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The dart hit the bull's eye and she turned to look at him, surprise written all over my face.
"I do this whenever I am stressed." He said and threw another dart, hitting the virtual board at a ten. "So, you broke up with your boyfriend today?"
"Yeah...It's actually good riddance. Now nothing holds me back from leaving the country."
He threw another dart and turned to her. "For travel?"
"Exchange student...I want to go to Paris." She replied and he threw her a smile.
"That's cool."
"But I don't think it will happen anytime soon." She said and he walked over to the board to get the darts before he walked back to hand them to her. "Your turn." He smiled and she picked up the darts, though she wasn't really good at playing. The first dart did not touch the board but dropped to the floor.
Embarrassment zoomed into her cheeks and she made a side glance at him, to get an unreadable expression.
She aimed for the bull's eye and when she was sure her hand was well-positioned, she threw the dart again but was disappointed when they went to the floor.
"I've been conned." Tahti said and a smile crossed his lips.
"Not necessarily. It's because you haven't been doing it for long." He replied and he took her hand in his left hand, causing a cold shiver to run down her system.
"It doesn't matter where it hits. Just try to get it near the red dot." He was saying as he slid his other hand on her right shoulder and she focused her eyes on the dartboard.
Taking a deep breath, she gave it a shot and was surprised when the dart hit a number seven. She turned to him, with a smile as she gave him a high five.
"That's a surprise."
"What?!"
"You look pretty when you smile." He said and she lowered her face for a minute resisting the urge to blush before she straightened her face.
"You said loser grants winner a wish. What's your wish?"
"You seem rather happy for a loser." He said and she smiled.
"Well, it was fun."
"It's fun being with you, Tahti." He said.
"What's your wish?" She repeated and he locked eyes with her as he walked up to her.
"Aren't you scared? For some reason, I could be a kidnapper or a drug addict...yet, you look at me like we are sort of friends."
He was right there but she had to look undaunted. "You look like a nice guy."
"Nice ones are the dangerous ones." He said and she bit her lip. That was another point.
He chuckled and she raised her eyes to him.
"I was only kidding..." He said and she heaved a sigh of relief.
"My wish is" there was a short dramatic pause that added a bit of suspense to the situation "...have your arm for a couple of minutes tonight." He landed with a grin knowing he had her surprised.
"My arm?" She asked the shock evident in her voice and face.
In a few minutes, they were seated back at the bar a couple of minutes later, and he was drawing on her arm. Tahti kept swallowing, trying to not to allow her eyes linger on him. He was a stranger for crying out loud.
She almost finished when he looked up at her. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Huh?" She asked trying to gather her dazed self.
"You're breathing..."
"I'm okay. I'm just nervous." She replied and he smiled as he was resumed drawing, like he was enjoying himself.
"Can I ask something?" He asked with his concentration still in the drawing.
You can ask anything, she wanted to say. "Sure."
"Why were you named after a star?" He asked.
"So my life could shine bright. My mom and aunt named me." She replied and he raised his head to lock eyes with her before they burst out laughing.
"I'm kidding." She said as he dropped his head to resume drawing when the laughter died down. "Do you know David Nicholas?" She asked and waited for a reply, but all she got was an affirmative nod. "He's my aunt's favorite author. He had a line in his book that said...God’s promises are like the stars; the darker the night, the brighter they shine."
He raised his head and she shrugged. "That's it. There no special story behind it."
"No. I love it."
He was done a couple of minutes later and she lifted her arm to take a closer look. It was a moon and star.
"It's cute...This is your wish? It's rather simple." She said, still finding it difficult to believe that was all. There had to be something else he wanted or maybe it was she who had hoped for something else.
"Then... should I make another wish?" He asked as he dropped the water based marker and slowly started to close in on her.
Her heart supposed to beat faster in expectation of what was to come. She knew it was wrong but it would not hurt to be naughty for a night, would it? She wondered as she closed her eyes.
Still, this was wrong.
She slowly pulled back and she heard a soft chuckle before she slowly opened her eyes as he patted her hair.
"You're cute." He smiled and she gave a soft and embarrassingly chuckle before she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"This is silly." She muttered.
"What do you mean?" He asked, finding comfort
"Nothing"She said with a forced chuckle "I just need to make a visit to the restroom." She said as she perched down from her stool and headed for the restroom. He was messing around with her brain and she needed some air from him.
The restroom was empty and she turned on the faucet to wash her hands before she looked at her reflection. Her eyes trailed down to the drawing on her arm and she trailed a finger over it again. She wasn't a fan of tattoos, but the one on her arm was gorgeous. "Get it together, Tahti." She said as she slapped her face. "He's not the only handsome guy you've ever seen. So...stop stuttering in front of him and just be cool, okay?"
No longer feeling stuffy,she walked out.
He was on a phone call when she was returning and her ears pricked up to overhear his conversation, as she was a few metres from him and he was practically shouting into the phone over the loud music.
"Are you asleep?...Why? Thinking of me?...I know, right?...I miss you..."
Her heart dropped. So he had a girlfriend. What in the world had she been thinking? There was no way someone like him would be single. She had just made a huge fool out of herself.
Her embarrassment had reached a hundred percent, as she turned to walk out of the bar.
The cool breeze carrying a strongly scented masculine cologne slapped her hair, jerking her back to reality. She raised her hand to look at the time before she decided it was time to go back to the studio. Bringing her hand down, someone familiar caught her eyes as she rose, someone she had hoped not to cross paths with again.
The guy from the bar.
