Sidney had been staring at the parking lot for quite some time. She had always been the type who believed in true love and was always drawn to happy couples. She tied to squint her eyes harder. Now she was sure the face was familiar. She couldn't point out the exact location she had seen it but she knew she had seen him before. There was something about him that made her feel drawn. She moved her gaze to scrutinize the lady standing next to him. She laughed and occasionally touched him as they conversed. Her eyes moved back to the guy, he was tall, light skinned, had nicely shaved hair. He looked gentle and loving, judging from the way he was handling the lady.
She was busy admiring them when she was distracted by some noise.
"Sidney!!!" Lavina shouted.
"What are you looking at? We have been discussing about our last semester and you have been daydreaming" Dina complained
"Whatever captures Sidney's attention has got to be good" Tanya stood to look at the direction her friend had been caught staring.
The girls; Sidney, Dina, Tanya and Lavina were having lunch at their favorite burger spot in Gigiri. It was an outdoor food court, very popular with the young people. The four had been friends ever since their early teen. They had gone to the same high school and were now in the same campus although pursuing different courses. They all had an inseparable friendship.
"Sid are you staring at Sean?" Tanya asked in disbelief.
"Who is Sean" she asked still looking at the parking area.
"That guy next to the black car with the lady dressed in blue" Tanya replied. Lavina and Dina stood to get a better view.
"I know him he goes to our campus" Lavina told them.
"Yes I also know him. He is in sixth year pursuing an Engineering degree. He is my friend" Tanya replied casually.
Tired of spying Dina sat down to continue eating her meal.
"Okay Tanya if he is your friend why don't you call him over" Dina replied with a mischievous grin.
Without hesitating Tanya was already shouting Sean's name. He turned and looked at their direction, talked to the lady and after a few seconds began walking towards their table. Sidney nervously sat back on her chair while Lavina and Tanya remained standing. They said hi, talked for a few seconds then introduced him to Dina and Sidney. Dina was quick to flirt.
Half of him was listening to what she was saying while the other half was focused on Sidney.
She had the most beautiful face, he could smell the scent of her perfume from where he stood and noticed how she kept on licking her lips nervously but still managed to look composed. He greeted her and held her hand for a few extra seconds. They felt like silk under his.
Sean talked to them but the whole time his eyes were on Sidney.
"What the hell is wrong with this guy" Sidney cursed in her mind.
At the same time she couldn't help but steal glances at him. He was tall and he had an athletic body which she would not mind feeling how toned it was. She licked her lip nervously when she saw him smile while talking to them.
"Ladies I have to leave your company, maybe I will join you some other time" he said and stared at her one last time.
"Bye Sean" Dina purred, battering her lashes and smiling sweetly "nice to meet you"
The girls all watched him walk away, enter the black car and drive off.
"That guy is just smoking hot" Dina exclaimed fanning herself with a napkin.
"Dina honey, please remind me the name of your boyfriend, is it Jake or do you want it to be Sean?" Tanya teased.
They all laughed because they knew she had a steady boyfriend and was just being naughty.
"Can a girl just admire a guy... furthermore his eyes were on Sidney"
"What is wrong with you girls and why are you attacking me? First of all, I was not staring at that Sean guy, second, he was not interested in me and third, Tanya stop looking at me with those cheeky eyes and I am not interested in him" Sidney told them in a serious tone.
"Wow! I have never heard Sidney talk that much in just one second" Tanya teased.
"Sidney are you trying to say he was not interested in you but you are interested in him?" Lavina provoked.
"I am not!"
"Okay you are not. But please do tell us, don't you think he is handsome" Tanya asked putting Sidney on the spot.
She paused for a second before answering. "Yes he is totally handsome" she replied shyly as they all erupted in laughter.
"Case solved Sidney likes Sean" Lavina shouted joyously.
They all continued arguing over the matter and Sidney was constantly on the defense. Later, they all left to go home.
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Dina was in her final year pursuing Medicine, she stayed with her parents at the posh Edelvale suburb. She was an only child. The girls were like the siblings she never had.
Tanya and Lavina were both Economic students also in their last year. Sidney was majoring in her law degree. The three lived in the campus hostels.
"It's too chilly I wish I could go back to bed" Lavina complained as she peeped outside her window.
She and Tanya were both preparing for their morning class. They shared the same room as it was big and didn't mind each others company.
"We should have woken up early to make coffee" Tanya replied rubbing her hands.
"Are you ready?" she asked
"Yes let's go" Lavina replied.
They passed by Sidney's room which was just one floor below theirs. She was still asleep but woke up on their arrival.
"Don't forget our class ends at ten, we can have breakfast by the cafeteria as we plan for Dina's birthday" Tanya shouted on their way out.
Lavina kissed Sidney goodbye and dashed off to catch up with Tanya.
Two hours later the weather was worse. The wind was stronger and so was the cold. Sidney was walking across the campus grounds going to meet her friends. She was tucked in a red trench coat and a scarf.
She tried to walk quickly to avoid feeling cold. A familiar black car passed her then slowed down and reversed. The window came down and inside was a nice looking light skin guy.
"Excuse me, hi" he said
Sidney stopped looked at him as she replied hi.
"I am looking for the Engineering block would you please direct me" he asked
"Straight down the road" she told him.
It started drizzling, fearing for her hair she moved away from the car and began rushing toward the cafeteria which was a few blocks ahead. The guy drove and caught up with her.
"Please let me give you a ride to where you going"
"Thanks for your concern but I am okay" she replied and continued walking.
The rain increased rapidly and without waiting for another invite she entered the car. She was embarrassed for trying to refuse his offer but maintained her cool.
"You can drop me by that building. Then take a left turn that will lead you to the Engineering wing"
"My name is Devin" he spoke.
She looked at him. He was dressed casually although expensively. His eyes met hers and there was some awkwardness between them. He had a neat goatee, looked attractive and dangerous at the same time.
"Sidney" she replied and turned to see if they were driving in the right direction.
They had reached the building she thanked him for the ride and went for the handle to open the door.
"Wait! It's still raining if you step outside even for a minute you will be drenched" he warned.
It was raining heavily. She was to meet her friends but was thirty minutes early. Common sense told her to wait until the rain stopped.
"I hope I am not inconveniencing you in any way" she spoke nervously.
"Not at all, I was just passing by to collect some stuff from someone but I can always reschedule"
"I am meeting with my friends here"
Coincidentally her phone buzzed. Lavina had sent a message saying they were stranded because of the rain and would be late.
"Since we are stuck here together why don't you tell me a little about yourself" he asked
"Why should I?" she asked
"You owe me, I just saved you from being rained on" he bragged.
"And I helped give you direction otherwise you would be lost"
He smiled. "Okay that makes us even, I will tell you about myself"
He spoke a lot mostly bragging and as much as he irritated her she found him charming...and attractive.
They were so absorbed in conversing that she did not notice the rain stop until she saw her friends enter the cafeteria.
"I have to leave my friends are here, see you another day" she said all warmed up to him
"Till we meet again Sidney" he replied.
Sidney got out of the car feeling disappointed that he had not asked for her number. She would have loved to see him again but if he was not interested she might as well focus on other things. Putting the distractions aside she sat down next to the girls and began planning for Dina's birthday.
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"Did you get stuck in the rain or were you just taking your time"
"Actually I got distracted then I had to wait for the rain to stop" Devin replied cheekily.
He was talking to his cousin who also his best friend. They were supposed to meet an hour ago.
"By distraction I suppose you mean a lady" Sean replied distastefully. He knew his cousin was notorious with the opposite sex.
"As a matter of fact yes it was a lady, her name is Sidney. Today was my second time seeing her so I couldn't resist an opportunity to say hi" he bragged.
Sean kept quiet for a second and looked around the almost empty class they were in.
"And when was your first time seeing her?" he asked leaning back in his chair to watch him speak.
"I don't know, all I know is that I have seen her before" he replied nonchalantly.
"Devin, yesterday when you were in the car and I was standing outside talking to your sister. I went to say hi to some friends at the food court, did you see those girls?" he asked.
"Oh yeah I guess that's where I saw Sidney, looking all dazzling" he replied stretching his hands sideways and smiled crookedly.
Sean felt irritated. He looked at his cousin and knew he was enjoying the moment. Devin was known to be a go-getter and had always liked competing with him in everything. If indeed Devin had talked to Sidney it was only because he was trying to get to her before he did. This was one of his games but he had no intention of playing it, he actually liked Sidney.
He had seen her around the university and they even shared a common unit but every time he saw her she was preoccupied. He had the hugest crush on her in fact he remembered mentioning it to Devin several times.
He might not have said her name but leave it to Devin to do the investigative work.
"So where did you leave her" he asked.
"She was going to meet her friends at the cafeteria"
He talked to him for a while then left to attend a class. It was the unit he shared with her.