Tristan

Going back to my hometown was not exactly fun. It started with my boss giving me an earful about taking such a long leave. I just stood there and listened to it all. I did not even try to defend myself. It would be of no use.

After I was done with the office drama I went shopping for things Beth had told me to bring. They mostly consisted of her favourite chocolates and a few other things for the wedding. I was just about to take my things to the counter when it happened.

Someone's cart hit me in the back of my foot. White hot pain shot up my leg and I yelped, grasping one of the shelves for support as I lifted the foot to look at it.

There was a small cut there which had started bleeding, wetting the end of my trousers. It hurt like a bitch and I resisted the urge to cradle it and whimper.

I looked up to find the culprit and when I saw who it was, my blood boiled. It was the same man from yesterday. The one who had threatened to spank me.

He was wearing all black today and looked intimidating even in casual clothes. My glare didn't seem to have any effect on him. He just looked at me and then my foot with a bored expression.

"So karma is really a bitch," he said with a careless smirk and prepared to walk away. I wasn't having any of that.

Fuming, I stood right in the middle of the aisle and blocked his way. He raised an eyebrow.

"You are in my way," he stated. His stoic face and careless voice fueled my anger and I gave him the nastiest glare I could muster.

"I know mister. I will move but first you have to apologise."

"For ?"

"You bloody well know what. Look at what you did," I almost yelled and pointed towards my foot.

"Oh that. It was a mistake of course. Like how you stomped my foot. Now if you will excuse me I have to bill these. My time is extremely precious so please stop wasting it."

Murder is against the law, I chanted in my head. I so wanted to reach out and strangle his bloody neck but that would probably end me up in jail. So I settled on murdering him with my eyes.

He glared back with double the intensity and I felt myself waver. There was something insidious hidden deep in those eyes which made my knees tremble a bit. I had a string of curse words ready to hurl at him but something stopped me. I simply moved out of his way and tried my best to avoid his burning gaze.

He did not immediately walk away but stood there for a moment. I could feel his eyes looking me over I had to try my hardest not to turn and run away. The man scared me and I was glad that we were in a very public place. I would hate to be alone with him.

"Quite a coincidence isn't it? I did not expect to meet you so soon after our last encounter," he said in a voice that was deeper than the Mariana Trench. I mentally cursed. He was clearly expecting an answer but I had no idea what to say. I wasn't even sure I could form a proper sentence around this man.

I answered with a nervous 'yeah' while fiddling with my thumbs. My palms had already sweating and I prayed to the Lord that he wouldn't pick up on my nervousness.

A slight smile curved his lips and his stern eyes softened a tiny bit. He took a step towards me and I involuntarily took one back. He stopped immediately.

"Do I scare you," he asked while looking at me curiously.

"No," I replied but my answer sounded fake even to myself. His smile widened a bit and he stepped back to his original position.

"If I do then please understand that it's not my intention to scare you. In fact, if you permit it, I would like to have a proper conversation with you. One that doesn't involve us both glaring at each other."

Out of all the things I had expected him to say this certainly wasn't one of them. To say that I was shocked was an understatement. He was looking at me expectantly and I was pretty sure that I looked like an idiot.

"Well?"

I opened my mouth to answer him but closed it again. I had no answer. The logical part of my being told me that I should stay as far as possible from him but somehow I was sure that even if I tried to stay away, we would definitely meet again.

"I would like that," I said. I would probably regret my words in the future but I really did want to get to know this man. I wanted to know what was beyond that stoic face and those blazing eyes. Even if it would come back to bite me in the ass.

We didn't speak much after that. He asked for my number and I gave it to him even though I was aware of how idiotic and dangerous my action was. He did not give me his and I didn't really have the courage to question him about it. He billed his things and left after that. I kept on looking at his receding back as he left and got inside a car that looked more expensive than the entire grocery store. I wondered what a man as rich as him was doing in a grocery store at all.

The cashier had to call me twice to get my attention. I apologised and quickly started giving her my things. It didn't take too long and by the time I stepped outside the car was long gone.

I returned home to see Damien sitting on the couch in a casual shirt and pants with a bowl of popcorn on his  lap and his eyes on the tv. I looked to see that he was watching Seinfield. He paused the show when I came in and got up to help me with the bags.

"Got the leave?"

"Yeah," I grumbled. "After getting bitched at for twenty minutes straight. I hate my job sometimes. Looks like you got yours."

He nodded." I did. I just called Thorn and told him. He made a few sarcastic comments about my irresponsibility but ultimately granted it and made me promise to put in more hours after I get back."

I gave him a sympathetic smile. I knew that he didn't particularly like Thorn. I found the guy weird too. There was something extremely shady and annoying about him that put me on edge. I had met him only a few times and I was sure that he did not like me too.

I limped to the couch and sat down, hijacking the bowl of popcorn.

"What's wrong with your foot," Damien asked sharply. "There's blood on your pants."

I hesitated. I should have known that it would be impossible to hide even a small cut from Damien. I thought about making up a lie but disposed of that idea immediately. There was no reason for me to lie anyway. It was not as if I had done something wrong.

"Oh that. It's nothing really. Someone hit me with their shopping cart," I said, trying my hardest to sound normal. I did not really want Damien to know about the man. He would freak out and start worrying unnecessarily.

But doesn't he have reason to worry?

I ignored the voice in my head though I knew very well that it was right. Damien had immense reason to worry. And so did I. We spent the rest of the evening binge watching Seinfield and laughing till our stomach hurt. But somewhere in my mind I was still thinking about a certain someone with blazing green eyes.

AN: Thank you so much for 1k reads! It feels so good to see that people are enjoying my story. All thoughts/opinions/criticisms are extremely welcome. Feel free to message me anytime.