WhenTheCold Pounds on the door

小寒 [10] / [20]

“Cologne?”

Ed asked back as if the question was ridiculous. Anna turned her head, and looked at him. He went through the inside of his bag, and sprayed it on Alexander’s clothing. It was a cool fragrance, like the ocean.

“I will be back.”

Alexander put their gazes behind him as he left the office. He got there in 20 minutes. He entered the restaurant and waited for her. Not very long after, a sober-suited woman stood in front of him. It was her. And unlike when she was at work, her hair was down. It shimmered in the fading light from outside. She was beaming at him.

"You made my dull evening special. I needed something to do anyhow,"

she said.

He could feel that she was a little bit nervous by her voice. Her cheeks flushed. He wasn't sure whether it was caused by the wind or nervousness.

"You seemed like good company. I'm glad you were able to make it,"

replied Alexander, picking up his menu.

"You fancy a drink?"

She looked at him.

"Are you sure? From the looks of it, you're still on the clock."

She was right, and he said to himself that he wouldn't drink, but he said exactly what he was thinking.

"It's been a long day. Just one cerveza won't hurt.”

"Am I right? Are you on duty? I just guessed by your tired face and attire. Can I ask what you do?"

Alexander slightly shook his head.

"You're better off not knowing. I don't want you to be turned off by my job."

He said this half jokingly, half serious. Actually, he never thought of his job as attractive. On the contrary, he thought it as something dull, uninteresting, and not all that meaningful. And it had never been helpful to reveal what he did for a living, especially to a woman.

"I don't think I would care that much. What I was interested in was your eyes, not your position, when I first saw you."

"My eyes,"

replied Alexander, surprised.

"what about my eyes?"

She looked at him thoughtfully, and after a few seconds responded.

"You just have that look; determined, gentle, strong demeanor that comes across at a glance. Plus I'm a sucker for dark brown eyes."

"Most people have brown eyes,"

he said with a chuckle.

"That doesn't mean they aren't beautiful,”

she said in a rather serious voice.

He was a bit surprised. No woman ever told him that. Her attitude was very sincere and honest. He could tell that by her gaze when she looked at him. After all of the recent turbulence, the Tsunami of shit that had slammed into his life as of late, he got a kind of consolation from her. He didn't want to spoil this feeling. He might actually cherish it, and certainly wouldn't destroy it, which would've been his first impulse in the beginning.