1. Pure Obsession (Finn) - Chapter Three


    Date: 10/2/2014, Categories: Reluctance, Author: SITTING, Rating: 23, Source: LushStories

    the restaurant was one of those real fancy places where everyone wore dinner jackets. Maybe they wouldn’t even let me through the door. I didn’t need a mirror to tell me that my hair was a mess. I didn’t need a psychiatrist to tell me that my mind was a mess. I slowed down finally as I reached the street. My phone told me it was eleven minutes past eight and I could see the sign of the restaurant. MARIONETTE’S. Small, silver letters on a deep, gunmetal background. It looked sophisticated. The windows were big and sparkling and I could see chandeliers inside. I couldn’t just walk in. I stopped outside, my hands numb and shaking from the cold. Fumblingly, I extracted a cigarette from my pocket, lighting up and dragging on it hard, trying to get the heat to circulate around my body. I could still turn around and go back home. But I didn’t want to. People went in and came out, all of them in high spirits. It seemed like they weren’t dressed particularly elegantly, although no one was wearing jeans. I exchanged the odd smile and ‘good evening’, ignored the pointed dirty looks at my cigarette and tried to work up the courage to go inside. Even if I did go in, what would it achieve? We’d probably talk down Daniel a little, and that’d be it. I hated the uncertainty. I stubbed out my cigarette against the stone wall of the restaurant, swallowed my misgivings and headed inside. “Do you have a reservation, sir?” The sycophantic guy at the desk was eyeing me suspiciously. “Yeah, I’m ...
    here to meet someone, but could you direct me to the men’s first?” “Of course. This way.” I followed him to the toilets. Inside, there was one guy at a urinal and another washing his hands over and over, like he had OCD. I stopped in front of a sink and checked my reflection in the mirror. I looked shocking. Silently, I wished I hadn’t skipped shaving that morning. I wet my hands and ran them though my hair, trying to tame it. I washed my face. The warm water on my cold hands gave me this anxious tingly feeling. The urinal guy came up next to me and started washing his hands. The OCD guy glanced nervously at the two of us. I dried my hands and tossed the paper towel in the bin. OCD started combing his hair. He ran the comb through in exactly the same way each time. He was making me uneasy. I headed back out and made my way to the restaurant floor. “What name is the reservation under?” The smarmy guy was back. He was wearing a waistcoat. “Oh, I know where I’m headed.” I said quickly. “Don’t worry.” I took off before he could stop me, scanning the room for Alessandra. It wasn’t a big restaurant but it wasn’t small either and it took me a while to spot her. Finally, I saw her. She was sitting near the window, her back towards me and yet I could tell it was her. Nobody else had hair like hers and nobody else would sit quite that straight. I wove through the tables. My watch told me it was almost twenty past eight. “Hey.” I touched her arm lightly. ”Finn. Remember me?” She looked up, ...
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