In the still of the night (Chapter one Part two)
Susan sat at one of the few empty tables near the restaurant's entrance. the place was far too loud and crowded to a point of being almost oppressive with so many bodies jammed into one place.
She checked her watch, she did not know why but saw that it was not even Midnight yet, she had bailed on her friends even before the witching hour and felt another feeling of guilt for doing so.
She flipped open the box her food had come in and as soon as she laid eyes on it, her stomach let out another cry of protest as the thought of eating the ball of meat, cheese and grease filled her mind.
Once again she gave into the obvious and reminded herself that she was not a great drinker and had been led down the garden path by her friends and had perhaps two or three drinks too many.
"Are you ok?"
She heard the voice to the left of where she sat and tilted her head to one side and took in the view of a handsome man in his early twenties. his hair spiked up in a sort of short cropped cut and he wore a dark suit.
She looked him up and down before a spark of recognition formed in her mind like a bolt out of the blue, the smell of the burger wafted up and invaded her sense of smell until she closed the box with her hand.
it was him, the feelings of embarrassment almost instantly came flooding back as she replayed the incident in her mind and the spilt Jack Daniels and coke that had been knocked free of her hand the contents deposited everywhere.
She had wanted the floor to open up and swallow her and no matter how much she apologised and he seemed to be alright with what happened, she could just not get the matter straight in her head.
His words attempted to reassure her even as he got a towel from one of the serving staff and handed it to her and she could dry herself off and just like that he had casually vanished into the club.
! look for recognition formed on his face and she could see that he was trying to place her, put the pieces into place of how he seemed to know her.
"Ah, my Knight with the bar cloth"
The words said to him with a smile as she finally put it all together in her head and was pleasantly surprised to see him here after he had vanished before.
"Ah, Miss Jack Daniels and Coke"
He offered in response and laughed as well, his pieces of the puzzle now formed to picture of completion in his head.
Once their laughter eased to a comfortable silence between the pair he gave another warm friendly smile and he spoke.
"So, are you ok?"
She paused to ponder the question for a moment and could feel the hunger that had brought her in here in the first place slowly returning and she even felt a little less queasy than she had a few minutes before.
"Well, I guess laughter is the best form of medicine because I do"
She laughed at her statement and thought it might have come across as a little cheesy perhaps, but he just smiled at her in response.
"Please, .sit, join me"
She said and suddenly felt like she was being a little pushy and bit gently against her bottom lip and opened her mouth to say something else.
"Well, if it is no intrusion, then gladly"
he said and slipped into the chair opposite where she was sitting, his hand came up to wave away an offer of some of her french fries as she turned the container that they came in towards him.
"No, Thank you"
She heard him say as she popped open the box of her burger before bringing it to her mouth and taking a healthy bite from it and tasting the mixture of beef, cheese and salad contained within the bun.
The skies above Leicester square were now beginning to dark as the threat of rain began to become a real possibility, The beast continued to watch the movements of the people below and heard the laughter of several people standing at the entrance to the nightclub below.
Another sensation caused the creature's nose to twitch as it caught another scent on the wind, one of so many that it had taken in and rejected as they were not what was sought here.
With a slow deliberate movement its head turned and scanned the area below more carefully, the scent now became stronger as hungry eyes came to rest on the form of a tall red-headed woman dressed in tight blue denim jeans and a jacket.
In her arms, she seemed to be carrying something, a container of some kind and it watched as the lid of the container was opened inside was ice cream, the scent of it mixed in the air and it tasted like a multitude of different man-made flavours all in one.
A sense of triumph rose in the beast and, it moved from the crouching position that it had observed. it eased closer to the edge even as the powerful muscles in its legs began to tense and prepare to be drawn into the fray once more.
Legs now locked into place and ready to pounce, another scent filled its senses once more, the torment coming once again as the feeling of victory spirited away and it eased back on its legs and tried once more to find where the scent was trying to lead.
A low growl began to form in its throat as the scent was now stronger than ever, this time it had to be right, no trick or cruel action of nature, no, it was the one that had to be found.
The search was now seemingly at an end as the beat looked into the glass frontage of the food restaurant and laid eyes on her, right there sat the one that had toyed and tormented this creature and now she was within his grasp.
"So,"
She said through a half-chewed mouthful of food, her hands came up quickly in embarrassment as she covered her mouth and squeaked out a sincere sorry for her less than lady-like behaviour.
He said nothing in return as she quickly chewed the food and wiped away the food from her mouth and face before putting what was left of the burger back down inside the box that it came in.
"Sorry, what I was trying to say was, are you in the habit of saving every girl in need, you come across?"
She giggled drunkenly and seemed very amused by her comment and he just laughed a short warm laugh of his own in response.
"No, I do not play a hero all the time, only when I need to, and I thought I would do the world a good turn and save another potential victim from a drinks bath"
His words were full of life and humour and could not have been taken in any other way than the good-natured way they were delivered and she once more laughed at his words and pulled the cup of her soda closer and took a sip through the straw that sat in it.
Satisfied with the drink she had taken, she lifted her hand from where it held onto the cup and offered it across the table to where he sat in the way of an introduction, one that seemed far overdue.
"I'm Susan"
She said and he too lifted his hand to shake hers in a returned gesture of introduction and spoke.
"Jack"
The beast's eye rested on her now, watched as seemed to shake hands with this unknown person that seemed to be in her company, a low growl formed in his throat once more as his gaze remained unbroken.
She had filled his mind for so long now that nothing would stand in the way. not this distraction that sat with her or anything else. the prize was so close now that he could almost taste it.
She checked her watch, she did not know why but saw that it was not even Midnight yet, she had bailed on her friends even before the witching hour and felt another feeling of guilt for doing so.
She flipped open the box her food had come in and as soon as she laid eyes on it, her stomach let out another cry of protest as the thought of eating the ball of meat, cheese and grease filled her mind.
Once again she gave into the obvious and reminded herself that she was not a great drinker and had been led down the garden path by her friends and had perhaps two or three drinks too many.
"Are you ok?"
She heard the voice to the left of where she sat and tilted her head to one side and took in the view of a handsome man in his early twenties. his hair spiked up in a sort of short cropped cut and he wore a dark suit.
She looked him up and down before a spark of recognition formed in her mind like a bolt out of the blue, the smell of the burger wafted up and invaded her sense of smell until she closed the box with her hand.
it was him, the feelings of embarrassment almost instantly came flooding back as she replayed the incident in her mind and the spilt Jack Daniels and coke that had been knocked free of her hand the contents deposited everywhere.
She had wanted the floor to open up and swallow her and no matter how much she apologised and he seemed to be alright with what happened, she could just not get the matter straight in her head.
His words attempted to reassure her even as he got a towel from one of the serving staff and handed it to her and she could dry herself off and just like that he had casually vanished into the club.
! look for recognition formed on his face and she could see that he was trying to place her, put the pieces into place of how he seemed to know her.
"Ah, my Knight with the bar cloth"
The words said to him with a smile as she finally put it all together in her head and was pleasantly surprised to see him here after he had vanished before.
"Ah, Miss Jack Daniels and Coke"
He offered in response and laughed as well, his pieces of the puzzle now formed to picture of completion in his head.
Once their laughter eased to a comfortable silence between the pair he gave another warm friendly smile and he spoke.
"So, are you ok?"
She paused to ponder the question for a moment and could feel the hunger that had brought her in here in the first place slowly returning and she even felt a little less queasy than she had a few minutes before.
"Well, I guess laughter is the best form of medicine because I do"
She laughed at her statement and thought it might have come across as a little cheesy perhaps, but he just smiled at her in response.
"Please, .sit, join me"
She said and suddenly felt like she was being a little pushy and bit gently against her bottom lip and opened her mouth to say something else.
"Well, if it is no intrusion, then gladly"
he said and slipped into the chair opposite where she was sitting, his hand came up to wave away an offer of some of her french fries as she turned the container that they came in towards him.
"No, Thank you"
She heard him say as she popped open the box of her burger before bringing it to her mouth and taking a healthy bite from it and tasting the mixture of beef, cheese and salad contained within the bun.
The skies above Leicester square were now beginning to dark as the threat of rain began to become a real possibility, The beast continued to watch the movements of the people below and heard the laughter of several people standing at the entrance to the nightclub below.
Another sensation caused the creature's nose to twitch as it caught another scent on the wind, one of so many that it had taken in and rejected as they were not what was sought here.
With a slow deliberate movement its head turned and scanned the area below more carefully, the scent now became stronger as hungry eyes came to rest on the form of a tall red-headed woman dressed in tight blue denim jeans and a jacket.
In her arms, she seemed to be carrying something, a container of some kind and it watched as the lid of the container was opened inside was ice cream, the scent of it mixed in the air and it tasted like a multitude of different man-made flavours all in one.
A sense of triumph rose in the beast and, it moved from the crouching position that it had observed. it eased closer to the edge even as the powerful muscles in its legs began to tense and prepare to be drawn into the fray once more.
Legs now locked into place and ready to pounce, another scent filled its senses once more, the torment coming once again as the feeling of victory spirited away and it eased back on its legs and tried once more to find where the scent was trying to lead.
A low growl began to form in its throat as the scent was now stronger than ever, this time it had to be right, no trick or cruel action of nature, no, it was the one that had to be found.
The search was now seemingly at an end as the beat looked into the glass frontage of the food restaurant and laid eyes on her, right there sat the one that had toyed and tormented this creature and now she was within his grasp.
"So,"
She said through a half-chewed mouthful of food, her hands came up quickly in embarrassment as she covered her mouth and squeaked out a sincere sorry for her less than lady-like behaviour.
He said nothing in return as she quickly chewed the food and wiped away the food from her mouth and face before putting what was left of the burger back down inside the box that it came in.
"Sorry, what I was trying to say was, are you in the habit of saving every girl in need, you come across?"
She giggled drunkenly and seemed very amused by her comment and he just laughed a short warm laugh of his own in response.
"No, I do not play a hero all the time, only when I need to, and I thought I would do the world a good turn and save another potential victim from a drinks bath"
His words were full of life and humour and could not have been taken in any other way than the good-natured way they were delivered and she once more laughed at his words and pulled the cup of her soda closer and took a sip through the straw that sat in it.
Satisfied with the drink she had taken, she lifted her hand from where it held onto the cup and offered it across the table to where he sat in the way of an introduction, one that seemed far overdue.
"I'm Susan"
She said and he too lifted his hand to shake hers in a returned gesture of introduction and spoke.
"Jack"
The beast's eye rested on her now, watched as seemed to shake hands with this unknown person that seemed to be in her company, a low growl formed in his throat once more as his gaze remained unbroken.
She had filled his mind for so long now that nothing would stand in the way. not this distraction that sat with her or anything else. the prize was so close now that he could almost taste it.
