Johannas happened to look up from his newspaper when Shana walked in. He quickly lowered the newspaper and tilted his head from behind the beam that partially hid her from his view. He had to get a better look at this intriguing woman who commanded his attention.
Her stunning five foot nine, willowy body moved with smooth elegance as she crossed the floor to admire the window display. She swept her long, curly, sable brown hair around her creamy neck, allowing it to cascade loosely on her shoulders. Her eyes had a strange golden-bronze tinge to them, that he found striking. Like fire, they flashed brilliant specks of golden bronze hues from her copper oval face. Her cheekbones were high and sculptured, in contrast with her full soft lips. He could somehow sense the curvy silhouette of her body through her rust suede jacket.
Strong feelings of arousal took control of his consciousness as he lay back in his chair, paralyzed by this vision of loveliness. He could feel his heart pounding. A quick flash of heat rushed through his entire body. His back became damp, beads of sweat slid down the side of his forehead.
Johannas had his pick of women from all over the world, but none of the women he had met, made him feel like he did right now, at this moment, seeing this woman. His thoughts raced back to something his mother said when he was growing up. He asked her how he would know his soul mate when it was time. His mother told him that he would know her the moment he saw her.
He had fought in wars and survived assassination attempts, where he had more composure than he did now. He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his face. Never would he have thought that fate would bring him across stormy seas and dry deserts to stand sweating like a scared school boy in front of this stunning African American beauty. I can't let her get away, he thought to himself. He had to think quickly before she was gone.
Shana came back to the counter and watched the waitress prepare her coffee in the sleek silver espresso machine. She casually glanced up at the nautical clock on the wall and saw that it was five minutes after seven.
She nervously tapped the tips of her opal nails on the counter top. "Can you put my coffee in a large cup?" She didn't want her coffee to spill as she carried it down the street.
Johannas stood up and walked toward the door. The waitress looked over and saw Johannas staring at Shana, and replied with a toothy grin,"Oh fur sure." Shana turned around, prompted by the gaping look on the waitress's face, and met the smiling gaze of a handsome, clean shaven, well dressed, six-foot, bronze-skinned stranger with broad shoulders, strong jaws, a prominent forehead and slim hips.
As he stood there, leaning against the doorway, with his arms folded across his chest, Shana noticed that he had a formal air about himself, almost regal, manifested by his perfect posture. She looked from his feet to the top of his head and thought that she had never seen a man so beautiful, without a visible flaw. He smiled at Shana through dimpled cheeks. Shana raised one eyebrow, pursed her lips, and turned her back on him.
"Not again," she sighed to herself as she sat waiting for her coffee. Strange men were always crossing rooms, climbing stairs, and running up escalators to introduce themselves to her.
"That will be two seventy five." The waitress handed Shana her coffee. Shana adjusted the lid on the styrofoam cup, picked up her receipt, and quickly peeled three dollars from a small wad of bills from her pocket and laid them on the table. "Keep the change."
On her way out, she whirled past the handsome stranger without saying a word or making eye contact. Her money fell out of her pocket and flew in the wind behind her as she walked down the deserted street.
Johannas saw the bills flying in the air behind her. He quickly stepped out the door catching them all in both hands as they floated down in a funnel towards the ground.
The waitress absentmindedly burned her knuckles on the milk steamer when she saw Johannas run out of the coffeehouse chasing after Shana's money.
As she made her way down the street, Shana was feeling a little guilty about her rude behavior. She could at least have smiled at the stranger, she thought, but today she just didn't want to be bothered. She wanted to meet Lauren and get on with her Friday night ritual of watching her movie.
She reminisced back to her sixteenth birthday as she strolled along. Her Aunt Helen told her that she had been gifted with a rare beauty, and that she would probably receive a lot of unwanted attention from young men as she grew older. Her aunt advised her to always be polite and talk to young men in a kind-hearted way without being rude.
Johannas quickly caught up with Shana and walked beside her. "Excuse me, I saw you in the restaurant." Johannas said as he extended his hand to Shana's. "You dropped this." He flashed his most beguiling smile as he handed her the money.
An electrical current moved from the tips of her fingers to the bottom of her toes when Johannas touched her hand.
She slowed down to a gradual pace and raised one skeptical eyebrow, and then slowly lowered it at the sight of his dimpled cheeks. Her father had dimples.
"Thank you" She replied as she gave the stranger a perplexed look. She detected a subtle accent when he spoke. Where was he from she thought. His English was too imposing to belong to an American.
"It was nothing." Johannas said in a smooth voice. He searched her face for even a hint of acceptance, but instead was caught by the grip of her fiery golden eyes. They stared at each other for a moment which seemed like an eternity. She was even more beautiful up close he thought. His coal-black eyes shone warmly beneath his thick brows.
"Allow me to introduce myself, My name is Johannas Harare. A young woman like yourself should not walk alone at night. I would be happy to escort you to your destination?" Johannas offered. His smooth velvety voice sounded like a cross between Barry White and James Earl Jones.
Shana decided not to encourage him by asking what country he was from. She could see the gentleness in his eyes and hear it in his voice. She looked in his face and saw a life of privilege: loving parents, a good education, a country that embraced him.
She eyed the black roman numerals on her watch and saw that she had about twenty minutes left, "It's okay, I'm kind of in a hurry, I'm on my way to the movie theater across the street to see Spike Lee's new film."
Johannas frowned and stoked his chin, "By yourself?" he questioned. He couldn't understand why a beautiful woman like her was going to the movies without a date. It didn't make sense, he thought. Millions of guys would stand in line to take her to the movies, or anywhere she wanted to go for that matter.
Shana resented his statement. Somewhere, deep down in her soul she knew the reason why she didn't have a date was because she had pushed them all away. He had touched on a problem area in her life that she didn't want to admit existed, but she didn't have to explain anything to this stranger. She got angry just thinking about it.
What's wrong with going to the movies alone, she asked herself in feigned self defense. She blinked her large dove shaped eyes and tilted her head to the side, and put her hand on her hip, and wiggled her index finger sassily. "Has the thought ever occurred to you that some women might prefer going to the movies by themselves."
Seeing the impudentness of her facial expression and the seriousness of her attitude, Johannas took a step backwards to reassess this woman. Her fiery copper eyes burned with fury. Women had never denied or rejected him, this was the first time ever in his life, he had experienced interacting with a boldly assertive woman. He loved it. He had never seen a woman with such an independent spirit to match a man's. He had a strange weakness for tough minded, ironed willed, sassy women, especially those with long legs. And she was all of that. He was completely turned on by Shana's high spirited nature, and could tell from her few words that she was a woman to be reckoned with. He glanced down at her left hand and saw that she wore no ring and smiled.
On the one hand, Shana was honestly intrigued by this man, which was uncommon for her. On the other hand she was slightly put off by his statement, and now that she was out of time and aware of of her feelings, she began to feel fidgety. She looked at her watch and saw that she only had thirteen minutes left to get to the movie.
"Look, thanks for walking with me, it was nice talking to you but I really must leave." She gave Johannas a quick smile and walked away with a quick pace. By the time she reached the end of the block, the street light had just turned red. Johannas walked quickly to catch up with her and cried out "Please, wait."
Standing at the red light arms akimbo, Shana turned her head around to face the handsome stranger while she walked. She looked directly in his direction, and said in a calm, cool voice "Look! I told you that I'm in a hurry, leave me alone!" She was getting slightly irritated with the aggressiveness of him. Though he was handsome, she silently wished she had never stopped to speak to him. She stepped further into the crosswalk and waved to Johannas, I'm sorry, but I..."
While her words were still hanging in the air, a parked car partially hidden behind a tall Evergreen tree, unexpectedly pulled away from the curb sideswiping her willowy body slamming her onto the cold concrete curb. Johannas' blood ran cold as he watched the accident in horror. The color drained from his skin, and his eyes took on the color of black jet. For a brief moment in time he didn't want to believe this was happening. He quickly ran to her side and bent over her unconscious body, and yelled at the driver, but the car continued down the road not realizing the disaster it left behind. Johannas stood alone on the dark deserted street wondering what to do with this unconscious beauty.
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