I stood in the corner, my eyes on the generic floor rug and clutching the stack of papers to my chest as if it were a life preserver. The decorating yellow swirls printed on the floor were just starting to get to me…I don’t know how long I had been staring a them, following the patterns to and fro, then he spoke.

“Just so you know, there is no end to them. They are all connected.”

His voice startled me out of my concentration. A playful half-smile was painted on his lips. It was cute. His eyes met mine and I quickly looked away, my face heating. He’s talking about the swirls! I realized embarrassed. He must have thought I was weird. He shifted his weight to this other foot impatiently. I peeked at him; he looked up at the screen that indicated how many floors we’ve passed and running his hand through his shaggy hair. I knew it; he just can’t wait to get rid of me.

“What is your name miss?” he asked, turning back towards my corner.

 I avoided his eyes and said: “Bea, yours?”

“Did my voice startle you Miss Bea?”

I looked into his eye for half a second before looking away. His eyes were curious and beautiful! A pale honey rimmed with black eyeliner, making him look like a foreigner with his sandy hair and wiry figure.

“It surprised me that’s all” I said unsurely.

He smiled without showing any teeth. His eyes grew soft and his head tilted slightly to the side, as if he was trying to figure me out. My gawd he’s adorable. He took a step in my direction. I watched him take another step. He leaned forward; his hand rose to touch my face, but hesitated,

“May I?” he asked.

Instinct kicked in,

“What are you doing?” I said firmly, trying to make myself sound bigger, but it came out as a squeak.

He gave a funny look, like he just realized something.

“Am I too close?” he asked.

I nodded.

“I’m sorry.” He said, leaning back to make space between us.  “I did not realize…”

His hand was still on my face. “They told me you had beautiful eyes, may I see them?”

I don’t know who told him that, but they sure lied to him. My eyes are nothing special; in fact, they’re dark brown, almost black, so dark it’s hard t