Staring at a Mountain

Cryptic

Rhiannon couldn't understand the allure of sports.

The crowd of men in the sports bar groaned collectively as the Yankees must have done something less than pleasing.

With a sigh, Rhiannon resigned to getting off of the cracked red leather cushion and turned to her friends.

"No," Wanda whined, dragging out the 'o'and catching her wrist. She was given a bright green coupon with "Ladies Drink Free!" earlier this week from some guy she met at the market and insisted on dragging along Natasha and Rhiannon.

"I have a stack of depositions to go over at home and a free bottle of wine in the fridge." Rhiannon laughed, leaning over to side hug the blue eyed beauty.

"Fine, but in exchange," Wanda peaked over her shoulder at Nat before returning her gaze to the slim brunette in front of her, "we have to go back to 'Eden' to get you the number of hot club owner guy."

"Fine! I'll see you at home." She threw her hands up in defeat. The girls waved goodbye at their ever-busy lawyer friend.

Rhiannon slipped passed the sport-engrossed, armpit scented men and felt her shoulders relax as she pushed the door to the outside.

Inhaling the no longer body-odor tainted air, she clicks her key fob, approaching the Audi Tony had bought for her before their breakup.

"𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑖𝑡." he insisted. She still found herself missing him sometimes.

A low whistle sounded suddenly causing her to stop in her tracks. The absence of the click of her heels made the silence thick with tension.
Looking over, she's almost pleasantly surprised.

Leaning against the most expensive car in the lot, James looked her over.

"You know, most guys ask for my number before resorting to stalking." She found herself smiling as she walked over to him. He pushed himself off of the Jag and shrugged.

"I find normal approaches overrated." Moving closer to her with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, he towered over her, angling his head down to put his face uncomfortably close to hers. When she didn't back down or move, a small smile flickered across his lips before disappearing. He noticed she smelled of lavender and cigarettes.

"What do you deem appropriate?" They stood so close they could feel the warmth of each other's breath.

He didn't reply, leaving her stumped.
𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒. She thought.
She pulled out a cigarette and placed it between her lips, expecting him to step back.
Instead of stepping back, without skipping a beat, he pulled out a silver zippo and flicked the flame to life. Her eyes narrowed at him questioningly as she inhaled the smoke.

They didn't exchange words as he took the cigarette from her lips and took a long drag.

"You're an interesting man, James." She said in a matter-of-fact tone.

He placed the cigarette back between her wine-color stained lips and took a moment to absorb her under the dim street lights scattered behind the small New York bar. She had pushed her long dark hair over her shoulder absentmindedly touching it a lot. He realized ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑠. There was a small outstanding spot of concealer on her chin where she had attempted to cover a zit.

Her black a-line skirt reached mid-thigh a few inches from the thigh high boots gracing her thin legs. He wasn't sure what blouse she was wearing, her mustard yellow peacoat buttoned up to her collarbone. He didn't know a lot of people who could pull off the shade of yellow, but it suited her nicely.

"You're an enigma, Rhiannon." He rebutteled. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in disbelief before a laugh fell out of her mouth. The sound brought a genuine grin to his face. She held the cigarette out to him and he took it gratefully. He had his own, but sharing with her felt more intimate.

"𝐼'𝑚 an enigma?" She demanded back playfully.
He shook his head and stepped on the finished cigarette.

"Hey, slut, I thought you left!" A woman's voice called suddenly. Rhiannaon looked over her shoulder at the sound of Natasha leaving arm and arm with a bearded man who was of average height.

"I was going to, but look who I ran into?" She nodded over her shoulder.

The redhead and the baseball-cap flannel wearing man approached and nodded respectfully at James standing closely behind Rhiannon.

"Text me?" Natasha said more as a loaded statement. The brunette nodded back knowingly.

"Take care of her for me, gorgeous." Nat winked at James' looming form over her best friend's shoulder and turned to leave.

"She's nice. Seems to care about you an awful lot." He stated once they were alone again.

"She's..." she trailed off for a moment before a warm look flickered across her face, "Natasha. She's an acquired taste for some but by far the most loyal friend I've ever had. She forces me out of my comfort zone and makes me experience life to the fullest. It may seem reckless but she's always very protective." Turning to face him, she found a thrill in how close he was standing. He smelt like the first day of winter mixed with a pleasant musk and cigarettes. Smokers hazard, you always smell like it.

"I can see she's protective. That's why I found it so fascinating that she wanted to set you up with me." He was working towards inclining about why a clean-cut lawyer was fraternizing with someone who was considered a sleazy club owner.

Rhiannon shook her head and looked down with a blush blossoming on her cheeks.

"That's because you're exactly my type," she began. He tilted his head almost in shock as she continued, "if she hadn't brought me to meet you, I would've found you myself somehow. I always end up taken with men like you." She internally cringed at her choice of words hoping she hadn't offended him.

"There are no men like me, angel." He replied simply, unoffended. She almost rolled her eyes but it was refreshing to speak to a man who's ego could withstand her occasional patronizing. Before she lost her nerve, she reached into her purse and dug around. James watched in amazement at all the garbage in such a small bag.

She pulled out a sharpie and held her hand out. Raising an eyebrow, he hesitantly put his hand in hers.

Rhi
(646) ***-****

She had scrawled her phone number on his hand softly before pulling her hands away.

"Call me sometime, mystery man." She said before turning and walking away. James watched her graceful legs glide towards her car that was definitely outside her pay grade and couldn't help the warm feeling encapsulating his chest. As she sped off into the busy New York streets, he looked down at his palm.

'Rhi' scrawled in soft cursive. He felt a ghost of a smile as he climbed into his car.