A Barrel of Ones

Australia. Big, beautiful and full of people with accents that tickled the drums of her ears. There were so many unfamiliar things to see; every time she looked around another wave of wonderment washed over her and she was left completely breathless. Hannah knew that coming here was the right decision.

She fixed her sunglasses to her nose as she made her way out of the hotel for the second time that day. The warmth of the climate immediately cocooned around her as she made the now familiar walk to the little coffee shop just down the road from her hotel. It served the best ice-cream that she had ever tasted and in this weather, she needed all of the cooling liquid her stomach could handle.

The little bell of the quaint shop tinkled as she broke the threshold. The scent of coffee, freshly ground and ever so tempting wafted over her senses and she had to stop herself from drawing in a deep breath of relief. It didn’t matter that there was no one in the shop; she’d made a full of herself enough times by accident without now doing it on purpose. She walked to the counter and placed her order happily.

Australia really was everything she’d wanted it to be. Fresh, crisp and clean of all of the worries she’d had at home, it offered her freedom and independence. She didn’t have to worry about pleasing her family and friends; she didn’t have to worry about her job or paying rent. In fact, the only thing that currently worried Hannah, was where she was going to sit with her ice-cream, piled high and richly covered in sauce and sprinkles. She turned away from the counter, intent on finding a table by a cooling fan, when her body almost collided into another. She drew back her ice-cream at the most crucial moment and saved it from splattering over either of them.

“Shit,” she gasped. “That was close.”

“I’ll say,” the thick, Australian accent agreed, stepping back into a more balanced stance. He flickered his eyes down over her body, before drawing them up to her eyes. “You’re…Irish?” he offered, puzzled.

“Yeah, northern,” she smiled weakly, her ice-cream suddenly forgotten as she, too, took in his figure. His body with lithe and slightly muscular; a hint of abs showed beneath the long sleeves of his top. His legs were long and clad in blue jeans, fastendd at the waist with a leather belt. His hair, golden brown, was ruffled and haphazardly styled atop his head, a few tendrils straying into his eyes. He smiled, cutely.

“I think your ice-cream is melting.”

Hannah’s cheeks flamed with colour and she bit onto her lip as her eyes flickered towards the now considerably softer scooped ice-cream. “Yeah. I-I better…eat it,” she muttered, lamely, her cheeks filling with more colour; so much so that she felt that they might melt the ice-cream further if she didn’t escape the embarrassing situation. Cute, Australia guy smiled again.

“If you don’t mind, I was going to get some ice-cream myself. I’d like to join you.”

“O-okay,” Hannah stammered, forcing her eyes back up to his. They crinkled at the corners as he smiled at her, as bright and sunny as the Australian weather outside. “I’ll grab us a table.”

“Awesome,” he smiled. “I’m Michael, by the way.”

“Hannah,” she returned, before wandering away from him. Any more close proximity before she got a chance to touch her ice-cream and the poor dessert would be melted into a blob. He was hot.

***

“Thanks for sitting with me,” Hannah told Michael, as they left the shop together. “I haven’t had a chance to sit with a lot of people since I got here.”

“Are you on vacation?” he asked, holding the door open for her chivalrously as she ducked under his arm. Since he’d joined her at the table, Michael had spoken pleasantly to her about everything they could possibly speak about. He seemed to be filled with an insatiable curiosity towards her and her life. She’d revelled in the attention from such a specimen, and returned the favour, eager to know as much about him as he wanted to know of her.

“Yes,” she nodded her head as he caught up with her. “And I don’t think I could have picked a better place than Sydney.” Though now, she thought, it wasn’t just for the beautiful scenery. Michael looked at her, and his eyes seemed to consume her. His smile, that seemed like a permanent fixture to his beautiful face, quirked at the corners.

“I couldn’t agree more. I’m on vacation here, myself.”

“Aren’t you Australian?” Hannah asked, confused.

“Yeah; I’ve been living out in Chicago recently though. For my work.”

“That’s so far from here,” Hannah stared at Michael in wonderment.

“It makes coming back here all the more special,” he told her, touching his hand to her shoulder as the other motioned to the scenery. The open, spacious blue skies rolled before them, offering them so much. He turned to face her again, his eyes as inviting as the sky. “How long are you here for?”

She bit her lip, “A couple more weeks.”

“Excellent,” he grinned. “I’d like to see you again, Hannah. Properly. I know an excellent place that serves the best food.”

“Do you mean a date?” Hannah asked, her pupils dilating.

“Yes. I’m sorry! Did I offend you? It doesn’t have to be…”

“No. No! You didn’t offend me,” she grinned. “Caught me off guard. I’d love to see you again, Michael.”

They approached the entrance to her hotel and paused. “Great. I’ll be here tomorrow night, at seven. Is that okay?”

Hannah nodded, rocking back and forth on her heels. “It’s perfect.”

“Yeah,” Michael agreed as he dipped his head to press a kiss to her unsuspecting lips. “It’s perfect,” he told her as he turned to stroll down the sun kissed road. He turned back, once, five paces down the road to smile brightly at her, the smile illuminating his face with more zest than the sun could ever have hoped for. He winked at her and Hannah raised her hand to touch her lips.

She couldn’t wait to experience more of this wonderful country.