Strangers in the Dark
"You are pretty clear about what you like and what you don't like.", she said, as he finished talking about his almost maniacal interest in vintage cars. "Well, it's a pity that most people don't. It kind of makes my heart ache when I see people living their lives in confusion.", he said, half smirking, half shaking his head.
Sitting in the balcony, with their feet up on the railings, enjoying the cool breeze that was soothing their souls, they looked at the distinct and mesmerizing city-scape silhouette from Ed's 30th floor condo of the posh Midtown Manhattan building. It was 2 A.M. Dave was drinking Leffe Blonde from a bottle, while Thea was sipping coffee, which she took the liberty to make in a stranger's kitchen. Yes, as (un)surprising as it might sound, Dave and Thea were but strangers to each other. He was what all the ladies would kill each other for- tall, grey eyes, a stubbled jawline, and a semi-Cumberbatch voice. She... Well she was just the average girl next door, and on most days, you won't cast a glance at her more than once.
You might wonder what she was doing at a stranger's place, and why he had a stranger over, all of it at 2 AM. If truth be told, neither Dave nor Thea had an answer to that. They met at the bar earlier that night. There wasn't the usual flirting involved, if that's what you want to ask and know if that's what led her to his home. In fact, it might sound strange, and funny, that neither of them knew why they started talking in the first place.
It started with a simple smile and a "Hi!", followed by the introductions. Like I said, they didn't flirt. In the most old school way, they were just talking about random things - life, people, goals. And then they left the bar, and went for a walk, all sober. 15 minutes of walking and a taxi ride later, they ended up at his condo. I wish, as much as you do, that this was a steamy hookup or a one night stand. But this wasn't. Quite contrarily, both of them were in relationships. But before you get your head in all sorts of assumptions, they weren't cheating on their respective partners. But then, it's not your fault, anyone would assume that.
At 25, when you know you're stuck at the same place in your life since quite a long time, you need to vent out the clog in your mind with someone who's going through the same. That's what they were doing that night. So there they were, sitting in the balcony in the wee hours of night, talking about dreams, ambitions, views, people, and somewhere deep down their hearts, they knew exactly what has been missing in their lives.