A Night in a Year: 42. Orhan

[jacquelineb]

A hand falls on Jeroen’s shoulder. From the smiles exchanged between him and the man and woman who are behind him, he knows them. Reluctance flashes across his face, but he excuses himself, and stands just a bit away from the table to talk with the couple.

Orhan casts his eyes down, as if that might hide his smirk. But before she can move closer to him, or speak, his face turned to hers, and he says;

“Do you always talk with strange men when you go out?”

She laughs. “I’d hardly call you or your friends strange.”

“But you do not know us. We might seem friendly and nice now, but who knows if that will last…”

She can’t tell if it’s a threat, or a test. Or a promise that they are both more ‘dangerous’ than they seem. But she sees another way that could be interpreted, and she chooses to pretend she’s read it that way.

She makes to stand. “I can leave if you’d like—”

A look of minor panic sets his face. “Oh no! I’m sorry, I wasn’t being, what’s the word…”

She settles back down again, though poised, ready again for faux-flight.

He snaps his finger. “Underhanded. Please, no, your company is… very nice.”

She turns her chin upward. “Just very nice?”

Orhan beckons her closer. She allows a beat to pass before complying. He almost speaks in her ear to say;

“Lovely and enchanting.”

She inclines her head, and leans away. “Better.”

He says, more genially, “I am only wondering what you want.”

She winks. “One can’t give all their secrets away at once.”

His hand caresses his bottle of beer. “I doubt it will be a secret by the end of the night.”

She smirks; she bloody well hopes not.

-
Next: 43. Jeroen

Image found on flickr, by Rodrigo Favera, used under the Creative Commons License.

Mirrored from jacquelinebrocker.esquinx.net.