Bech had never been taken aback by seeing the human male species like she was that night. She had seen him from across the forecourt of the conference hall as she joined the queue patiently waiting their turn to enter the auditorium. Their eyes met briefly, there was a sudden gust of wind, and oh she felt the chill run up and down her arms and a warm shiver down her back. She had felt that way only once in the entire twenty-four years of her life. Bech shook her head to clear the memory; no, she didn’t want to go down that lane.
The man had disappeared by the time she got herself together. Bech had wanted to check again to see if she had truly felt what she felt, not a hallucination. Now she wondered if she had even seen any man across the hall at all. She shook her head again. What was happening to her?
Fortunately, it was her turn to validate her ticket. She quickly pushed the foggy mystery man to the back of her mind. After entering, she went straight to the front row where her bosom friend Lily had reserved a seat for her.
“Where’s Jade?” Bech asked Lily. Lily shrugged. It was customary for him to miss shows that he termed feminine; however, he was fond of hovering over Lily and made it a habit of dropping her off at the plays.
As soon as Bech settled in her seat, she engaged Lily in their usual chit-chat and predictions and anticipations of the cast and characters of the play. That was the only conversation she had with her friend because, just when the curtains rose for the start of the play, she received a note from an anonymous person. Someone making their way behind her dropped the note carelessly into her laps. Bech had no way of knowing whether the person was man or woman; so many people were milling into the auditorium.
Upon opening the square sheet, she was mesmerized by the neat handwriting with a specific instruction: Meet me after the show. Front of Court. Could it be from the man whose eyes she had met earlier? No, she shook her head. Lily nudged her, “Bech, what’s that?”
“I don’t know, Lily. I don’t know.” The confusion was visible on Bech’s face.
“I’m curious,” Lily responded. “What does the note say?”
Bech showed the note to Lily and Lily’s eyes widened. It was all they could do to focus on the play.
“Who is he?” Lily whispered to her friend.
“Lily,” Bech responded in equal whisper, “I have no idea. It could be the man whose eyes met mine outside…” Bech shrugged. “You know me. I don’t attract men easily like you do.”
“Pinch me!” she whispered back, her excitement bubbling further to the surface. “You met a man outside, and you didn’t tell me?!”
“Oh don’t be silly, Lily.” Bech shot back with a smile. “Does this”, gesturing to her outfit, “look attractive to you?”
Lily gently slapped her friend’s hand. “Oh come on, Bech! You don’t even try to attract them. You’re always hiding behind your baggy trousers and T-shirts. You hardly use any make-up at all. I wonder why you hide all of you. Whom are you afraid of?” she humphed and turned in her seat to focus on the play. Bech knew Lily had thrown her hands in despair in her mind and she hugged her friend sideways. Lily cared.
Soon, the play ended and Lily just couldn’t keep still. “Come on,” she dragged Bech, “let’s not keep our MM waiting forever.” The last bit was said with her characteristic roll of her eyes. Bech laughed. But as they approached the exit of the auditorium, she became apprehensive. The questions rushed back: who was meeting with her? Why? What did they want?
Finally, the pair made it out of the auditorium into the airy foyer. Bech saw Lily scanning the crowd for any handsome man looking their way. “Lily, stop it.”
“Stop what?” she looked surprised.
“We look desperate. Just stop searching. If he knows me, he’s going to find his way to us.”
Just then, a group of young men and women accosted them and invited them to a game in the foyer. They were short of one team member. Could Lily join them? Lily jumped in and went with them. She began interacting with them as if she had known them from Primary School. Now Bech was left alone in the foyer, with so many people milling around, and wondering which one wanted to see her.
She didn’t have to wonder long, for just as she turned to find a seat, she bumped into a solid wall of rippling muscles. The hands that reached out to steady her were smooth yet solid, the kind of hands that could strangle a dog while making it feel at home. The voice that reached her ears when the wall spoke… it was all she could do not to crumble like a pile of cards into his steady arms. Instinctively, she knew he was the one she was waiting for.
“You alright?” he asked, the rich baritone flowing from his throat into her eardrums. “Hello? Are you okay?”
“I am,” she responded, standing upright to look fully at the face of the muscles and her knees felt weak again. When last had she felt that way, she couldn’t recall. It had been so long since she felt like that.
“Can we take a walk?” he offered.
“I’m sorry. I’m waiting for my friend…” Bech began to explain and saw a small smile play on his lips.
“Wow, we’re friends already?” He laughed at the confusion on her face, not caring about the curious stares beginning to flow in their direction. When Bech looked around, she saw that some of the ladies were green with envy. Indeed, the man standing before her was quite a catch. “Well, if we are, then let’s get walking.” He took her right hand in his and they strolled out of the foyer into the night.
It was a cool night, the sky so clear that the stars were twinkling in the sky. The moon gave off her brightness, not allowing to be outdone by the stars. It was a full moon, and the brightness lit up the dark sidewalk where Bech and her man walked. They strolled silently for a long time, her hand firmly in his. It felt very natural to walk with him. It was as though they had been together some time past and were reconnecting. Bech sighed. What did he want? Where were they going to? When she looked back, the only indication of the theatre was its pinnacle. They had gone really far off her bearing.
Just then, he stopped, making her stop too. Then he turned her towards the street and whispered in his husky voice, “Do you see the moon? She’s out for you. As bright as your eyes the stars twinkle. I wanted to show you how naturally beautiful you are.”
Indeed, the sky was beautiful. He made her feel beautiful too, and she turned around to tell him that, only to find his face mere inches from hers.
“You’re tall,” he commented appreciatively. She could feel her breath taking in his slowly and steadily till she didn’t know which was hers. “Would you permit me…” he whispered, his nose nearly touching hers. At that point, even if she would not, she didn’t have the strength to decline. Her eyes fluttered close, and, taking that as permission, he touched her lips with his, ever so softly, testing, tasting, then taking it all in.
Bech responded with similar passion, sucking his lower lip as if her life depended on it. She held his head down to hers and slid her tongue in, intertwining her tongue with his in that steamy dance. He gripped her waist firmly, gently aligning her hip to his. She felt his masculinity below his waist rock-hard against her abdomen, driving her crazy with need. Instinctively, she ground against his hardness. He let out a feral groan deep in his throat as an indication of how affected he also was by the fire they had lit, and drew her closer to him, as if he could make her a part of him in that moment.
Her hands snaked up the back of his head for a deeper connection. She had never felt so bold, so brazen with a man, talk less of a complete stranger. Stranger! Oh goodness! Bech froze suddenly. He sensed the change in her and pulled back, looking quizzically into her eyes. Bech had to blink several times so that she would not be hypnotized by those dark pools.
“We can’t do this!” Bech finally said, the words rushing out before she lost the courage and fell back in. “We can’t continue…”
“Why?” he cut in hotly. “You feel what I feel. You know what we both feel. You have done. You can do it. Come…”
“No,” Bech stepped back once, twice, a third. Then she turned around and run, tears streaming down her cheeks. No… she couldn’t have kissed a stranger with such recklessness. She didn’t even know his name! But she ran, putting in the distance as much as she could. She could hear him call her faintly but she kept running. She couldn’t. She couldn’t. She…
“Bech!” the voice finally broke through the distance. Jade?
“Wake up, Bech. We’re running late for the concert.”
Bech came to slowly, scanning her room. She was in bed, the sheets entangled around her feet. She felt cold but she was sweating. Where had she been before? As Bech freshened up for the concert, she wondered what surprises lay ahead of her that evening. If what she experienced was a vision, she eagerly looked forward to it in reality. She smiled.
