Bane of my existence

Chapter 18- Luna

“Holy s**t!! It’s Bane” I was screaming inside but my face would say otherwise. I looked a lot calmer and composed than I actually felt. He was looking right at me and I could see he was perplexed at my sudden appearance but he seemed rather pleased. The faint glow of the corner booth lights, complimented his beautiful sharp features. His eyes lit up as he saw me walk in, the faint twinkle in them made my heart do a somersault. This time he had on a casual black tee-shirt and I have to admit, black never looked this good on anyone. His shiny black hair had a dishevelled look to them but oh! how I wanted to run my fingers through the strands. He was sipping on a glass of Bourbon just like the first night we’d met. I walked over with my best stride trying hard to not look like I was freaking out.

“Is this seat taken?” I asked him

I sat down when he said he was alone. He looked pleasantly surprised by my arrival and it pleased me even more. I sat down but I wasn’t sure what to say, all the confidence I had earlier vanished into thin air the moment he was close to me. He was so close that I could smell is cologne, that deep musky spicy scent that sent a thousand sparks all over my body. I wanted nothing more than to touch him and feel the roughness of his skin against mine. I looked up and realised that I hadn’t said anything for quite some time and neither had he. He was intently staring at me with a surprised yet amused look in his eyes. I hurriedly began talking,

“So I’ve been thinking about you” (I silently punched myself in the face, in my mind)

He smiled, the same cocky sexy grin, which made me go weak in my knees.

“I tend to have that effect on people” he said.

We began talking for a while. I told him about the wolf I’d seen the other night. He stiffened at the mention of the wolf , which made me feel like there was more to it than he let on but I brushed the thought aside.

“actually, the wolf, it had eyes like yours you know. And there was something about his gaze that reminded me of you” I watched him carefully to see how he’d react to this .

He fell quiet for a long time, deep in his own thoughts. He had a different look in his eyes which I couldn’t quite read. I touched his arm softly, it was warmer than I’d expected, “hey, back to earth now” I said softly, which brought him back instantly.

“What if it was actually me?”

Now he was watching me to see how I’d react. Seeing me panic, he gave a loud laugh and said,

“relax , there are a lot of wolves in the woods. “

I sighed and said “you had me there”

“Just the other night we’d seen a wolf in the woods near my place. Do you remember?” he asked, almost teasing me. I reddened thinking of the events of that night. His kisses that were so demanding and passionate, that left me wanting for more. He must’ve read my mind because he was sitting there giving me that same cocky sexy grin. I hurriedly deflected the conversation , realising this he asked me again,

“So tell me Luna, what are you doing at a bar alone?”

He sounded very protective which surprised me.

“well, I was at a place where I didn’t belong so I got out of there and came to a place where I felt like I belonged. “

“uh.. you belong in a bar?” he asked confused

“Not when you put it that way. I mean, okay let me explain. Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong here, I mean at that place where you were, you know like you’re surrounded by people a lot of whom are your friends or family , but it’s like your body is there but your soul is ...how do I put it...outside. Like you’re actually not there you know. “ I paused to look at him.

“Like your soul is floating above your body and you’re looking down at everyone and you don’t recognise yourself.” He said softly

I nodded and continued, “and it’s suffocating you and you need to get out of there and go outside for air. Ah... I sound crazy don’t I?”

“Then that makes two of us.” He winked.

“So where was it that you didn’t belong?” he asked

“um.. at the risk of sounding absolutely silly I’ll tell you, it was at Aunt Liza’s gallery opening.”

“The famous model turned artist Miss Liza?” he asked surprised

“uh yeah.. she’s my mom’s best friend and also my best friend’s mother and aunt Liza to me. “I said shrugging.

Liza Brown was a supermodel in her prime days and now she had parted ways with her modelling days and had turned into a full time artist. She made beautiful sculptures and paintings and she was also a collector of art and provided a platform for budding artists to show case their work. She was also a philanthropist and a single mom. She was a superwoman and my best friend Simon Brown’s mother and she was my mom’s best friend. This woman could do it all and she was doing it all actually. She was kind and beautiful and it would be safe to say that I absolutely adored her. And it didn’t come as a surprise when even Bane knew of her.

“Ahhh... so that was the place you didn’t belong to?”

“Yeah, I know it’s stupid.” I said with a sigh, but Bane just shook his head and said with a soft whisper,

“No it’s not. “

I ordered French fries and a chicken burger because I was starving and I had had too many drinks with very little food in my belly and now it was beginning to show. I was a bit intoxicated to say the least. I talk a lot when I am drunk and I make a mess, usually. But tonight I could not afford to do that, lest I scare him off. I laughed at the thought. I must’ve laughed out loud because when I looked at him he gave me a quizzical look with a raised eyebrow, almost as if asking “what’s funny?”

I shook my head and said, “I think I’m a bit.....intoxicated...drrr..uu..n..kk in simpler terms”

He responded with a deep, throaty laugh that sounded so sexy It could make me melt.

“Let’s get some food into your system now”

Saying that he motioned to the waiter to hurry with our orders, and when the food arrived I gobbled them up realising only then how famished I was. I didn’t pause to talk or do anything except stuff my face with food. After I was done with the last morsel, I took a big gulp of my beer which sent a loud burp out my mouth. Only when I heard someone laughing, did I realise that Bane was still there.

“f**k” I muttered softly under my breath. Embarrassed, I lifted my gaze slowly to meet his, staring at me laughing softly, clearly amused at the monstrous sound that erupted from my small lips. In that moment, I wished the earth below me would open wide and swallow me up.