"Cora." He called, eyes caressing my face in a way that I so badly wanted for his fingers to instead. "Tell me to stop."
I gulped, the words frozen on the tip of my tongue.
"Cora, tell me now." He repeated, growing more agitated as his gaze moved do...
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Familiar. Comfortable. Predictable.
All words that could be used to describe the path that I took to get home.
I knew everybody that walked down these streets, from Florence and her dog to Bill and his granddaughter.
The cobbled pavements greeted me and my well worn soles every time we met because I came here that often.
So imagine my surprise when I lifted my gaze from my favourite pavements to be met with the unblinking blue eyes of a complete stranger.
With a face that housed smooth pale skin, a ridiculously sharp jawline and lips that slightly turned up at the corners, he was easily the most attractive man I'd ever seen.
And he was looking directly at me with an intensity that I couldn't shake off.
As if in that moment, I was the only thing that existed.
Panic seized control of my judgement and I dashed down an alley that didn't even lead to my apartment.
"Who on earth was that?" I thought to myself as my heart pounded in my ears.
He didn't look like he belonged in this neighbourhood and I definitely would've remembered seeing a face like his.
I paused for a second to go over what had just happened and mentally scolded myself for reacting so crazily.
The poor guy was probably just minding his own business.
People can stare off into space.
That's what he was doing Cora, you're reading too much into it.
Feeling satisfied with my conclusion, I shook myself out of whatever spell I had clearly been under and returned to my usual path.
I placed my headphones back onto my ears, increasing the volume until the music had drowned out my loud thoughts.
The slight bounce in my step returned as I lost myself in my playlist.
Good music has the same power as a good book in the sense that it allows you to be someone else for however long it lasts.
I began my journey in New York City circa the early 2000's as a soulful, R&B style voice filled my ears, finishing in 19th century New Orleans through the power of jazz.
As the last song came to an end I found myself back in London, standing in front of the high rise concrete building that housed my apartment and countless others.
My hands twisted the door handle, swinging the door open to reveal my tastefully decorated living space.
Being low on money hadn't stopped me from being creative with how I furnished rooms, and I took pleasure in making pieces that looked far more expensive than they really were.
