My blind customer

chapter 8

hey guys i know it has been ages since i updated this story ....

i am sorry for that

i love it as much as my other story, it is just that sometimes i get brainstormed on one subject and have to write about it.....

So here it is.....

many thanks to macncheese for the awsome cover!!!!

_______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 8

“So! Do you like the pasta?” Mike asked her interrupting her thoughts. She looked at her plate and realised she had not tasted it yet. She quickly took a bite and savoured the taste of it.

“It is actually pretty good. You do know how to cook!!!”

“Hey I can't take the credit for it. We made it together.”

“Naaah you did most of the work! And now that we are actually at the table eating, are you finally going to tell me why you come to the cafe everyday?”

“Yes I am going to tell you but you have to promise me that you are not going to tell anyone, not even the girls you work with at the cafe. And that you are not going to treat me any different from before.” He said seriously, in contrast to the playful manner he had before. That got Nicky to look at him a little bit frightened. What was he going to tell her that was so serious? Could he actually be dangerous after all?

“I prrromise” She said reluctantly.

“Hey I did not mean to scare you or anything. I am sorry if I did. It is just kind of crucial for me to keep my reason secret.” Mike told her sweetly and calmly. From her little stutter he immediately understood that he most have scared her and he did not want that. He had spend all their time cooking to make her feel comfortable with him. He did not want to ruin everything now. He had not realised he had sounded harsh to her. He just wanted to outline the importance of her keeping his secret.

“OK! I did not realise it was that serious for you. If you don't want to tell me I am not going to insist on it.”

“No, It is OK. I want to share it with you. I trust you!”

“Thank you!” She said timidly feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

“So. Here it goes. Since I was a little boy I loved reading books. Because of my blindness my activities were more limited compared to my brother. My parents didn't want me to be deprived of something I so much enjoyed doing and made sure to find in Braille any book I desired. When they couldn't find a book because it wasn't being published in Braille they would spend as much time as possible to read it to me. You see these books with their narrations helped me travel and experience worlds I could never see.” He paused for a few seconds in an effort to feel the impact of his story had on Nicky. He didn't want her pity.

“I can relate to that but it still doesn't answer why you are coming to the cafe. I didn't see you bring any book with you.” Nicky said engrossed in his narration and baffled on his sudden stop.

Mike smirked at her lack of pity and continued. “You are right, but I wasn't finished. As I got older I started writing some short stories of my own and I gave them to my literature teachers to read them and give me suggestions on how I could improve them. My first stories where tales of knights and dragons and other mythical creatures. They were getting pretty good as I was growing up and a teacher of mine send some of them to an friend of his that worked as an editor in a big publishing company. To cut the story short, they liked them and asked for more. I got my first book published when I was 15, it was a children's tale that was followed by 12 more until I was 20 years old. I used a fake name cause I was getting enough attention as being the blind kid, I didn't want the stamp of the famous writer added to that. At 20 I decided I wanted to write something different from children's books, I wanted to reach out to a more mature group of people, so I started writing stories of adults and the problems they faced in their everyday lives, love problems, social or work problems.” He paused again waiting for her next reaction.

“You are a famous writer? What is the fake name you are using? Maybe I have read some of your books. I read a lot in my spare time. I am the favourite and more frequent customer of the town's library.” Nicky said excited.

“I am glad we have some things in common” he said and took her hand that was lying on the table in his. She looked at their joined hands and felt his warmth travel from his hand to her whole body.

“My alter ego is Douglas James”

“You are Douglas James? THE Douglas James?” She jumped from her seat.

“So you have heard of me?” he said smiling with satisfaction. He rarely used his work to impress people, but this pretty little lady he did want to impress.

“Have I heard of you? I love you! I have read all of your books, both those for adults and those for children. I was entranced with each one. You have an incredible style of writing. You make me travel with each of your lead characters. I mean you describe everything so good that sometimes while I sleep I dream I am the heroine of your book and I am the one doing all those amazing things.” She was jumping up and down and Mike was very satisfied she liked his books. He enjoyed her enthusiasm and decided to tease her a little bit.

“So you love me huh?” he smirked at her and the jumping stopped. She looked at him with wide eyes and placed her hand on her mouth.

“Eeeee I meant I really love your books. It is them I like not you” she tried to correct what she had said but made things even worse.

“So you don't like me? Aaah and it thought this was the beginning of something wonderful.” He kept teasing her. Nicky was beginning to get irritated with him. He was using her embarrassment against her.

“Stop making fun of me like that. You know what I mean.” She half yelled to him.

“You are right. I just thought of what a pretty rose colour your cheeks would have turned by now as a by product of your irritation. I bet it will be enchanting.” He said in a smooth and calm voice that instantly made her feel better. She could not explain why her emotions were being affected so much by him. She was used to dealing with the most frustrating customers at work and not reacting with anything but a smile. And here she was yelling at him in a moment and smiling at him in the next. What was wrong with her?

“Can I please touch your face? I really want to see what you look like so that I can have a better image of you fuming because of me?” He smirked at her and she really wanted to refuse him. But that wouldn't be fair. She could see him without his permission, it was only right that she would give him the same opportunity, even though she felt weird allowing him to touch her. Not bad weird, exciting weird.

“OK” she said and he proceeded cupping her face with his hands and examining her features with his fingers. After a couple of minutes he was still examining her face in a manner that felt more like a caress to her. That caress was causing her heart fluttering and she desperately needed something to distract her. So she decided to ask him more about his work.

“You still haven't answered to me why you keep coming to the cafe. I mean I would expect from you to stay at home and dedicate yourself to your books. I am sure you have deadlines to meet. How do you keep up staying almost all morning in the cafe?

“You always keep your eye on the target aren't you cupcake? I promised to tell you everything and I will.” He removed his hands from her face and sat back on his chair, his food totally forgotten in front of him.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

hope you liked it

XXX