Soulful Knowledge

He looked up from his drink at the bar and saw her.  At that exact point he became the leading man in an old black and white movie. His peripheral vision blurred.  The noise from the band became muffled in his ears.  As if  his brain became a camera with a zoom feature, he focused solely on the girl across the room.  Without thinking, he touched his hand to his heart to massage his chest because he felt a sweet pain there. He saw her red lips, her dark hair, and her vividly green eyes.  He knew he would never ever ever be able to erase the memory of his first glance at her.  What he didn't know was if he would ever want to.

His thigh muscle jumped as he fought the urge to get up and run over to her.  He knew he had never seen her before but there was something so familiar about her.  Is this what love at first sight felt like? He stopped to think.  While she was very attractive, it wasn't lust that was making his head spin.  The powerful draw to this woman was coming from somewhere deep inside him.  He felt off balance and it took a concerted effort to settle himself again.  He adjusted himself in his chair.  The music was back and so was the swirl of activity.  Think, man.  Don't screw this up.

***

She was used to having men look at her.  Around her 13th birthday she started noticing it and as time progressed, so did she.  She had been heady with her new-found power and made stupid mistakes, as teenagers will.  At least she had learned from them and now what she wanted wasn't just attention.  Today she turned 30 and this very morning she had made a promise to herself.  No more casual hook-ups.  She wanted the real deal.

She felt a shiver run up her spine as if someone took their finger touching her lower back up to the base of her skull.  Her scalp prickled as she turned to her left and found the source of her agitation.  He was staring at her from across the room but this was different from everything she had known before.  There wasn't anything lascivious in his eyes or demeanor.  She swallowed and breathed in deeply.  It was as if time froze for everyone but them.  Without realizing it, she reached up and brushed her lips with her fingertips.  She watched as he wiggled in his chair, unfolded himself, stood up and started walking over.