It was him. He was back. I kept my eyes on him while he sauntered along the aisle and sat two seats across from me. He was gorgeous as ever. Where has he been hiding the last few weeks? Sometimes I would see him take this bus to college. I turned away, but I caught myself stealing another glance at him. His ruffled brown hair blew in the wind and his black leather jacket fitted perfect on his slim frame. The breeze blew through his hair as he searched and spotted the open window above his head. He stood up and closed it. He slouched back in his seat and rested his head against the glass. I bit my bottom lip as my eyes studied his broad shoulders.

It had been a while since I last saw him take the number eight bus. In the summer, he always took this bus in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon.

He got up from his seat and stood in the aisle, waiting for the bus to stop. His head snapped in my direction and I turned away instantly. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered and my hands trembled between my thighs, I daren’t look at him again. The bus stopped, and the door squeaked that I chanced one last glance at him. I caught a glimpse of his striking green eyes, and my heart pounded hard inside my chest. The pads of my fingertips tingled when I thought about how it’d feel touching his body. My legs started to get restless, squeezing them together in excitement. My cheeks flushed hotly.

Nothing had changed. He still had a hold over me and I didn’t even know his name. I shook my head as if to snap the image of his face from my mind and that’s when I realised I missed my stop. I turned to glance out of the window, leapt up from my seat. I pushed the stop button and scurried for the door.

This is bloody ridiculous. How could I have missed my stop, I blame that stupid boy.

◎

“Bloody hell, Mills. What time do you call this?” Ben snapped as I approached her at the bus station.

“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I missed my stop.”

“We come here often, nearly every weekend. How could you miss your stop?”

She slipped her arm undermine as we headed along the crowded street.

“Bernice, stop pulling me,” I said. “You’re going to pull my arm out of its socket.” I struggled to get my arm out of her grip but she only held onto me tighter.

“Hey, you know how much I hate that name,” she pouted while she continued to pull me down the street. Her long brown wavy hair got caught between our arms and she swiped it across to release it. I felt puny standing next to all five foot nine inches of her; arching my neck to look up at her face.

I rolled my eyes at her. “Ben, I’m sorry. I got a little distracted, okay. But you will never guess who I saw.”

Her hazel eyes lit up. “Is it someone famous?”

“Yeah, because this town screams dream destination, doesn’t it? I’m talking about the bus guy.”

Ben gasped. “He’s back.”

I nodded.

“Well, what happened?”

“Why do you think I’m late,” I said.

“Look, we’re not talking about the guy you’ve been pining over for months now. Forget about him. If he hasn’t noticed you by now, he’s not worth it. Besides, today your life is going to change.”

“I wonder where I’ve heard that before.”

“What made you even like the guy in the first place? I’m intrigued. Sometimes I wonder if he actually exists.”

“Ben, of course he exists and I’ve told you this before. He was getting off the bus and he helped that old lady carry her shopping. Though I think she was a neighbour, he’s helpful to the less capable,” I said in a flat tone.

“Oh, is he even your type though?”

“Yes,”

“Even so, I promise this date won’t be like last time. This guy is probably more your type. Even his name sounds perfect.”

“Oh please don’t let this be a blind date.”

“You will like him.”

“His name?” I sighed.

“Yes, Evan Wood. You’ll like him, I promise.”

I rolled my eyes back at the thought of her setting me up again. Three years ago she took me on a blind date and it ended in disaster. A black coffee stain on my brand new white dress I had bought for the occasion, followed by him knocking everything off of the table; trying to clean my dress dry. Nag, nag, nag, that’s all she done for that date and now I’m falling for the same mistake again.

I pulled my arm out of her grip and stopped. “I really don’t want to do this. It’s great you have a boyfriend now, but I really don’t need you to set me up with his friend. I’m fine.”

“Amelia Graham, this is our final year at College and you’re not spending it with your head in the clouds thinking about this bus guy who doesn’t even know you exist.”

“Ouch,” I said, crossing my hand over my heart.

“I’m just saying it’s time for you to live a little. You’re always stuck in your studio painting your ideal world. Well, it’s time to live it.” Ben grabbed my arm again and we proceeded down the street. Well it was more like dragging me along and it was quite painful to go through.

“I have a lot of work to do in preparation for my exhibition,” I whined. “I still have no idea what I’m going to do for my masterpiece.”

“Sounds like you need inspiration,” Ben said, “maybe of the male persuasion.”

I shot her a sideways glance. “Fine, I’ll have you play matchmaker for today. When it doesn’t work out – which it won’t – I’ll have the pleasure of rubbing it in your face.”

Ben smiled. “That’s my girl.”

A few minutes later, we were standing outside the Costa Coffee shop. I arched an eyebrow at Ben using the window as her personal looking glass. After brushing her hair with a hair brush that appeared from no where and applying lip balm, she pivoted on her heel to face me. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright with excitement. “At least try to smile, will you,” Ben pleaded. “You’re going to love him. I promise.” I returned the smile which faded as soon as she turned her back to me. I let out a long sigh and followed her into the shop.

As we stood near the entrance, I glanced around the room and froze. Sitting at the far end of the room was the bus guy. The moment I saw him sitting there, I couldn’t peel my eyes away from him. The blood pumping through my veins felt as if they were going to erupt. The noise in the room grew faint and everyone around me faded away. I can’t believe he is sitting there. I’ve never seen him come into this shop before, so why now?

There he was slouching like he did on the bus. The customers started to dissolve from my vision; it was just me and him. Slowly the sounds grew louder and before I knew it everything was back to normal. “What is he doing here?” I muttered under my breath.

“Who are you talking about?” Ben heard.

As I opened my mouth to speak she interrupted me by waving at someone across the room. She took a step forward blocking my view to who she was waving at.

“There they are,” Ben said as she headed off, a skip in her step.

I made haste behind her. When I realised which table she was heading for I slowed my pace. Walk past, walk past, I thought as she approached his table. She didn’t. She walked right into the arms of the bus guy’s companion. To make matters worse they started a lip locking contest. Both of my eyebrows rose. Shut your mouth Amelia, your gawping.