Don't. Touch. Me. [Book One]

Him

Lisa's POV

*April 4th 2014 - 7:23 a.m.*









"Lisa, get up!"

I was shaken out of a really nice sleep by my roommate, Harmony.

"What, what is it?"

"Mme Dumel called. She said she needed you to run some errands for her."

"Right now?"

"Right now."

Mme Dumel was my boss/teacher. See, I'm in this fashion program at NYU, where I have to work as a temp for two years, before I can actually get a real job in the fashion world. I really wanna be a fashion designer, but I might change my career path, seeing as how Mme Dumel can be a total bi-otch! It's like everyday, I have to run "errands", like pick up her dry cleaning, get her coffee or other small non-important stuff.

"Okay, I'm up."

I showered and made sure I took my work, so hopefully I could actually get some done. I grabbed my car keys and drove to her office, which is twenty minutes away. Once I was there, I raced up the stairs to the third floor. People were everywhere, filing out paperwork, trying on dresses, at the copy machine. It was just a mess.

"Where is Lisa? Oh, there you are. Come darling, I need you." Mme Dumel grabbed my arm and pulled me to her office.

"What is it Mme Dumel?"

"I need you to do this assignment for me. I was bothered with the task last week, but never got around to it."

"A real fashion assignment?"

"Yes darling. I simply want you "people watch". Find out what's everyone wearing, what's hot and what's not. Then when you're done, show me your notes."

"Wow, um okay. I can do that." I scrambled to get the rest of my stuff and raced back to my car. Since it was still a little early, I decided to go to my favorite café for breakfast. My stomach was eating my insides, and it was the perfect spot for people watching.


*Café - 9:10 a.m.*


I found a perfect spot facing the counter, which had a nice view of people everywhere. I could see almost all of 40th and 7th street, just from this angle. As time passed, people of all walks of life came through buying coffee, breakfast sandwiches and I took notes. All while I munched on a plain bagel with cream cheese and a cappuccino.

I found that a lot of women were into that H&M look; flowy dress shirts, skinny jeans or jeggings and any shoe that fits the weather. The guys, most of them, just had designer jeans, their favorite tee and a pair of comfortable, brand name sneakers. It was all kind of the same.

That is, until he walked in.

Soon as I saw 'him', my breath was taken away. My heart skipped a beat and I had to keep my mouth from dropping. He was breathtakingly beautiful. I don't think I've ever said that about a man before. Ever. I watched him order his coffee, then sit at a table, facing the TV, which was behind me. He scanned the area, like he was looking for something, then his eyes stayed glued to the TV for the early morning news report.

I had to shake any thoughts, to finish my work. I had too much work for other classes! to be thinking about a total stranger, but I couldn't help it. Even though I couldn't see them, I could tell he had bulging muscles by the way his jacket was wrapped tightly around him. His skin glowed with the morning sun shining through the giant glass windows.

God Lisa, focus! You have way too much work to do.

Only five minutes passed and I just couldn't stay focused. I felt bothered, seeing this man and not getting a chance to say something. Don't judge, it is 2013 and women have the same right to approach men, like men approaching women. I wrote the last note, and looked up to see him staring at the TV. I notice he had real gorgeous brown eyes, that got light in the sunlight. I was snapped shortly out of my thoughts when he glared directly at me. Shit!

I flashed a small smile, thinking he would do the same. He didn't, he just sat there. I felt a little disappointed, but he probably was already in a relationship. Maybe he's waiting for someone; a friend, girlfriend, wife. But it couldn't hurt to tell him I find him highly attractive, right? I mean, we might not ever see each other ever again, so what's the worst that could happen?

I swallowed the lump in my throat, sipped the rest of my cappuccino, grabbed my things and then walked over to him.

"Hi, is anyone sitting here?" He looked up at me, blankly. I got extremely nervous, thinking this might be a bad idea. All he did was shake his head no, so I sat down, placed my stuff on the table and looked him in the eye.

"My name's Lisa, and I had to come over because.....you are really attractive and I just had to say something." I let out a deep breath, like my life depended on that statement. His face didn't change and that scared me.

"I'm sorry, did I just make this awkward....for you?"

"Not really."

"Oh." Awkward silence. "So how long have you been living in the city?"

"Bout a month now. You?"

"I've been living here, pretty much all my life. Where did you live before?"

My phone started ringing, indicating I had a text message. It was Mme Dumel asking what was taking me so long. I completely forgot about the assignment. I replied back to her, telling her I would be done soon and put my phone away. When I looked back up, he was gone. I looked around and saw him just leaving out the door. I jammed all my papers in my work bag, along with my laptop, and got up to follow him. Even though he just left me hanging, something about him was very......intriguing and mysterious.

"Hey! Hey wait a minute." I called, but he wasn't stopping. Since he was taking his time to leave, I caught up with him.

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't know I was holding you up."

All he did was stare at me. Not even a confused look: just a blank stare. I immediately felt that this was a terrible idea.

"...Okay..well I'm gonna leave now. Bye!"

I turned to leave, thinking what the hell was wrong with me. It was like he didn't wanna be bothered, almost like I was being annoying.

"Lisa, wait..." I was snapped put of my thoughts when he called my name. He slowly came over my way. "About my behavior....I'm sorry. I'm just not used to making friends so....quickly." He looked at the ground when he spoke. I never knew someone like him could be so shy. Maybe he was homeschooled.

"I understand, but why don't you have many friends? You seem like a really cool guy."

"Really?"

"Yeah really. Know what?" I had an idea, again, and hopefully this won't be as bad as the first.

"What?"

"We are gonna find you some friends."

"No..Lisa, you don't--"

I held up my hand and shook my head no, so he would know I'm not kidding.

"No, there's no arguing. We're gonna go out, have a few drinks and have fun. What's your number?"

A smiled spread across his face. Along with a chuckle. I swear his smile is beautiful. After we got our information and where to meet at, I was about to walk away, when I realized I never got his name.

"Oh wait, what's your name? I'm sorry, I've just been so out of it, this past week."

"Chresanto August and it's fine."

"Chresanto? That's a nice name. Okay Chresanto, I'll call you sometime."

"Bye Lisa." He walked away, smiling, and I could feel my heart leaping around my chest. It was like, my high school crush allover again.

I happily strutted away to my car, back to Mme Dumel.

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