Six times

aeris444

The first time Arthur noticed the man, he was coming home after an awful day at work. He had lost a big deal and managed to shout at his personal assistant out of frustration, making the girl cry and owning him a dark look from his sister and associate. He was tired and kept his head against the bus window during the whole ride.

As the bus stopped at a red light, Arthur looked outside and noticed the man leaning against the pub wall. He was wearing an apron and was smoking. What caught Arthur’s attention was his long fingers and his cheekbones.

Then the bus moved and Arthur soon forgot about the man.

***

The second time Arthur noticed the man was a few weeks later. Once again, he had had a hard day at work, arguing with his sister about some HR decisions to take, and he tried to unwind during his way back home. He looked outside, wondering about the lives of all the people he saw.

When Arthur spotted the man smoking outside the pub, it took him a few seconds to remember he had already seen him. He tried to look more closely, the bus started again.

***

The third time Arthur saw the man was the next day and this time, it was planned. Arthur had thought about him as soon as he had sat next to the window.

As the bus approached the crossroad, Arthur tried to spot the man. He was there, like the day before, smoking and leaning against the wall.

Arthur supposed he was taking a break each day at the same time.

He looked more closely at the man. His unruly black hair, his lithe form, his blue eyes. He was attractive in an unusual way. He wasn’t Arthur’s usual type but Arthur found him beautiful nonetheless.

***

The fourth time Arthur looked for the man was the next Monday.

He had thought about him during the weekend but had managed to convince himself it was just curiosity. And if he had felt giddy as he got on the bus, it was just because he was in a good mood that day.

And if he suddenly felt sad when he noticed nobody was leaning against the pub’s wall, it had nothing to do with the smoking guy, it was just fatigue kicking in.

Arthur came back home that day still trying to convince himself he couldn’t be attracted to a man he had never even seen close up.

***

The fifth time Arthur wanted to see the man was the next day.

Arthur smiled when he spotted him. He was looking at something on his phone and suddenly laughed. Arthur was mesmerized. The man laughed with his whole body. He smiled, his eyes crinkled, his body tensed. Arthur wanted to be outside to hear the sound of his laugh, to enjoy that moment of pure happiness with him.

He was screwed.

***

The sixth time, Arthur got off the bus just before the crossroad.