Chapter 1
I left my office shortly after seven and took the elevator down to the street level. An Indian summer breeze hit my face as I walked across the street to the waterfront path across from the building. I hated deadlines, and this latest project had become a nightmare. Creativity was something that flowed when the juices flowed, but that mind set was rarely understood by management when a client wanted a graphic design done overnight.
Sometimes a walk along the water was enough to clear my head and help me relax and get an image or at least an idea. The sun had already set, reminding me of the shortened daylight that comes with fall. I had missed the sunset and the colors that had likely played against the water. Now all I would capture were the shadows of dusk.
I walked for twenty minutes before turning to head back towards my office. The beginnings of hunger rumbled in my stomach, but I pushed the thought away as I continued to watch the shadows play against the water. By the time I return to the area across from my office, darkness had nearly descended on the water and I was still no closer to an idea than when I had started my walk.
That’s when I saw her standing by the railing, staring as the ripples below. She seem oblivious to the wind whipping her short, flowered dress up at the hem and threatening to expose her bottom to the world. I wondered if she knew how beautiful she looked in the darkness with her hair blowing behind her, or if she knew how dangerous this part of town was at night. I continued in her direction until I stopped just a foot away. She turned and looked at me. Her eyes glistened, as if they were wet with tears, but her face was dry.
“Are you all right?” I asked placing my hand on the railing next to hers.
“Yes,” she answered with a short laugh and then looked back out at the water. “Why, do I look like I’m going to jump?”
“No... not really.” How could I tell her why I had stopped? I didn’t even know myself. “It’s just... it’s kind of dangerous around here after dark.”
She looked back at me and grinned very mischievously. My cock twitch inside my trousers in response.
“Maybe that’s what I need,” she said staring into my eyes. “A little danger.”......
