Chapter Two

Dana blew out a breath of air as she leaned back in her chair and tossed the pen on the papers scattering the small kitchen table. Her droopy-tired eyes stared at the financial papers but shifted to the side of the table when Meow meow jumped upon it with a squeak. She sauntered across the table and stretched out on the papers, making crackly noises. Dana's lips curved into a small smile as she sat forward and ran her hand along the silky black and white fur, causing purrs to drift and interrupt the silence of the house. A small lamp was the only source of light and circulated the room with the feelings of comfort and loneliness. It smelled of garlic and onions from the small fried eggplant snack she had earlier and now made her stomach grumble for more of something. She sighed in relief of the finances being finished and gathered up the papers to organize them back in her folders in the cabinet. After doing that, she placed checks in the right billing envelopes and got up to turn into the living room and stash them in her purse. She had just enough cash on her to go out to dinner and pick up a few necessities. She went back to the kitchen to flick off the light and pat Meow meow�s ears as she walked by. She grabbed her keys after opening the door, locked it behind her, and watched the sky tint darker as she walked down the steps.

She stopped by the mail center first and slipped the envelopes in the blue box right as the truck pulled up behind her to collect the days mail. She drove off and figured downtown would be a good place to eat. It was always a busy place with people mingling and out door music. She wasn't a person to normally go out like that but just dinner in a small corner table sounded content enough for her.

When she got off the freeway, she turned a couple streets and was then driving down the colorful lighted and loud street with people everywhere; some standing outside in a line to get in one of the three clubs in the area, some standing around on the sidewalks, talking and dancing to the music set up along the street. Dates were brought and although it was a little chilly, they sat at the outside tables to get a more romantic tone for the evening. Limo�s grazed the lower parking area when she pulled in the parking building. She got out, grabbed her purse, and locked the doors shut.

As she walked down the busy sidewalk, sometimes having to squeeze by a group of people, she noticed the men and women who were dressed glamorously to attract the other sex or the same. Compared to the flashy and skin-baring outfits worn by every girl she saw, she was comfortable with her jeans and forest green sweater with a white shirt underneath in case of too much warmth. Yet, she felt somewhat out of place. She felt distanced, as if a girl distancing herself from her boyfriend because of something he did wrong, but she felt a little different; she wanted. She didn't want to be distanced. She wanted to be there, with a friend to dance or socialize with.

Dana brushed the thought away when she came to a restaurant that wasn't as busy as the other's. It smelled of a spicy pasta and seasoned poultry. There were a few people lingering at the tables lined up along the walls of the lengthy restaurant. But it wasn't as jammed as the ones she had already walked by. She walked up and glanced at the sign, friendly stating for the customer to seat himself or herself. She brushed past it, walked towards a back corner booth fit for two.

"Well, I don't necessarily think..." Wade stopped mid-sentence when he saw her. He watched her smile slightly as she passed a table and the person who was sitting there had to scoot the chair in a little. She thanked them and moved towards the small booth. The low light from the small lamps hung above the tables, and hers, made her face glow golden pink against her olive complexion. God knew she was made a sight for sore eyes.

His date, the woman sitting in front of him trying to move and attract all the other people in the room, had been an intrigue and attraction to him when they had first spoken but her true colors seemed to have been hidden.

"Wade, are you listening?" The sticky voice flew through pouty painted lips. Her brown hair had been styled perfectly, with every strand in its right place, her makeup was applied to make all eyes attract to her unblemished face. The outfit, or the slut-material fashioned for a Britney Spears style, clung to every curve and line. This was not the kind of woman he had met. Not that he was complaining.

He would admit she had a very desirable body and if he was looking for a one night stand, he had his girl sitting right in front of him. From what he could tell, she was offering it to him enough. But seeing this young woman who had taken his class just two nights ago, walk in the restaurant he was at, wearing a casual and comfortable outfit, had not painted her face, and had her hair in a ponytail, he found himself more drawn to get to know her, and to his surprise, he found her style of dress making his belly curl more than the outfit in front of him; screaming sex.

Wade smiled, charm curving his lips. "Yes, I'm sorry. You were saying?"

"I was just thinking that if everything goes well tonight," She paused to look up at him under her lashes, the look, he knew, that was targeting him for a one night romp. Her fingers brushed over his arm and then moved up and down his hand. "that I could be your date to some of the upcoming award shows. With you. I know we'd have a great time." She continued her saucy looks and sensual touching as a convincing factor to get her way. And get a little public with the hottie dancer and be surrounded by celebrities. Not a bad night. She grinned at the idea.

But Wade wasn't easily swayed. He should have expected the spin; sex, popularity with a hot boyfriend. He pulled his hand free of her seducing one, and quickly glanced towards Dana, this time their eyes actually met.

By this time, Dana had already ordered and was sipping the specialty kiwi strawberry iced tea, while waiting for her spicy chicken pasta.

She wouldn't deny that she recognized him if she had to say, but the looks he had sent her through the mirror during the class she had taken, confused and frightened her. Why should it confuse her though? That made her wonder. She didn't like people or the way they looked at her so she had always avoided their eyes. But for some reason, she ended up locking eyes with him again as she took another sip of tea. She couldn't tell if the feeling in her stomach was nervousness or something else. She pulled her eyes to the table as she placed the glass down on the coaster. The waitress brought her food and she smiled slightly as a thanks.

Wade looked back at the painted face, which was all he really saw and smiled apologetically as he rose. "I'm sorry but I'm not looking for that type of relationship anymore."

The brunettes mouth dropped. So he had had those relationships before. She whined. He had to have a weakness somewhere.

"And," He continued. "now that I've seen what you're really like, I'm sure you can get your own ride home." He said, winking for good measure as he threw a fifty on the table.

But I wore the perfect outfit!

He rolled his eyes when he saw her pout, pushed his chair in, and locked eyes with Dana as he walked out.

Dana didn't know what had snaked into her but her eyes had stayed on his until he had turned out of the restaurant. Goosebumps prickled her skin. That nervous feeling gripped her stomach. Confusion surrounded her.

Even though she was alone, the upbeat music was company enough for her and had her foot tapping. She enjoyed the dinner and the night out. But she wondered with want, how much better ir would be with friends. She watched through the open door of the restaurant, groups of friends laughing and talking as they walked across the street to the dance club. A coed group of friends came in for dinner and joked around and seemed to be having fun. Although the looks a guy sent one of his girl friends had her stiffen. Lust, sex, hard. It was a look she had woken up to and made skin heat and cold sweat form. The group left to the club after they had eaten and Dana requested the bill, knowing it was getting late and she had work early the next morning.

As she waited for the bill, her attention was drawn yet again to a table of customers. This time, she was confused and softened by the magic between the man and woman. Both were smiling in each other's eyes. The young man had laced his fingers with his date's and Dana wondered how it was possibly to see gentleness in a mans hands. She looked back up at their glowing faces and you could tell their thoughts were only on each other. The young man brought his hand up to cup the woman's cheek and leaned in to press his lips to hers. Seeing the gentleness and this...chemistry made Dana hesitate with her mindset that men were too powerful and could do anything to women. How was it that they could be the opposite of that? She had seen and been close up enough to know there's always a rough streak. She didn't ever want to be that close again.

The check came and after leaving the exact amount and a few dollars tip, she got up and walked out. It had gotten dark and the Christmas lights the city had hung above the street and on the trees along the sidewalk, glowed different colors...despite the fact that Christmas was two months away. The streets had filled even more and Dana had to move quickly out of the way when a swaggering drunk guy almost fell towards her but his friends pulled him back and laughed right along with him.

Dana walked quickly when she got to the unoccupied part of the street. She crossed when the light turned green and walked in the parking lot building to the elevator. Fear crept over her in the dark, empty building. She hated dark places. She got to the elevator and looked around her while she waited. She breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped inside. But when she pressed the button and the door went to close, an arm struck out to stop it and squeeze the rest of the body inside.

Dana's heart exploded and fell to her stomach. She held her purse tight against her chest and her back was flush to the wall of the elevator box. Her hands had gone clammy and her eyes widened, then focused on Wade as he stepped inside and pressed the button for his floor. Dana relaxed but not as normally. She scooted her self in the corner and tried to normalize her breathing that had sped up.

Wade wiped the sweat from his brow and looked over at her tense figure. "Sorry, I startled you." He said, softly with a grin.

Dana nodded slightly but continued to stare at the lit buttons indicating what floors they were stopping at. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a strong, cut frame. Which made her feel even more uneasy. Wade cleared his throat and swiped his thumb against his nose. "You were there Friday, right?" He tried, noticing her avoidance and, for some reason, fear. He saw her nod but she still didn't even glance at him. Was this the young woman who could express herself amazingly by dancing her ass off in his class? He knew people could be quiet or shy and then change into a totally different person when the musical beats hit their system, but she seemed different. She wasn�t just shy, she was scared. Not of expressing herself, but of him. Of people?

He fumbled with his keys as he stared at her. �You�re good.�

Just as his words ended, the elevator doors opened and she seemed to scurry quickly enough out of there to have him smiling from the absurdity of the situation, because she clearly thought she was a victim of death in a casual conversation, but at the same time, he frowned with curiosity. He watched her jog to her car and kept staring after the doors closed and he was at his floor.

The next morning, Dana sat behind the large desk/counter in the front of the bookstore. Two large boxes were on either side of her. One filled with books that had to be checked in the computer on the disk program that came with the ordered books, and the other box was to deposit the books in after they were entered into the computer. Dana picked up a book and searched through the list and then clicked over it to save and then repeated the process. It was simple, yet got boring enough to make a person tired.

It was Monday morning and that meant no customers. Everyone else was working at their own jobs. The weekdays never got that much business because not a lot of people needed to go to the bookstore and out-of-towners didn�t come until the weekend. At least that was Dana's thought. Although, there was always stuff to do around the store; Dana programmed books, Natalie was dusting and there would be categorizing later that took both of them to do.

Around one o'clock, Dana got up and rounded the desk and looked down a couple rows for Natalie. When she didn't see her in the first two rows, she grabbed her purse and jacket as she went to the front door. "Natalie, can I go off for a half hour to lunch?" Dana raised her voice enough so it would carry to the back rows where she knew Natalie was almost finished dusting.

"Yes! Go ahead sweetie!" Natalie yelled back as she moved some books to dust on the top shelf.

Dana heard her response and pushed the door, backing out of the store to the crisp, chilly air, and continued walking down towards the area where most of the town's restaurants were.

Wade stuffed his hands in the pockets of his tan trench coat as he walked down the sidewalk. He glanced around at the shops and smiled occasionally at a person who walked by or recognized him. He noticed a coffee shop up ahead and he turned inside when he reached it. The smells immediately grabbed hold of his senses when he pulled the door open and the warm atmosphere of the shop whooshed out to run over his face.

He noticed the lady continue wiping down the counter as she looked up and smiled. "Good afternoon." She said, her spicy generous voice licked out at him, her honest smile remaining.

"Hi." He said, returning the smile and glancing down at the pastry selections beneath the glass window case.

"What can I get for ya?" She asked, watching him browse. He glanced at her as she leaned her elbows on the counter and moved a magazine that was to her left, in front of her and began to flip pages, glancing over articles and gossip briefly.

"Hmm, all of these look good," He tilted his head to the side and set his lips, as if disappointed in the fact that he could only choose one. "but I'm gonna have to go with a croissant." Wade said, looking back at her as he grinned, noting her name tag. "Alright." A smile was heard through her voice as she turned to get a plastic tissue and open the case to put a croissant in a white paper bag.

"Anything else for ya today?" She asked, grabbing some napkins and putting them in the bag.

"Um..." Wade gently bumped the bottom of his fist against the edge of the counter as he looked up at the back wall of the menu. "I'd take a coffee but I think I still have a few more inches to grow so a hot chocolate will work." He glanced a smile back at her, enjoying the friendly conversation and pleasantness of the atmosphere.

"Hot chocolate, comin' up."

After she mixed it, she turned to place it on the counter. She smiled, leaned her elbows on the counter again, and waved off his money. "It's on the house. toots." She said, going back to her magazine.

"Aw." Wade rocked back on his heels. "Don't do that."

"Nope. Go. First time customer. Go." She said, flipping a page of the magazine and not even looking up as she waved him off.

Wade picked up the cup and bag. "Thank you." Generosity lacing his tone.

Wade walked out with a smile on his face and a laugh in his throat. He randomly turned left and almost walked by a bookstore but decided to go inside. I still got an hour or so. He took a sip of hot chocolate and his eyes widened when it scorched his tongue.

He smiled a greetin at the woman behind the counter and continued to browse through the place. He picked up a copy of John Grisham's The Bretheran and read the summary on the back. When it sounded interesting enough, he kept it with him as he went up and down another row of books. After looking through all their selections and genre's, he went to the front where the magazine shelves were located under the window. He pulled a copy of Dance Spirit from the other's and turned to approach the front desk.

Natalie looked up when she saw him and smiled as she grabbed the magazine and book from the counter. "Did you find everything you like?" She asked, scanning the bar codes and placing the items in a bag.

"Yes, thank you." Wade glanced up and then took the checkbook from his pocket. "Who do I make this out to?"

"Cassidy's Bookstore." She said, smiling as he looked up.

"And would you be Cassidy?"

Natalie laughed. "No. My dear friend passed away a few years ago. I thought I'd take over the business while she's gone." She told, pleased by his charming tone of voice.

Feeling like a conversation, Wad continued his thoughts. "Very kewl, and you're the only one?" He asked, handing the check over to her and getting his license out.

"Oh, definitely not. My poor brain wouldn't be able to handle all the bookeepings and ordering." She winked with a smile and then continued.

Knowing how much elder women liked to talk, he got comfortable leaning his elbow on the counter that came up to his ribcage.

"I've got Dana's help. She's around your age actually." She stated as she held her hand behind the receit as it began printing. "Very quiet, keeps to herself. I'd say she needs to open up a little more but she dances and what's a better way to open up but dance? Not that I could try now." She said smiling.

"Really." He didn't ask it as a question. A tall, olive-skinned, strawberry chocolate haired young woman came to his mind. Dana; it fits her. He grinned in return to her comment.

Natalie saw his thoughtful expression, mixed with a knowing and smiled. "You know her?"

Wade smiled timidly. "No, I'm sorry." For some reason, he knew this woman would go to Dana and tell her she met this young man that she knew. He didn't want to risk her not being the girl he was thinking of or to have it seem like he was stalking her. Hell, he didn't know the girl much less know why he kept picturing her. He felt stupid in a way.

"Thank you."

"Have a good day." She raised her voice a little as he back away from the counter and turned towards the door.

"You too." He responded.

Wade stepped outside and felt the chilly air had turned to a warm breeze as the sun shown down over the trees and people. "Dana." The name siwrled on his tongue. Quiet, soft. Wade continued down the sidewalk and browsed through other shops before heading to his car that was parked a couple blocks away.

Dana finished her last bite of her Quizno's sandwich and threw her trash away on her way out the door, squeezing by a mom who just succeeded in getting her six children in the restaurant but now had the challenge of getting the kids to move forward.

Dana slipped into a mindfreeze as she strolled down the street. She looked far off at nothing, her mind blank, her body relaxed so that the stroll felt slow and thoughtful to her. Tiny details of her surroundings became main focuses, as if all other big or complicated things had no reason to be. Simple; cool wind hitting her face, the sound of the leaves rustling, a breath of fresh air.

She slipped out as soon as she stepped into the store and smiled as Natalie skirted around the counter. "My turn." She said, grabbing her purse and coat that hung by the door.

Dana noticed that Natalie had began the categorizing. Dana bristled through the paper's and found where she had stopped. She sat down and clicked up the categorizing program. She checked that the books all matched up and began checking more of them.

A few hours later, Dana and Natalie closed up, Natalie taking the receits and the register money, and Dana brought in the carts of booksmarks and cards.

They parted late that night and Dana headed home. The air had gotten icy despite the warm breeze during the afternoon so the warmth of her apartment was a nice greeting for the end of the day. Meowmeow's squeaking and affectionate rubbing greeted her as well and for a moment, comfort filled her. But one glance through the hall at her dark room gave her chills. The black rooms filled with images she could never escape. Her thoughts brought those images but Meowmeows squeaking against her leg had her looking down and scooping the soft animal in her arms. She kicked the door shut and locked it behind her. She carried the cat through the living room and flipped on the kitchen light before she entered it. Dana set the cat, now purring, on the counter and turned to the fridge to look for something to cook for dinner. She grabbed a can of spaghetti sauce and then some noodles from the cupboard.

She caught herself thinking of him. She'd never done that before; just picturing anyone's face. It was mostly his eyes that kept haunting her. It was scary yet pleasurable; a different type of haunt. She stared at the stereo above the sink in the window seal as she filled a pot with water. Dana flipped it on and pressed play, not remembering what cd she had put in. Darren Hayes's crooning tenir voice ehoed in the small kitchen, made her think of the sky above the clouds, and floating there. She banged the pot on the stove and set the temperature to high. The cat meowed and purred as she rubbed her cheeks up against Dana's hands as she took a good portion of raw spaghetti out of the package then broke it in half and placed the sticks in a cup. Her eyes caught the scar that wrote up her arm diagonnaly for 6 inches as she twisted open the spaghetti sauce jar. The pain flashed over her flesh then went. Her eyes stung as she poured the sauce into a small pan. She finished setting everything up to cook and then set the timer for the noodles. She walked out of the kitchen, escaping the heat and opened the front door to let in the cool evening air. So much was on her mind and yet she couldn't think of it all. It was hard to separate the thoughts-to focus-analyze them. Why she felt the need to, she really didn't know why. She crossed her arms and shivered, ran her hands up and down to keep the goosebumps from forming. The light sweater didn't do much for the bite of cold but it challenged her to feel the sharp temperature against her skin instead of creating a headache with her thoughts.

She watched a moment longer as the stars poked out from behind the dark-papered sky and then turned inside. Meowmeow ran up to her and squeaked, wanting some attention. Dana scooped her up and then walked to the small hall to grab her warm terry cloth robe. She thought she had felt comfort when she walked inside, but knew now that it was all a fantasy, a dream she didn't think would ever exist. But she wished.

She mumbled along with the music from the kitchen as she set the cat on the counter and shrugged on her robe. She picked up the cat again to feel the soft fur and stirred the noodles a little more. Eyes, dark brown, almost black ones opened in her mind so suddenly, despite the cold, goosebumps formed on her arms beneath the warm cloth. Curiousity sprung. She always kept to herself and didn't think about other people.

Curiousity killed the cat. She knew that well enough.

~I know it's an odd ending for this, it sort of interupts her thoughts but I'm just dead ended right now on how to end it. I might add on more sometime later so I'll let you all know.~

Chapter Three (coming soon)

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