Thea (and the hunk)

Chapter 3: the lump

Suddenly, I was sitting on a bar stool with a beer in front of me. A beer? Who buys a girl a beer, and without asking.

"I had an idea that you were feeling like a beer."

Okay, as it happens, I did. So, what are you, a clairvoyant, or something? I didn't say that out loud, did I?

I was giving him a thin-lipped stare. "You were sitting over there with a couple of other blokes scoffing beer and talking sport earlier, weren't you?"

"I'm flattered you noticed me, and you're pretty much spot on."

"You're a bit hard to miss."

"A big ugly lump, ay?"

Shit, could this bastard read minds?

"Big, for sure." That's better, try to be a bit nicer. "So whatta you do with yourself?"

Pause. A slight reluctance? "I work in security."

"So, you're a bouncer?" Oh, really cool, Thea. You dumb bitch.

A slow no and, "My company is concerned with the overall security of businesses, their computer systems, their personnel, their protocols and so forth."

"I see. You're an IT person?"

"Not really. My focus is mostly in other areas. But tell me, what do you do?"

"Dull, dull, dull. I work in the office of a logistics firm," I replied dismissively.

I was trying to squirm around on the stool to get a look at the dance floor. The lump's eyes were holding mine and they'd changed colour. Before they had been a sort of smokey ash grey, now they were a glittering dark grey, almost black.

This was feeling a bit weird.

"Promise me you won't storm off."

"What???"

"Please." He was earnest, perhaps even anxious.

I started to demand 'why', but stopped myself. "What do you mean?" I asked only a little more calmly.

He backtracked, "Oh, nothing. It doesn't matter."

You're not getting away with that, my dear lump, "Why do you think I might storm off?"

"I can see that you not in your best mood, Thea."

Thea? He knew my name. "How do you know my name?"

No magic this time. He'd heard Patty yell it out when she was trying to get my attention.

"So were you watching me?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"Why?"

"Because you looked interesting."

"Oh, great. Plain as a floorboard, but interesting."

"Obviously, you are a very attractive girl as well." He tried to retrieve the situation.

I sulked for a minute or so, then said, "Okay, I promise I won't storm off."

He looked at me closely with those dark glittery eyes.

"I keep my promises," I added.

"Okay then. Thea, a large part of my job involves interviewing people, trying to understand them, what makes them tick and so forth. When I'm in a place like this, I start gazing around and . . . well, doing the same kind of thing. I spotted you, an attractive girl (he stressed), and thought that you looked out of sorts. I guessed that you were only here at the insistence of your friends."

I nodded and resisted sneering, 'so you really are a clever bastard, aren't you.'

"I wasn't staring at you, Thea. I was sort of panning the whole room and including you. I wondered what your problem could be. But as I said, I thought you looked interesting and I was building up my courage to ask you to dance."

This I couldn't believe, "Building up your courage. Bullshit," I exclaimed.

He smiled. Oh, lord, I think there's a human face under there after all.

"The truth is, Thea, I'm rather shy in some situations." His eyes were smokey, but went dark again as he continued.

"As luck would have it, I was glancing at the entrance when that fellow came in with the girl in the red dress."

I tensed and the lump was aware of it. He held me with his eyes.

"The fellow looked around (not unusual, of course) and spotted what he was looking for . . . you. He smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. In fact, it was a nasty smirk of satisfaction. So then I thought I understood what was going on. Clearly he was trying to show off his new girl to you. I didn't like that."

"So," I interrupted, "you decided to ask me to dance out of pity."

"I don't deny that I felt some sympathy for you and that it was a spur to what I was already intending."

"And," I went on, "you've been blocking my view of him ever since."

He nodded and again I was treated to a glimpse of the hidden human face when he smiled.

"Okay," I said with resignation, "his name is Tony, and you're right, he is my ex-boyfriend. I don't give a damn about the girl because I have no interest in getting back with him, but . . ." I trailed off.

There were a few moments of silence. Then the lump finished my sentence, "But he hurt you somehow." The dark eyes were practically drilling through me.

I turned my head away. I didn't want to talk about it anymore.

More silence, then, "Finish your beer. I'll take you for a walk."

As I was swallowing the last mouthful, he whispered in my ear, "Your ex is standing up on the steps on the other side of the dance floor with his arm around red dress hoping desperately for you to look his way."

As the big man guided me outside, I didn't turn my head.