the thought that passed her mind and she smiled.

"Hmmm... Do you have any plans this afternoon?" "Depends..." "On?" "On what you propose?"

She wasn't someone who could be taken for a ride. She marked herself as a strong and confidant woman... Just as she was behind the wheel... In control!!

He was impressed & intrigued by her. The statement portrayed her intellect and the courage to turn his offer down if it was lame. He saw an interesting metal key chain hanging out from her purse... A Queen (in the game of chess). Mentally he arranged his words as one does on the tile rack during the game of Scrabble. Finally he spoke,

"Nothing fancy... We can play a game of chess with a cup of coffee... A coffee shop right round the corner offers that... Does that interest you?" His heart beat rose every second and watched her lips when they made a perfect 'O' backed it with a 'K'. A sigh of relief!

He excused himself for a minute. She stood there watching him stride towards the cash counter. He gently bent and nodded his head to people he knew (it was mutual; people knew him too and gestured in similar manner), waved to some, fondly looked at the kids' who were running in the store, placed the things that fallen down on the aisle back on the counter... She was amused by his charm and by his quick wit. She still doesn't know what made her say "OK"... His presence of mind or her interest in chess?

She eagerly waited for this interesting day to unfold...

Part 4: click here!