Sarah had seen it too many times. She in fact had seen how taken back Steve had been when she offered to help fix his car. OK, offered was a bit a strong word, but that is what it was. He was lured in by the legs, heard the mouth, stammered, then ran for cover. Sarah was sure he was going to reach out and touch her propped legs that day. That would have been a bit creepy and highly disappointing. Sarah had wished that Steve was different. That he could take charge of the chase and successfully pin her down romantically. She yearned for strong masculine hands to caress her, discover her, empower her even more, and set her free to conquer the world.
Banish the silliness! Such fairy tale babbling was for children, which she clearly was not. Maybe a quick Google search again about Steve would help her find that missing link that would help her erase him from mind. After all, he hadn’t called. He clearly was not interested.
To make matters more interesting, after that day, she had not seen him on campus again. Sure, the car was waterlogged, but considering the types of girls he dated, Steve had to have had enough money for a rental. The man plain disappeared. Sarah was not about to ask around at school about this guy. She didn’t need anyone thinking she was interested in any man. That would give a lot of losers unnecessary hope that she was available. No, she’d just as well forget him. Even if his chiseled chest had seemed to reach out to her in the rain, and his cut arms seemed eager to sweep her off her feet.
Sarah found herself biting her lower lip and staring out the window at nothing in particular in her cozy apartment with cheeks turning a light pink. Why must this be so? Why did her heart play games. Why did she like to have the impossible men? She wasn’t from money. She wasn’t from high society. She was just the summer’s volleyball coach and regular teacher of the year. More importantly, why did she stop to help that fine looking body that was half hanging out of the hood of that mean hot sexy machine.
Sarah wished she had a chance to sit that man down and yell at him for messing with the equilibrium of her life. She hadn’t waited by the phone, but her heart seemed to wish for a chance to be cared for and pampered by Steve. That was ridiculous sounding, but it was what she wished for. Just two minutes to totally shred this guy to pieces, that way she could move on with her life and not feel drawn to him anymore. She wouldn’t be watching her wardrobe so closely trying to find that right uniform that didn’t violate her principles and still would catch his eye. She wouldn’t need to care about making sure every fiber of her hair was prefect in a ponytail or bun. No, she wished she wasn’t in this weird place wanting, desiring, wishing.
In a few short weeks, the summer would be over and that weird craving would end. She was really good at being focused during the school year. She had plenty of mentoring to do, plenty of classes to teach, and enough volunteering to keep her mind clear and off any men. Her work was her armor, her buffer. The remaining weeks would have to get better, and they looked so. There was a new guy who would be teaching at the school. While she had no time to date during the school year, she did allow herself enough time to keep up with the water cooler chatter about who was dating who. At least that was her little vice that kept her invigorated. The way the women at work talked about dating, it reminded her that men were all not worth her time. Sarah felt better knowing that her rules kept her life drama free and happy. Just hang in there, make it through to the school year.
All that resolve, all that effort came undone one day when Sarah went for a bike ride to close the summer season. She wanted to enjoy the view and forget about her wish to be swept into the arms of Steve. She had done good. The man hadn’t called. She was forgetting him. Then, as she rounded the corner, she saw him. He was there. Standing in the school yard. Just looking Athenian god like. Perfectly chiseled. Perfectly proportioned. Just standing there. Her heart stopped. She lost track of time. She just lost herself. This was not good.
The blaring horn that startled her out of her dream threw her balance off.
She swerved.
Heard tires screeching.
Felt something hit her hard.
Then the sky whirled into view and rapidly darted to one side as asphalt barely came into focus as the air in her lungs escaped. Her body hit something pretty hard and the whole world spun horribly fast.
When things calmed down and she could feel herself again, she checked about and saw that she was OK. Banged up a bit, but OK. Nothing broken. There was a person yelling and pointing a finger her way, another was yelling and pointing at another. There was no trace of her bike. In fact, no evidence she was ever in the street. Sirens were getting louder in the distance.
Despite it all, Sarah felt safe. Secure. Protected. Calm.
Looking about and trying to take in the scene as onlookers started to close in, Sarah’s mind started to register more what was happening. She had been hit by a couple things before coming to rest on the ground…
Sarah only could remember seeing Steve just standing in the school yard. But he was not there now. Then her heart seemed to freeze. She heard his voice. It was very close by. Turning her head, she was quite shocked to see him so close and slightly out of focus. He was holding her in his arms. The confusion in her face must have registered because a bystander announced to her and everyone else that had Steve not run as fast as he did and knocked her out of the way, she would have been crushed by the two cars that were in the middle of colliding together.
That explained why the two people were arguing so hard around wrecked cars then. Steve had rushed to help another random damsel in distress, and that was that. Nothing special. Feeling deflated and crushed by the impact, Sarah gave up fighting to remain conscious and let herself slip out into the soft darkness. She was OK and in the arms of a man who didn’t even know she had the hots for him. At least she had her wish of being in his arms, even if it was under horrible circumstances.
the photos in this chapter are provided in part by the person who inspired this series… the Instagram star by the name of nylonsandsocks . Thanks for the contributions, the ideas, and the photos.
if you want to go over and support her site.. be warned.. some of her photos will make you blush… or other reactions…ha ha ha.
Love's Perspective 
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