Stranger Not Danger
1050 Words
Kelly's POV
I leaned on the bar, my second drink almost finished, because it had been a while since I last saw him.
Hope had come to join me at the bar, the music was a deep thrum in my chest, but the uneasiness from earlier hadn’t fully faded.
My eyes kept scanning the crowd, hoping to catch the face I’d only seen for a few seconds, but there was no success.
“Still looking for Mr. Tall, dark, and intense?” Hope shouted beside me over the music, sipping her drink and raising an eyebrow.
I tried to laugh it off. “I wasn’t looking for anyone.”
“Right, you're just scanning the room like you lost your child.”
I snorted. “My God hope, He looked like he belonged in another universe.”
“Good, then go find him and get abducted, if you catch my drift,” Hope teased.
Hope spotted a group of friends waving from the dance floor and squeezed my arm. “I’m going to say hi to Mari, are you okay here for a minute?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Hope winked and melted into the crowd, leaving me alone again.
I exhaled and turned back to the bar, as I traced a circle along the rim of my glass, trying to pretend I didn't feel eyes on me again, even though I couldn’t see anyone looking at me.
The feeling was a prickle on my skin, as I was about to reach for my drink, a smooth voice spoke from right beside me.
“Vodka martini, right?”
I blinked and turned, he was there, standing right next to me, not across the room this time, but close.
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly became dry.
“You’re about to finish this one,” he said, placing a fresh glass in front of me. “I figured a refill was in order.”
His face was unsmiling, yet it wasn't cold, it was strange. His expression was controlled and calm, like a man used to observing, not chasing.
I eyed the drink, then him. “I can see that you’re observant,” I said cautiously.
He shrugged lightly, one hand in his pocket. “I watch people.”
“That’s not creepy at all.”
A faint crinkle at the corners of his dark eyes was the only sign of a smile. “It depends on who you’re watching.”
I picked up the fresh glass, my fingers trembling slightly. “And what exactly did you see?”
He tilted his head slightly. “A woman who doesn't want to be here...”
My lips parted in surprise. “Who says I didn't want to be here?”
“I saw the way you held your purse like a shield when you first walked in,” he said, his voice low and steady.
“The way you stood at the edge of the dance floor, and the way you only started smiling after your second drink.”
I just stared at him, he wasn't just guessing, he had genuinely been watching me.
I tried to turn the attention back on him. “I could say the same about you, you don't look like you belong here either.”
He gave a slight nod. “I don’t like crowds.”
“Yet here you are.”
“Yet here I am.”
We stood in silence for a moment, the music pounding all around us, and the crowd was a storm of movement.
But between us, it was completely still, my heart thudded in my chest. He wasn't trying to be charming, he wasn't trying to impress me, but I felt the pull all the same.
“What’s your name?” I asked, the question escaping before I could stop it.
He studied me for a moment, as if weighing the question. “Does it matter?”
I raised a brow. “Depends, or are you a serial killer?”
He let out a short laugh. “If I were, I wouldn’t be wearing a suit this nice and I wouldn't tell you, would I?”
A smile finally broke through on my face, there was something comforting about the way he spoke and didn't overdo anything.
He gestured toward the dance floor. “You were dancing earlier.”
“Briefly.”
“You stopped.”
“I got thirsty.”
His gaze didn’t waver. “Do you want to go back out there?”
I hesitated, dancing with Hope was one thing, but with this man? In the middle of all these people? I was about to shake my head, but something inside stopped me.
A rush of being seen, of being wanted, a flash of the feeling I had when I was dancing just a few minutes ago.
“Just one dance,” I said quietly.
He didn't smile, he simply offered me his hand, and I placed mine in it.
The crowd swallowed us, the music shifted to a deeper, heavier beat. My heels clicked lightly on the polished floor as he led me toward the center, and we moved without speaking.
His hand rested lightly on my waist, his other hand held my fingers, a gentle but firm guide. He didn’t crowd me, but he didn’t give me space either.
My breath grew shallow because every time my hips swayed, I felt his body tense. It was a subtle reaction, but I felt it, like he was restraining himself.
I glanced up at him, and he was already looking down at me, his gaze was sharp. It wasn't dangerous, but it almost look like he was… hungry.
“Are you always this intense?” I asked, trying to break the tension.
“Only when I’m paying attention.”
My pulse fluttered in my throat.
We moved in silence again, the space between us almost closing.
Then the song slowed, melting into a breathless rhythm. He leaned in slightly, his voice a low whisper against my ear. “Come with me.”
My heart stuttered.
I knew what he meant, he didn't need to say more, also I could have said no, I could have pulled away and returned to my old, safe, broken life.
But I didn’t.
- Writer
