Amiable Ch. 01

It was bitterly cold that day. I remember it well, how the chill seemed to sink into my bones. I remember I wanted the bus to hurry so I could escape its empty coldness in exchange for the empty heat of my office. I knew my lips were as blue as my eyes and I wondered why it appeared the city would not or could not fix these old buses so one didn't freeze during their commute. I was so centered on my own discomfort it was a remarkable feat that I even managed to notice her.

She had a thick red scarf artfully tied around her neck and it seemed dashing next to her navy blue pea coat. Her dark hair fell in waves down over her shoulders and upon her nose set one of those kinds of glasses that look intelligent on some and downright dorky on others. On her, they made her look smart. It was hard to discern the color of her eyes from the angle I was at but I later discovered they were a warm hue of brown.

Caught staring, I blinked and turned away but too late as the heat of my appraisal must have drawn her interest. She lifted her eyes from the paper in her hands and smiled in my direction. The smile lifted her face and revealed perfectly white teeth which I knew immediately were the result of white strips and not because the girl was overly careful with her dental care. She took the glasses off and slipped them into her bag as she folded the paper with a snap and tucked it away. Then she gracefully stood and walked the short space between us before placing herself neatly on the seat beside me.

"I'm Amy," she said in way of introduction, her voice soft and low, like warm coffee. I noticed she wasn't trembling like me and wondered if perhaps she was more used to this bitter cold. Perhaps she was a native. It was my own stupidity that had me leave my bright sunny southern state in search of a better life. So I had no one to fault but myself.

"Paige," I extended a hand which she enveloped quickly into her gloved one. I could feel the heat of her body even then through the thick layer of wool that covered her fingers. I looked up, met her eyes, and felt that incredible rush that one feels as soon as they realize they are drowning. She merely smiled at my discomfort and brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear with her free hand before she leaned in closer as if to whisper something to me confidentially. I waited her arrival with the proverbial baited breath.

"I don't bite...unless you want me to," had to be the worse come on line ever but spilling from her lips it made me breathless and my knees weak. I must have blushed; I had to have blushed, because my thoughts went distinctly south at this point as I returned her smile with one of my own.

"I want you to," I replied to my own surprise with a soft groan at the end which was so unlike my usual standoffish attitude. Something about this girl was turning me into a puddle of goo. I don't know what was coming over me. I was usually the pursuer, not the pursued and this change about is fair play nonsense never set well with me. I somehow managed to extract my fingers from her grasp and lowered my gaze as if I was standing naked before her. She did not seem to mind and all I heard was a soft giggle that was like the sweet sounds of tiny crystals lightly touching each other. Even her laugh was enchanting. My own hair, not quite blonde but not quite brown, fell over my face like a veil and I was so pleased it did so, not wanting my obvious discomfort in the situation to shine forth through my eyes.

I was not usually shy but for some reason this girl was making me feel young and giggly and oh so very aroused just from that one small touch. I didn't really want her to stop touching me but for some stupid reason it seemed the right thing to do.

But then I suddenly remembered we were on a bus in the morning and probably both heading off to work not knowing anything about the other except a first name which seemed crazy. I wanted to know everything about her, her job, her life, her home, her world. I wanted to bury myself inside her life and never come out. Perhaps I was jumping the gun but it felt so right. I lifted my hand and placed it gently on her arm, "When?" I asked her the question not even knowing what her answer would be but wanting, very much wanting, to see her again and again and again.

"Soon," was her answer with a small lift of her lips into that heavenly smile I would grow to love and want and need as much as one needs water to drink and food to eat. The bus began to roll to a stop and I realized I had been so lost in the moment with her that I had forgotten where I was or where I was going. We both looked up then and I realized, thankfully, I had not missed my stop but she stood quickly and said, "This is my stop."

"Wait!" I admonished her, also standing and willing to follow her off the bus if I needed to because I didn't want to lose her or to lose this opportunity that was opening up for the two of us.

She stopped me with a hand upon my arm, her voice soft as she spoke to me, like a mother speaking to a child, "It's okay, I'm not leaving you." Then she reached into her bag and pulled out a business card, pressing it into my own gloved hand before she slipped down the bus steps and out onto the busy street.

"Amy Drexler, Attorney," I read out loud to myself as I held that small piece of paper that was my lifeline to her. It contained the usual information, her business address, her office phone number, her beeper. Overcome with relief, I kissed the card and stuck it deep into the front pocket of my own bag knowing I never wanted to lose that card ever.