“Hi, I was wondering if you could help me? I’m completely lost, and my cars broken down. I don’t even know where I am!” I laughed and smiled in what I hoped was a friendly manner, despite the fact that my teeth wouldn’t stop chattering.
The man looked at me with a curious gaze for a moment, and then held out his hand for me to shake. Humbled and grateful for a friendly gesture, I shook his hand and jumped back in shock at how hot he was to the touch. Looking down at my hand, my eyes widened when I saw that not only was I now warm, but the yellow top I wore was now completely dry, and back to its floaty self. How was that even possible? Jesus, I’ve lost it.
“You okay, Miss?” The man looked at me with a tiny smile, almost as if he knew something that I didn’t, and I shook myself out of my thoughts so he didn’t think I was totally crazy. The man looked to be in his forties, with a short beard and hands that showed he’d clearly done some manual labour in his time. His eyes were the bluest I had ever seen, and I coughed slightly as I tried to remember what he had asked me.
“Erm, yes, I’m fine, sorry. My name’s Laura.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Laura. The name’s Logan. You mentioned some car trouble?”
Thankfully, he was still smiling and the friendly vibes I got off him were making me slightly more at ease in an increasingly uncomfortable situation. Looking around, I noticed how everyone was still gawping at me. There were a few whispered conversations here and there, but mostly everyone was just looking at me, their staring getting the point across that I absolutely was not welcome here. Message received loud and clear guys.
“Erm, yes, my car just stopped working. Piece of crap just broke down and I walked to the nearest place, which just so happened to be this lovely, warm and welcoming abode.” I said, probably a bit too sarcastically, and I worried I had just offended my only ally in this place. It was soon clear, however, that no offence was taken, as Logan let out a full belly laugh which caused me to jump back quickly, as unexpected as it was.
“We’re not used to visitors around here, that’s all. Don’t take it personally.” He smiled at me and I couldn’t help but smile back in return. “I know someone who will be able to help with your car. I’ll just give him a call. Can I get you a drink while you wait?”
“Thank you so much, that would be amazing. The car would probably make more money as scrap metal, but it’s my baby.” I smiled fondly as I thought of my poor little car and then frowned as I remembered where I had left it. “Just a coke would be lovely, thank you.”
“Coming right up.” Logan moved to grab a coke for me, and passed it over at the same time as he walked towards a phone near the back of the bar. As I took a sip of my drink, I took stock of my surroundings and settled more comfortably on a vacant bar stool. My jeans were still soaking wet and I shivered from the cold, at the same time as being totally confounded as to how my top was now completely dry, as though it had never been wet. I guess there were some things in life that were just unexplainable, and as someone with a pretty open mind I tended to believe even the wildest explanations, if only just for some excitement. Well, I’d left home to try and find adventure and it looked like I may have found one. Okay, breaking down and walking miles in the rain probably wasn’t most people’s idea of an adventure, but as someone who had followed every rule my whole life, I needed a change. I just wanted to experience life a little bit and start over somewhere where nobody knew my name, or my embarrassing history with men. I’d like to say that I was a lone ranger, and content with going on my adventures by myself, but that was a lie. If I’m being honest, I craved human contact and the sense of belonging somewhere. I thought I’d had that with my husband, but I guess I was wrong. I had no idea what it was I was looking for when I hopped in my car and started driving, but I had a good vibe about the place I was in, and as I looked around the pub I had a sudden urge to stay there, and not carry on with my journey. That’s crazy though, I mean these people clearly don’t like me. I didn’t even know whereabouts I was in the bloody country.
Whilst I was trying to process all my thoughts and ignore the constant stares of those around me, I felt a sudden chill across my back as the front doors of the pub opened behind me. I didn’t turn around and simply kept sipping my drink, until I realised that the whole pub had gone silent again. Only this time, you could even hear a pin drop it was that quiet. Curious - and slightly scared - I turned slowly in my chair, and couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping open at what I saw. Two of the biggest men I had ever seen had walked in, and were both staring at me with matching frowns on their faces. The one near the front was tall, with dark hair and tattoos that covered every inch of his body that I could see. He was wearing a white t-shirt which his muscled arms could barely squeeze into, and jeans that moulded to his body. The man behind him was dressed almost identically and looked very similar in features, only he had blonde hair and a small number of tattoos going down his left arm. They started to walk towards me, and my heart started pounding in my chest as I could not take my eyes off the man in front. I didn’t know what it was about him, but he just exuded power and I had the massive urge to just bow before him and tell him I would do whatever he asked of me. Crap, maybe I just need to get laid. As they stood before me, they bowed their heads slightly in a silent greeting and I swallowed loudly as I tried to hide the fact that they made me nervous.