The blonde guy

A little trip into Brad's life

Danny's pov

Even though my stomach was filled with butterflies, I took a sip of my tea as I darted another glance at the back of blonde's head.

Just walk straight past and back to the shop. You don’t need to sit down at a table. That would make you look even weirder. Just walk casually across the road and don’t look back.

Despite that sensible voice in my head, I found myself coming to a stop once I’d stepped back into the cold air. My throat bobbed nervously when I

saw the blurry mass of platinum blonde move in my periphery, blond head turning to look at me.

Because I was just standing there. Like an idiot.

All the tables out here were filled now, I realised with a sickening jolt.

Okay, just start walking. I didn’t. Start walking!

I took a single jarring step forward, then froze in place when a low,

gravelly voice sounded on my right.

“You can sit here, if you want.”

My scalp tingled. I’d never heard his voice before, but I knew instantly

that it was him, even before I turned my head and saw him already looking at me, his eyes even more dark and unfathomable from this close.

fuck.

His face was expressionless, but his eyes followed me as I took

a jerky step closer to his table.

“Um.” I licked my lips nervously. “Okay. Thanks.”

Neither of us spoke as I pulled out the other chair, the metal legs

screeching against the concrete. The two women at the next table glanced

over at the sound, the one with a shaved head, wearing a puffer jacket with

a fur-lined hood gave me a brief smile that I returned shakily.

What are you doing? I screamed at myself in my head. Just go back to

the shop!

I lifted my drink and took a slow sip instead, avoiding looking at him

opposite me, even though his brightly coloured hair was like a beacon,

automatically drawing my eye.

My pulse leapt when he cleared his throat and stubbed out his cigarette.

I couldn’t stop myself from staring at his long fingers out of the corner of

my eye. They were strong, with big knuckles.

“You don’t have to sit here if you don’t want.” His voice was dry and

mostly flat, but I could detect a faint hint of amusement in his tone. My

cheeks flushed again.

“No, I’m—Thanks.” I took another sip of my drink before setting it

down and forcing myself to meet his gaze.

My stomach cramped up with almost overwhelming attraction. He was so much more handsome up close—the smile lines in the corners of his eyes, the arched

eyebrows and long lashes.

We stared at each other in silence for a second. When his gaze dipped to

my mouth, I felt just a touch of my confidence return. I gave him a small

smile, excitement bubbling inside me when his eyes flared in reaction.

Maybe he was attracted to me too.

Rather than smile back, he leaned forward slightly in his seat and held out a big, manicured hand. “I’m Brad.”

Brad. I held my breath for a second as I stared at his hand, then watched myself reach out and grasp it. His fingers enveloped mine, warm and dry,

I cleared my throat, hoping my voice would come out somewhat

normal. “Danny”

Blonde—Brad—glanced down at our linked hands when his thumb

brushed against the edge of the white plaster on my finger. Releasing his grip, he nodded at it. “Sorry if I startled you earlier.”

“Oh!” I let out a nervous squawk of laughter, picking at the edge of the

plaster and feeling its adhesive sticking to my fingernail. “That’s okay. I can be a little clumsy anyway. Um… so, do you work around here?”

My knee was bouncing anxiously under the table. I grabbed my drink to have another sip, to try and calm my nerves, but I didn’t think the tea was helping.

Brad shook his head as he pulled out another cigarette. He held the

packet out to me, and I couldn’t help wrinkling my nose in distaste as I shook my head. Jesus, he’s a chain smoker then, I thought as I watched him light it and inhale.

Part of me wished that was enough to dampen my attraction to him even

just a little—maybe to normal, manageable levels—but it didn’t. I didn’t

think there was anything that would. Unless he was a murderer or something.

“I mostly work from home, but I do have an office in town.” He picked

up his takeaway cup and had a sip, dark gaze holding mine above the rim.

“The coffee place by my office closed down a couple of months ago, so I started coming here.”

I nodded, fiddling with my phone nervously. “What do you do?”

“community management.” He jerked his chin at the coffee shop behind

me. “You’re a regular customer, right?”

what kind of job was community management?

It was ridiculous, and childish, but my stomach squeezed with

excitement over the fact that he’d actually noticed me. God, I was acting

like a teenager.

It was hard not to stare at him. Something about him was… I just

couldn’t keep my eyes off him for long. It wasn’t even how attractive I found him. It wasn’t the hair, or his tall, thick, imposing frame. It was all those things and none of them at the same time.

It was like something cloaked him, something alluring, unsettling and predatory at once. Something I thought I saw flashes of in his dark eyes when our gazes met briefly through the shop window.

Our eyes locked as he took another drag of his cigarette. I felt my

cheeks flush, and silently berated myself when I looked away quickly. This wasn’t me. I wasn’t shy. I wasn’t unsure of myself, especially with men. I

was flirty and confident. You had to be to dress the way I did sometimes in

a fairly small town.

“Yeah.” I sat up straighter and gave him a proper smile, trying to shake

off the nerves. “For a few years now. I love it.”

For a split second, he looked almost… vulnerable. “Maybe I could take you out for dinner. Or a drink. Whichever you’d prefer.”

I stared at him, frozen in place. The words took a few seconds to

register in my brain.

Had Blonde really just asked me out?

Oh my god.

“Yes,” I blurted, throat getting hot. “Yeah, that would—I’d like that.”

There was a pause before Brad nodded, lips curling into a tiny smile

again. “Great. Which?

“Oh.” My snort of laughter was kind of embarrassing, but I brushed it

off. “Um—dinner would be, uh, fun.”

I immediately worried he’d think I was picking the more expensive

option on purpose, but Brad just nodded again and picked up his coffee.

My hand reached out automatically do the same. As I sucked in iced

Tea through the rapidly softening cardboard straw, I caught the eye of the lady with the shaved head at the next table over. She grinned at me,

eyebrows lifting, and sent me a quick, subtle thumbs up. My mouth

twitched with the start of a smile, so I quickly looked back at Brad.

He flashed me a brief but dazzling grin, revealing a little gap between

his two front teeth.

“It’s a date.”