Strangers in the Night
“I’ll be back in a minute.”
You pushed your chair back from the table and unhooked your purse from the back of the chair while your date nodded, taking a large gulp of his drink. Cringing internally, you made your way to the restroom.
You didn’t really have to use the restroom, you just wanted a moment alone to think. This was the worst date you had ever been on. You had to find a way out.
When you rounded the corner, you saw a restroom sign at the end of the corridor. There was only one restroom, available for men and women.
You pushed the door open and, thinking you were alone, you heaved a sharp sigh of relief. It was only a momentary reprieve, but you already felt less nervous.
“Rough night?”
You jumped a little at the sound of a deep, masculine voice. Too caught up in your thoughts, you hadn’t noticed the man standing at the sink. He was looking at you, a sympathetic smile tugging at his lips.
Slightly embarrassed, you ducked your head and laughed softly. You fiddled with your bag, not knowing what to do. You just wanted to spend a couple of minutes alone and you certainly hadn’t planned on running into a good looking guy in the restroom of this restaurant.
Sensing your agitation, the stranger sent you another charming smile and pointed to his reflection in the mirror above the sink.
“’Was tryin’ to give myself a little pep talk,” he said. “But the mirror’s all yours if you wanna check your makeup or somethin’.”
When your brows knitted in a frown, he thought he had offended you so he quickly added, “not that you should. You look nice.”
“Thanks,” you said, failing to hide your smile. His shoulders sagged in relief and another easy smile spread across his lips. “So, um, why were you giving yourself a pep talk?”
His nose scrunched up when he grimaced. “Ah, s’nothin’,” he waved a dismissive hand, “just not in a hurry to get back to my date.”
You let out a short laugh. “Same here.”
“Must be somethin’ in the air,” he remarked with a lopsided grin.
You both grew silent, lost in your own thoughts. You must have been thinking along similar lines because you both looked a lot more relaxed as if knowing someone else was having a rough time had calmed you down.
You took a moment to look at the stranger. He was tall, well-dressed though his suit looked a little small for him. You wondered if this was an old suit or if he just liked clothes that made him look even bigger than he already was.
You tried not to stare at his ass, but there was no denying that he filled out his trousers quite nicely.
His hair was dark, reaching almost to his shoulders. It was slicked back, but not completely, making it look a little greasy. Somehow it suited him, it gave him a little bad boy vibe. He looked like the kind of guy who would drive a motorcycle and wear long coats with untied boots.
“Name’s James, but you can call me Bucky.” He took a step toward you and held out his hand. “It’s ridiculous, I know, an old nickname.”
You looked down at his hand and noticed the hint of a tattoo peeking out from under his sleeve. It looked like a sleeve tattoo, but you couldn’t be sure.
You told him your name and shook his hand, feeling the sharp edges of his rings dig into your fingers and palm.
You were still holding hands when the door opened. The woman stopped short when she saw you and Bucky standing in the middle of the restroom, holding hands. She nodded in greeting and entered one of the stalls.
“Look at that,” Bucky whispered once she had locked the door behind her. “Someone actually needs ta use the restroom. I thought t’was just a nice hidin’ place.”
Stifling a giggle, you followed him into the hallway. There was a room divider between the main room and the restroom. Thanks to the slats, you could see into the main room without being seen.
“Okay,” Bucky said, clapping his hands once, “how’re we goin’ to do this?”
You turned to him and frowned. “Do what?”
“We can’t hide forever, we need an escape plan.”
“Isn’t that a little excessive? I mean I was going to tell my date that something urgent came up.”
“Um, the old ‘a friend called me’?” Bucky pondered. “Hard to pull off ‘nd, no offense, but you don’t look like a great liar.”
You gaped at him. “Excuse-me, I’m a great liar! And how would you know? We met two minutes ago.”
“Touché,” he winced, rubbing the back of his neck.
You didn’t know this guy, but there was something about him, something soft and gentle that you quite liked. When you bit back a smile, he beamed at you and peeked through the slats of the divider.
“Which one is your date?”
You moved closer to him and discreetly pointed to a blond man sitting alone. He was wearing an expensive suit and his hair was styled in a loose pomp. He looked rich, important and successful.
Bucky whistled low under his breath and gave you a side glance, a teasing smile on his lips. “I bet it took him a while to blow dry his hair.”
You let out the most unladylike laugh, having had the exact same thought earlier that night.
“So what’s wrong with him?” he asked, glancing furtively at your date.
“Well he definitely has a superiority complex,” you told him. “He talks to me like I’m a child and he’s just… I don’t know, creepy.”
“Creepy how?”
“Earlier he said that our society was at a tipping point between order and chaos. I mean who says things like that on a first date?”
“Creepy dudes with crazy hairdos,” Bucky replied with a playful smile.
You shook your head at his antics. He was so effortlessly friendly and charming, and you were more on the shy side. You wished you were more outgoing, more extroverted. Bucky made it look so easy.
“Okay,” you mumbled, waving your hand dismissively. “Which one is your date?”
You turned your head to look at him and found that he was already looking at you, a gentle smile on his lips. He liked that, despite your obvious timid nature, you were trying to keep the conversation going.
He had a hard time deciphering your expressions, though he did caught you staring at his ass earlier so he figured that you didn’t find him too repulsive.
“It’s the-” he cleared his throat, “the blonde at the bar.”
“She’s pretty,” you commented.
“She’s real smart, too,” he nodded. “Works for the government.”
You glanced at Bucky. “So what’s the problem?”
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, clearly frustrated. “S’not her, it’s just… We’ve nothin’ in common and we knew we weren’t gonna hit it off, but her cousin’s married to my best friend and they both insisted so whatcha gonna do?”
You chuckled.
“I think I might’ve bored her to death talkin’ ‘bout my work.”
“You wouldn’t be the first,” you said with a nod toward your date. “Where do you work?”
“Brooklyn College,” he replied. “I’m teachin’ math, but I’m workin’ on a PhD dissertation in math ‘nd history. Mathematics in war perspective. Once I start talkin’ ‘bout that, I can’t stop.” He rubbed the back of his neck and grinned boyishly at you.
“That’s-” Hot. Really, frigging hot. You licked your lips and cleared your throat before answering, “-interesting.”
“It’s all right.” He shrugged, trying to appear casual.
A beat of silence passed before you both turned back to the main room. Your date was looking around the room, his jaw clenched tight before he flicked his wrist, looking down as he caught the time on his watch.
“We’ve been gone for a while.”
“Yeah, someone’s gettin’ impatient,” Bucky said, sounding amused. You both watched as your date pushed his chair back and got to his feet. “Fuck, he’s comin’ over here!”
“No!” you panicked, looking around for a way out. “I don’t want to go back.”
“Don’t worry, I have an idea.”
He opened the restroom door for you and told you to lock yourself into one of the stalls. After a moment, you heard your date entering the hallway. He described you quickly and asked Bucky if he had seen you before.
“Yeah, I’ve seen her,” Bucky said, his voice muffled by the two closed doors. “She snuck out the backdoor, sorry man.”
Your date left shortly after that and Bucky watched from the hallway as your date dropped a few bills on the table and left the restaurant. You waited a couple of minutes before joining Bucky in the hallway.
“Problem solved,” he grinned at you.
“Thanks so much.” You felt as if a weight had been lifted from your shoulders. Now that Mr Creepy was gone, you felt a lot safer. It must have shown on your face because Bucky smirked at your sudden cheerfulness. “Need help with your date?”
He pondered your question for a few seconds. “Nah, I’m good. She’s a nice girl, just not the one for me.”
The way he looked at you made you feel excited and shivery. He tried to hold your gaze, but he felt his skin flush and quickly looked away.
He hadn’t been on a date in a while and this one didn’t count. It was a blind date and they’d both reluctantly agreed to see each other. But looking at you right now made his heart race and his skin burn. He was ready. More than ready.
“Plus, my best friend knows her well so I can’t really ditch her. I’m gonna be honest ‘nd tell her we should go our separate ways.”
“That’s very noble of you,” you said, only slightly teasing.
He looked down at his shoes, his nose crushing up a little. You wondered how someone who looked so buff and dangerous could be so sheepish. “Well, yeah, I’m kinda tryin’ to impress you.”
Now it was your turn to look bashful. “Me?”
“I feel like such a jerk, askin’ this when my date is still waitin’ at the bar, but,” he paused, hearing you laugh made him feel more confident. “Do you wanna grab a bite after this? We’re dressed pretty fancy, but I’d kill for a pizza.”
Pizza actually sounded nice. You bit your bottom lip to keep from grinning like an idiot and looked at him through your lashes. He looked hopeful and a little nervous. You found it really endearing.
“Promise you won’t run off with a stranger you met in the restroom?”
He gave a short, relieved laugh. “Yeah, promise. That kind of thing… it only happens once in a lifetime.”