"Love the cheesy line, but I'm not interested. Thanks," I replied rather bitterly.
The stranger laughed, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been such a creep. Let me make it up to you?"
Big brown eyes looked down at me, paired by a crew cut and monstrously large arms. I was sure one bicep would measure bigger than my waist. It was easy to see how cute he was if you saw his face first and weren't intimidated by his size. If I was being honest, his size did throw me off quite a lot.
I was biased though, considering I was standing in his shadow. His face held such sincerity that it made me feel awful for acting how I did, and I decided to try and reverse that while I could.
"Yeah, that would be nice. Thank you."
He smiled and gestured for me to follow him. He brought me to the bar and was about to order a drink for me when I stopped him.
I lightly touched his arm to get his attention, "I'm a designated driver today, I can't drink."
He ordered something virgin, and handed it to me, "My name is David. It's been lovely running into you."
"Rhia, and I'm sorry I came off like a dick earlier." I took the drink.
His eyes looked so soft and gentle that I felt thrown off balance. I avoided eye contact because it was too intense for me to handle, and tucked my hair behind my ear out of the sheer awkwardness of the situation. David didn't feel it though.
"Can I have your number?" He asked.
I handed him my phone, which was probably a bad idea, and he didn't steal it. I was impressed by that fact alone. His large fingers had to backspace a lot because they tapped the wrong buttons more than once, but I decided not to be impatient because of something he obviously knew he had to deal with.
"You're not nervous right?" David asked, "You didn't give me your phone because you're scared of me?"
"No. I gave it to you because you seemed nice enough. Most people act like assholes when people run into them, sorry about that again by the way," I laughed.
"I know how I look, and it's alright if you're not comfortable," David said quietly.
I reached out and placed my hand on his huge bicep, which was a little distracting, "I'm not a scared little dear, but thanks for asking."
David smiled a beautiful smile at me, only adding to the idea that he was this beautiful stranger I was never meant to meet. He was really gorgeous the more I looked at him, and I should've avert my eyes so I didn't embarrass myself, but I couldn't.
"Rhia, would you tell me a little about yourself?"
I nodded, "I grew up a few states over and got a scholarship to the university here, so here I am."
David looked like he was giving me his full attention which was intimidating in itself, "You must be pretty smart. I don't know a lot of people that get into this college."
"I wish I thought so," I nervously laughed, "I'm only part time and I'm not pulling straight A's even with fewer classes."
David placed his hand on mine, and like he was a magician, my hand disappeared beneath his. I wasn't sure what it was about him that really made me confess something I barely told anyone. I'm guessing it could be the giant brown eyes staring into my soul.
"Well, I'm from the south, and usually people think we're less intelligent because of the accents, at least you look smart," David laughed, "I could cure cancer and people would tell me to go back to my cows."
I laughed along with him. He seemed so gentle, so timid, and I couldn't help but feel awful for him. We all just want to connect with people, but David had two hundred pounds of reasons why people would reconsider. He sort of reminded me of the Rock but scarier.
"I'll see you around, Rhia." David handed my phone back, leaving soon after.
I turned around to head back to the table and nearly spilled my drink all over Hannah, "Shit, where did you come from?"
"Who was that?" Hannah gave me a confused smile.
"I ran into him. Not really sure who he is."
Hannah placed her hands on my arms and rubbed them as if she thought I was cold. Then, she took my hand in hers and lead us back to the table. Vince immediately grabbed my drink out of my hand and nearly knocked the whole thing over.
"You don't drink!" He reminded me like I somehow forgot.
"It's not alcoholic. Don't take things out of my hands." I reached my hand out to take back what belonged to me.
Vince handed it back and mumbled a sorry, which I ignored. I wasn't sure what kind of damn headspace he was in but there was no way I was going to let him trample over me. He was being ridiculous lately and I hated it more than anything.
I didn't know where the sudden change came from. One moment he was someone I actually wanted to spend time with and the next he was being overbearing and made me want to pull my hair out. I sat down in the booth and ate my food without any more trouble.
My phone buzzed and I picked it up, but not before Vince had become nosey enough to read it, "Who is David?"
"Who are you, Vince?"
I probably didn't mean to say that so harshly, but I think I needed an answer.
"I'm sorry I've been on edge. I've had some family issues recently and I didn't mean to let it get into other aspects of my life," Vince said quietly.
"Is everything okay?" Hannah asked, reaching across the table to put her hand on his.
"My sister was in a fight in school and they suspended her even though she was unconscious when the person attacked her." Vince balled his hands into fists.
"Unconscious?" Hannah asked carefully.
Vince relaxed and his face grew sad, "My sister has seizures sometimes. Usually they aren't an issue, but I guess the person that attacked her did it when she was seizing."
"How old is your sister Vince?" I asked.
"She's only sixteen."
I felt rage course through my veins like I had only ever experienced once before, "She's just a kid."
Vince nodded. He pulled up a picture of them together on his phone and showed us. His sister was so much smaller than he was, and in the photo she was reaching to get the phone like it was hers and he had taken it but he was too tall for her to get it back.
Vince's eyes glossed over as he looked at his sister. I wished I had someone that could love me as much as he loved his family. Vince's face was back up soon enough and any evidence he was hurt at all was gone. I guess men were sexier when they didn't have emotions in the eye of the public, and Vince was someone watched pretty closely.
I didn't understand it, but that's because I know it's human to have feelings and I think anyone that doesn't comes off like a robot. I couldn't imagine hiding my feelings, ignoring my humanity, just so people wouldn't think any differently of me.
"I can't imagine what it would be like to have a sister, but I do know how it feels when your sibling gets hurt. Let us help in any way we can." I copied Hannah and touched his hand.
I completely understood how he was acting now. He couldn't protect his sister because he was so far away and now he was attached to my hip because I was someone he could protect. I was sure I wasn't helping him feel better because I had been nothing but an ass, but I felt bad.
"I want to see her, but it's not like I'm supposed to, being a pornstar and all," Vince laughed humorlessly.
"Your family won't let you see her?" Hannah asked.
Vince shook his head no, "They think I'd be a bad influence."
"I think you're the only influence she needs. It should be her choice who she sees," I said, aggravation seeping from my pores.
Vince had a far away look in his eyes and I didn't want to pull him back in too soon. It was difficult to imagine being separated from someone I loved. I was too much of a fighter to let that happen, and I think Vince is too.
"It's not her choice, and apparently it's not mine. I'm not supposed to see her," Vince sighed, "I've tried."
I squeezed his hand before I spoke up, "Screw that. Let's meet the family."