Chapter 2:

The alarm of the clock intruded my sleep and I half opened my eyes. It was another morning. I hesitated as I pulled back the sheets, and the cold began to penetrate the warmth underneath my duvet cover. I placed my little feet on the carpet and began to walk to the bathroom. The bathroom floor was cold and as I ran the taps I opened the window and peeped out onto the street. His lights were on again. It had been several mornings ago since my brief encounter with him, and I hadn’t seen him walking his dog. I found myself trying to time my routine perfectly, so I got out of the house the same time as he did. But I just couldn’t manage it. Would this morning be my lucky one? I argued with myself as I began to massage shampoo into my hair. I could not understand why I was feeling this way. As I rinsed away the lather from my hair, I began to question my feelings more. Why did I find myself now liking a guy who, in the past, I was so reluctant to admire when the other girls were. Why was this now becoming such an dominating part of my life? I had never been in love before, so I was totally unaware of how I should feel. But how could I love him? I didn’t even know him. Something about him had certainly triggered a feeling inside of me. I returned to my bedroom and began to dress - getting a bit comfortable with the idea of actually fancying someone and maybe seducing them. My emotions were very mixed.

I placed two slices of toast into my toaster and found myself peeping through the blinds of the kitchen window. I could not see him, but could see the lights of his house still shining bright over all the other houses. I came away from the window quickly incase somebody saw me, or even worse, he saw me. I applied an extra thick layer of butter to my toast, as I felt I needed something to comfort me during this strange and nerving but exciting experience.

After finishing my breakfast I proceeded to my front door, out of the mild warmth of the house and into the sharp cold. I could almost feel my cheeks going red as the cold air hit them. I began walking down the street looking carefully around me with my eyes, but still not a glimpse of him. As I approached the bus stop I heard tiny tapping on the pavement. I caught a glimpse through the corner of my eye of a big black dog running over to me. It startled me ever so slightly, even more so when I realised it was his dog.

“Bruce! Get over here” - a voice called out. I smiled down at the dog that was smelling at my little black high heeled shoes. “Hello” I said down to the dog, trying to act all cool. My greeting to the dog seemed to have excited it and it was eager for me to stroke it. I saw him through the corner of my eye, becoming frustrated as his commands to his dog were declined. My heart skipped a beat as he began walking over to me. His legs striding out and his masculine arms marched at the side of him.

“Sorry love, he wont do as he’s told” he apologised.
“No no, it’s fine sweetheart, don’t worry about it” I returned.

I quickly turned away. Sweetheart? What the hell was I thinking? As I continued towards my bus stop that horrid word played on loop in my mind. Sweetheart - Sweetheart.
I had never called anyone a sweetheart before, so why did I have to now, when faced with the man of dreams. It was now I realised how much I really was attracted to this guy. He was everything I wanted. His voice. His body. I wanted him to hold me and make love to me.

During the week, I had had two brief encounters with him. It was the first time we had actually made eye contact, and still I was a bit confused as to why I felt so drawn to a man I had only seen walking up and down my street. A man who I once as a late teenager, could not see anything special about.

I felt such a strong connection to this man, and yet I didn’t even know his name.