Chapter 1: Meeting

“Oh, errr Hi.” I tried to smile as Claire, Cliff, Chris and a stranger walked into our back garden. Three of those I was expecting but not the other one. Three of them barely acknowledged me back, a smile and nod from Chris. The new stranger however, his eyes locked onto my breasts and his hand shot out. I was used to eye locking to that location, so I simply took his hand.

I felt it, something that’s so rare, so jolting, so frightening. It was a pulse of something that I couldn’t describe. In my 43 years of being on this planet I’d felt it a total of 3 times. I remember each of them like they were yesterday. The first was with Chris after a few dates, the second was with a random waiter when we were on holiday years ago and now here was the third. An instant draw, something that science can’t explain. He felt it too, I could tell. Just like the other 2 times before. As if there’s a sync of molecules between us and upon first connection they vibrated together. A harmony of sorts.

However, this time I was repulsed by the feeling. No way, no way, at all. It was so obvious that he too had felt it but he was leaning into the feeling. “Lovely to meet you Mrs Hammer, Cliff’s dad, Trent.” and he flashed his bright white, crooked teeth. His hand lightly engulfed mine, holding it firmly but not tight. His eyes now locked on mine, a gleam in them.

I was flustered, my head spinning to look for my family. They were now behind me, oblivious to my immediate feeling. I had to snap out of whatever this was, “Errrr ... I thought ... I’m ... Cliff?”

He laughed a deep belly laugh at my floundering and obvious confusion. I moved to pull my hand from his, just a little pull back but he didn’t let me. “Your old man said it’d be nice for me to join you,” he nodded behind my back towards the others.

I turned and this time Chris was facing us, nodding with a big smile on his face. The little shit, I knew 100% what was going through his head right now. I’d deal with that later. Turning back to this Trent man I caught his eyes again on my chest. However, unlike most men that look away or pretend they weren’t looking when caught like this, he simply kept looking and gave me a “Uuummm hummm”, nod and his thumb moved across the back of my hand in a light stroke.

This time I pulled my hand a little harder and got it free. His eyes now back up at my face, his mouth in a cheeky grin. He didn’t care he’d been caught. I was bewitched by this man, how dare he. I didn’t want to cause a scene, I didn’t want to tell him off, I didn’t want to run away, I didn’t know how to deal with this.

However he took that worry right from my mind as he simply stepped forward and pushed past me. But not like a normal person would do. You know, stepping around you, giving you space. No, this Trent man simply brushed his body against mine, barging me out the way. His arm rubbing against my breasts, a firm push, taking in their every contour. When his face came level with mine, he simply said “Lovely” and continued past me, with a large chuckle as he headed towards Chris and the others.

I almost fell backwards against the wall. It was like a swoon, something you’d see an actress do on TV when a hot man walked into a room. But everything about this micro interaction was so confusing. The entire thing couldn’t have lasted more that 10 seconds and I was an utter mess.

Hearing laughter from the other three I managed to collect my senses and moved smoothly into the house and made a beeline to our en-suite, where I locked the door with shaking hands. I needed a moment.

I leaned against the cool tiles of the en-suite wall, the lock clicked firmly shut. My hands were shaking so violently I had to press them flat against the vanity to steady them. What was that? What in God’s name was that? My mind reeled, trying to process the last ten seconds, but it was like trying to catch smoke. All I could feel was the ghost of his touch – the firm grip of his hand, the insolent stroke of his thumb, the deliberate, solid pressure of his body barging past me.

My own body was a traitor. It was humming with that same alien frequency, that inexplicable pull I’d felt only twice before. It was a purely chemical reaction, a primal magnetism that defied all logic and reason. I closed my eyes, trying to force the image of him out of my head, but it was burned there. I tried to dissect him, to find a single redeeming quality that could explain this insane physical response.