Sliding Into Dumb Luck: Snippet
Who was she and why was she so beautiful? Thomas had seen his fair share of women but this girl, this woman, that caught his eye was absolutely stunning. He wasn’t one for picking up women in the club but he just had to talk to her. Who was he kidding? He didn’t know how to pick up a girl if she handed him keys to her car and told him to pick her up around 7. What was he going to say? “How you doin'?” No, that only works in the sitcoms. How 'bout, “Did you wash your clothes in Windex? I can see myself in them.” What?! Are we in high school? Wait, he thought, that didn’t work for me even in high school. He couldn’t bring up the nerve. As he watched her moving to the music, he could envision himself behind her. Hands placed on her hips feeling them sway to the beat. He could see how she would respond to him if he breathed that he wanted her on her neck and gave her a small kiss. She’d toss back her head and lustfully laugh, showing off two rows of her perfectly placed teeth. Oh yeah, he smiled blushing to himself at his runaway thoughts. All of a sudden a nudge was given to his side. “What are you waiting for Romeo?” He knew that dumb voice. It was his crass college roommate, Aaron. What an idiot he was. “So are you going to go for it lame-o?” “No.” Thomas said. "You don’t ‘go for it’ with a girl like that. You have to approach her with a certain swagger to separate you from the rest." “Yeah," Aaron snidely commented. "that’s why you’re waiting to go up to her. If you don’t, I will.” Thomas’ eyes got as big as two saucers. He was always tired of Aaron "getting the girl." And Aaron didn’t even deserve the girls he got. He just used them and let them go. That’s all it took for Thomas. He was going to prove himself to his womanizing friend and make his move.
Thomas began to walk slowly and strategically towards the girl. His palms began to sweat as he approached closer. All of a sudden as if the wind changed in direction, the song ended and she was now walking off the dance floor toward him. Oh, no!, he thought. This is too soon, I’m not ready. I’m not ready! He shouted in his head. His heart began pumping so hard he thought the beat from the last song still thumped on. And somehow, for 5 seconds, her hazel eyes met with his aqua blue. Did she actually seem interested? In Thomas' eye, she seemed to search for the missing piece in her life and he knew he could fit right into that puzzle. Thomas opened his mouth to form the words hello. Suddenly, he heard a crunch on the floor and his head gave a questioning tilt and before he knew it the next few seconds would seem like the longest ever in his life. From what he could make out he had stepped on a broken drinking glass and his feet were now gliding on the spilled contents as though he were on ice. As if a cinematographer had slipped his filming into slow-motion, Thomas could see himself going down for the count. He tried with all his might to stay vertical but gravity had other plans for him. As he grasped at the air for anything to keep him up he felt the fabric of something soft tighten under his tug, preventing him from falling back any further. But it wasn’t fabric at all, it was HER hair. The tightening soon failed him and he continued his journey backward. As if it wasn’t worse enough he was now bringing her down with him. A shrill scream was let out right as the song was ending causing everyone to turn around and see the spectacle happening before them. He was unsure if it came from him or her. As he made it inches down before colliding with the floor Thomas remembered his last thoughts being that he wished there was a freeze button. But unless he could devise such an ingenious creation within the next split second it wasn’t going to happen.
Gasps and laughter could be heard across the dance floor. Thomas could swear he could even hear the flies on the wall laughing at him and his fiasco. As if the scene weren't entertaining enough everyone turned back around and resumed their lustful prowling for one another. Why me?, he thought. And more importantly why her. After hitting the floor, he stiffened his body to prepare for the impact that was about to happen next. Her. She was about to happen next. And down she came hard landing right on top of him. The force of him yanking her by the hair caused her to come crashing down all too fast to stop herself and when she came down their foreheads collided. He prepared for the worse. Cussing, screaming, nail clawing at his face. Eyes clenched in preparation for the mauling he was about to receive he heard an angelic voice say. “Oh my God, are you alright?” Thomas couldn't believe she wasn’t shouting obscenities at him. “It’s my fault." She said. "I told them to pick my glass up hours ago. Geez, I'm so sorry.” And to top it all off, “By the way, you have the most incredibly beautiful eyes that I’ve ever seen.” She said with a smile. Thomas couldn’t believe his dumb luck.
These little snippets are not complete stories but an interjection into another's world. Just enough of something to take you someplace else for a brief moment. Feel free to let me know how you think the story should end if it is left open. Let me know if you enjoy these. Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
