Almost Lovers (2 page)

I instantly felt better. I felt my mind
clear, my breathing began to slow to the steady heavy breathing of
jogging and I just smiled in my insane midnight jog through the
park. I came to a curve and rounded it with great stride, coming
upon the small pond and just looked out across the water as I ran.
I had no worry about another jogger. I had no concern about
catching a Frisbee to the temple. The park in the middle of the
night felt relaxing and I felt at home.

My stride lengthened even more and I smiled
as I ran. For an instant, I could see my problems and my solution
clearly. Robert had become distracted by Lydia and I needed to stop
playing nice and to fight for what I wanted. I needed to remind
Robert of what we have. I needed to make him see how desirable I
was and in the process, get rid of Lydia for good. The better of
the two of us would win. And I knew that winner would be me.

I ran the entire perimeter of the pond and
was out of breath by the time I rounded the far end for the return
trip.

As I turned the corner and jogged around a
boulder that sat near the path, I was blindsided. Out from a bush
leapt what I thought was an animal. I lay on the ground with my
head throbbing. Surprise set in when I looked up from my place
cowering on the ground to see a face.

Neither twisted in anger nor calm with a
pristine type of crazy, the face of the man that attacked me was
simply blank. And that look gave me more terror than anything. I
reached into my pocket for my cell phone and remembered I had only
brought my keys. I hadn't grabbed anything else. In that instant I
realized how stupid I was to be in the park at this hour, alone,
without anything to protect myself, jogging in the moonlight.

He lunged towards me and grabbed at my arms.
I kicked at him and watched as his knee bent backwards with the
force of my kick. It caused him a moment of pause. I struck out
again, seeing that he had hesitated. He dodged my kick this time
and leapt on top of me, grabbing me by the hair.

My first instinct was to scratch and hit at
any part of him I could. It didn't deter him in the least. I felt
terror drop into my chest and my throat tightened in fear. I tried
to scream and couldn't. It wasn't fear around my throat, it was his
hand and it was ice cold.

My eyes went wide and the exhilaration of
rapid breathing I had experienced moments before stopped. I had no
way to breathe and my sight started to fail me. I was about to
faint. With the swiftness with which he had jumped out from the
bushes and landed on me, he was off of me. I gasped in the chill
air. It stung my lips, my throat and my lungs.

I was completely alert though disoriented
and I backed away, crawling away on the ground, from where this
evil man had just been.

I could see his body fifteen or so feet in
front of me on the ground and another person stood over him. I
rubbed my eyes in disbelief at a dark figure that towered over him.
The body on the ground was limp, unresponsive.

I could make out that the person standing
over my attacker was a man. I rubbed my eyes again and found my
voice to scream but as I sucked in as much air as my lungs would
allow his eyes were upon me and something stopped me.

In the darkness I could see his eyes, even
while his face remained shadowed. I could only see his eyes on me.
I felt them searching me for something as if asking a question and
the answer was simply on me.

"You lack some self-preservation instincts,"
said the man, "or you are just plain crazy,"

I regretted not screaming. Sarcastic with
the first words out of his mouth couldn’t make for a much better
night.

"Or perhaps you don't like competition in
the park," I said.

He straightened after the words left my
mouth. He didn't say anything and for a moment there was only
silence. The body on the ground moved.

"I'm Prussia," I tried to humanize myself to
this man who had saved me in the event that my attacker was simply
competition after all, "Thank you so much for saving me,"

I smiled and the man tugged on his jacket to
straighten it. He wasn’t completely disinterested but wasn't
completely paying attention to me either.

"I'm glad you are not hurt," he said, "I
don’t think this man had the best intentions,"

With those words, the body on the ground
grabbed the leg of the man that had just saved me and threw off his
balance, sending him to the ground. The attacker leapt to his feet.
I scooted away. My attacker looked at me and for a moment I thought
he would come after me again. He looked at my savior on the ground.
My rescuer had begun to rise and that seemed to make him think it
unwise to come after me again. He ran.

The man who saved me got up from the ground
and began to run after the fleeing man but after about fifteen
steps gave up.

"Did you get a good look at his face?" he
asked as he walked back over to where I sat on the ground.

"No," I said, "It all happened so quickly,
too quickly,"

"I'm sorry he won't be brought to justice,"
he said.

"Thank you for saving me," I said, "He was
completely mad. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't
been here,"

The man came closer and I was surprised to
find that even in the shadows he was handsome. I couldn't make out
all of his face but his lips were soft, his eyes steely and
beautiful, and his cheekbones high.

"I'm Prussia," I said.

"I know," he said.

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

"Because," he said, "You already introduced
yourself once,"

"Oh," I said, "Funny, I didn't catch your
name,"

"I didn't give it," he said.

He looked at me and after a moment I felt
awkward.

"Okay...I'll just call you stranger, I
guess," I giggled in my nervousness.

"Sebastian," said the man, "My name is
Sebastian,"

He extended a hand and I let him help me off
the ground. I swatted at the grass that was all over me. I must
have looked a disheveled mess.

"Can I walk you home?" asked Sebastian.

"I can manage," I said, shrugging, "But
thank you,"

He looked at me long and hard, "I think I'll
walk you home all the same," he said, "I have no idea where that
man went and he did seem particularly insane,"

"I really don't need-" I started to say.

"It's for my peace of mind really," said
Sebastian, "I would just hate myself if I open the morning paper to
find you were murdered just after I saved you. A waste of a
perfectly good heroic act,"

I smiled and shook my head, "Well, as long
as it’s for your peace of mind and not because you think I’m a
frail creature that needs protecting."

"If we're being completely honest-," he
said.

"But we're not," I interrupted, "We're just
strangers in the park walking the same direction..."

"Except I know your name," said Sebastian,
"And I saved you so I don't think that makes us complete
strangers,"

"What would that be then?" I asked.

"Linked by fate," he said with a stern
face.

My smile began to drop as I tried to decide
if he was someone I should worry about after all.

"Just kidding..." Sebastian smiled at
me.

He had a sick sense of humor. I tried to
chuckle, "You got me!" I said, "That was extra creepy at 1 am in
the middle of a park,"

"It's close to 2 am," he said, "You should
get your watch checked,"

"I'm not wearing a watch," I informed
him.

"Okay well, read the time from the moon
better next time," said Sebastian.

I looked up at the moon, "Is that a thing?
Can people do that?" I asked.

He looked at me as if I needed to be kept at
a safe distance and started down the walking path. I looked after
him a moment until he turned back to see if I followed. I jogged to
catch up to him and smiled. He was handsome. And I was fortunate
that he had come to my rescue. I felt better as we walked through
the park together. I kept looking out in the bushes, waiting to see
if my attacker would strike again.

We made it back to my apartment and I was
relieved. I thought he would leave me at the front of my building
but insisted on walking me to my apartment door. He asked which
floor and pressed the elevator buttons. I was surprised by how big
his hands were. They matched the rest of him.

I secretly hoped that Robert would be back
in our apartment when we got to my floor and that maybe Lydia would
get curious and come out of her apartment but no such luck. We
walked by her apartment and the music was still loud. I couldn't
hear them in all the noise which means they had either passed out
or were doing other things. I tried not to think of it. I looked at
the floor as Sebastian walked me to my door.

"Prussia," he said, waiting as I tried to
find the key for my door, "Promise me you won't go running in the
park in the middle of the night again,"

I was surprised. We were little more than
strangers. It was odd that he would ask me for a promise.

"I suppose that's not unreasonable," I said,
"A little strange, but not unreasonable,"

"Common sense, really," said Sebastian, "But
you did do it once. I would be sad to find out you were murdered
doing something so ridiculous,"

"As opposed to… what?" I asked, "A car
accident?"

"Right," he said, "Perhaps don't drive for a
while too then, just to be on the safe side,"

He smiled at me after a second and I smiled
back at him.

"Thank you for walking me," I said, "It was
unnecessary but I appreciate it. It did make me feel better,"

"It was absolutely necessary," he said, "I
would like to… call on you later,"

"I will be fine, I promise," I said. I
jiggled the key in the doorknob to my apartment and realized I had
picked the wrong key somehow.

"I know," said Sebastian, "I was just hoping
I could use it as an excuse to see you again,"

"Oh," I said. I looked up at him and his
eyes looked kind and hopeful.

Sebastian licked his lips, nervous perhaps,
"As friends or maybe the promise of more than friendship in the
future. You are very beautiful, Prussia," he said.

"I think coffee," I said, "Coffee would be
okay. It's the least after what you did for me tonight,"

"No," said Sebastian.

"Okay," I said. I thought coffee was a
perfectly safe and reasonable activity.

"Dinner," he said, "At my family home, it's
a birthday party. No pressure and it's sure to be a lot of
fun,"

I thought a moment. I felt obligated in a
way. He had saved me. And I started to feel guilty on top of it
all. I looked towards Lydia's door and the quiet of the hall crept
towards me. That sneaking anger seeped into my mind and I was
reminded about why I was in the park to begin with.

"Who is the birthday party for?" I
asked.

"My grandmother," he said.

Not what I would call a dangerous date
activity. I thought of Robert seeing me dressed up and going out
with this handsome man. I looked down the hall to Lydia's door
again and back to Sebastian.

"Yes," I said, "When is it?"

"Tomorrow evening," I said.

"Oh," reality sunk in as I tried to think of
what I could wear last minute. I thought of all my date night
dresses and felt guilty wearing a dress I had bought for Robert
with another man, "That's very last minute,"

"I can pick you up at 7," said
Sebastian.

A desire to see the jealousy run rampant
across Roberts face set in. Perhaps I wouldn't even need to wear
the dress out. Perhaps Robert would exchange polite words with
Sebastian and champion me away, asking for my hand and putting this
entire Lydia mess behind us.

"Is it casual?" I asked.

"It is formal," said Sebastian, he glanced
down the length of me and I blushed as his eyes lingered on curves,
"I will send a dress,"

"I'm sure I can find something to wear,” I
said, "It's no problem,"

"Indeed," he said, "I'll send something just
in case. The more options the better,"

He smiled and opened the door that had my
keys dangling in the door knob.

"Have a nice night, Prussia," said
Sebastian, "No more midnight runs..."

"Promise," I said, "Cross my heart,"

Sebastian winked at me with a smile and then
strolled down the hallway and around the corner towards the
elevator. As soon as I was in my apartment and had closed the door
I smacked my hand on my forehead.

"Cross my heart? Idiot!" I said to my empty
apartment.

My heart fluttered. From the excitement over
a handsome man paying attention to me and saving me from the
dangers in the middle of the night or the prospect of seeing Robert
with an actual streak of jealousy, I wasn’t sure. I settled on
Robert's jealousy. I wasn't the cheating type, I reassured myself.
But as I drifted to sleep, my thoughts continued to drift to
Sebastian and his eyes standing out in the shadows, piercing me in
so many ways.