Not Desperate

Chapter One
"Meet and Greet"

I hear the door bang open and closed as I light my second cigarette. I don't really care who has come out and pay no attention to it. Until I hear shuffling feet and look up to see a man standing in front of me with an unlit cigarette dangling between his fingers. "Got a light?" he asked. His voice is shaky and I can't tell if it is because he's drunk or nervous. I stand from my spot on the curb in front of the bar I had been drug to a few hours before. "Sure" I said looking him in the eye, or at least trying too. His shaggy hair was hanging in his face obscuring his eyes. He quietly shuffles on his feet and looks down at where I had been setting.
"You can sit, if you like. I'm not going back in for a while. You're welcome to join me" I say. He stares at me as I get as comfortable as I can on the concrete. He eyes me like I'm crazy, like I have a death wish and am hoping he's a serial killer. But after a minute of contemplation, he sits. I can finally see his face. Ragged and slightly dirty, like he had been working outside all day. Maybe he is a construction worker. If that’s the case, I bet he has a nice body too. Damn my brain needs to sleep. His hair is dark and still covers his eyes. We took drags off our cigarettes at the same time. He is still quiet, but now it seems like it is out of nervousness, not being drunk. He had been steady on his feet and I couldn't detect a slur in his words, the few he had offered me. Now I'm nervous. Should I speak, or just let him be? He's staring straight ahead, as if he is trying to ignore me.
I don't want to torture him with my presence any longer, so I stand and crush my cigarette under my boot. I pass in front of him to go back to the bar and he mumbles lowly, "Ya don't have to leave if ya don't want. I didn't want to disturb ya. I ain't gonna do nothing. Didn't mean to scare ya or make ya nervous." I looked down at him and he was biting his thumbnail trying not to look at me. "You didn't scare me or make me feel nervous. I just thought that maybe you wanted to be alone. Didn't want to bore you with small talk." I sat down next to him and lit another cigarette
"I'm not good at talking," he said, "but I'm a good listener if ya wanna. I don't mind. I'd rather hear you talk than my damn brother and his friends", he smirked. I smiled and looked at me as he finally brushed the hair out of his eyes. They were the most amazing shade of blue I have ever seen. Blue, like colored contact lens blue, hypnotic almost.
"Well, I was just gonna ask your name and if you were here voluntarily or had been drug here like I was". He shuffled in his seat a little and lit another cigarette. "My brother thinks it's a good idea for me to get drunk and laid, but I ain't in the mood for either." Until now, he thinks. "My name's Daryl. What's yours?"
"I'm Yvonne. It's nice to meet you Daryl. I think my friends may know your brother. I'm here because of the same." I giggled and immediately regretted it. I never giggle, especially around men. That's what little girls do, not grown ass women. And he looked at me as if I were not one, a grown ass woman that is. Thankfully, he ignored my childish outburst.
"Maybe so. Maybe we've been set up. I know if I go back in there and ain't drinking or hittin' on some poor girl, I'll never hear the end of it."
"Same here, ’cept I'm supposed to hit on a guy. Maybe if I hit on one of my friends, they'll back off." He laughed. An actual open your mouth and show teeth laugh. "My brother would want to see that, then hit on you and your friends thinking he was on his way to the best orgy of his life".
"My friends like to think they're picky about their men, but honestly, they don't have the best taste in men. Maybe your brother would have a chance with them". He didn't respond to that and we were surrounded by silence again. Daryl seemed like a decent guy. Obviously not looking for a quick, drunk fuck. Or at least that's what he wants me to think. "All I really want to do is get some food and go home, but they're my ride. We all came together in one car, so I'm kinda at their mercy. When they've had enough, I get to go home".
"I don't want to be here anymore than you do. Maybe I could take ya home? We can stop and get food on the way. I'm hungry too, but only if ya want. Don't want to creep ya out or anything. I won't try nothing, I promise".
"Okay. That sounds good. I don't think you're creepy and you already told me you're not looking to get laid, so I think I can trust you". He gave me a look of surprise and let out a breath I think he had been holding since he stopped talking. He shook it off and started walking away. I quickly followed him to a red and white Ford pickup. "Should you tell your brother that you're leaving? Won't he be worried?"
"Nah. He's probably too shitfaced by now to know I'm not in there. Probably trying to pick up his fuck for the night. How about your friends?"
"They'll text me if they want to know where I am. Besides, really don't want to see their faces when I tell them I'm getting a ride home with some guy I just met. They'll be asking too many questions that I don't have answers for. I'll talk to them tomorrow."
"Okay", he said. Then he unlocked and opened the passenger side door for me. After he climbed in, he asked me where I wanted to go. I didn't know what was around and he suggested a diner on highway 96. The ride was quiet with neither of us speaking. I kept thinking about his eyes and his glorious smile. I feel like a stupid little girl all googly eyed over the cute football player. This man was no athlete. I mean, he very well could be. He had a nice body. Covered by torn and dirty jeans, a sleeveless t-shirt under a sleeveless blue and black flannel. I bet those arms could throw one three miles. I started to wonder what those would feel like wrapped around me. I really need to get a grip. I know it's been four years since I was with someone, and I am kinda lonely sometimes, but I am not desperate enough to jump a total stranger. I hope.