"Andrea..." Alex's voice took me off my trance as I was far away wandering with my cup of coffee in my hands. I smiled awkwardly and looked in his eyes. "What are you thinking about?" He asked. I couldn't tell him, obviously.
"I am just worried about my day at the office today." I said the first thing that came up to my mind.
"Hard day?"
"Yes. Meeting with the big boss at the end of the day to make things worse." I laughed. Alex grabbed my hand and kissed the tip of my fingers.
"I love you." He said. I wanted to say the words back but somehow I got stuck so I just smiled at him.
"How's Sarah?" He asked me.
"Doing great. I don't think she will be back so soon." Alex smiled tenderly.
"I miss her." He said.
"I do too. Maybe we should go to the ranch one of these days." I suggested.
"Yeah, we should. It's been a while since we left town." I got up and kissed Alex goodbye. I picked up my car and began to drive towards my office but there was a piece of paper inside my purse trying to divert me from my way. "No Andrea!" I said out loud. I couldn't go there. I couldn't stalk him, it was bad enough that I had looked for him on the phone book. Only I didn't need the paper because I new the address by heart as soon as I laid my eyes on it. I turned right instead of left to my office. I was that crazy. Who cares? I decided to take a look.
I stopped in front on the number 12 of Hayes Street. Never thought he'd have an apartment downtown. I always thought he'd be the quiet type but I guess he was not much at home anyway. I knew it was the first floor. I stopped my car and I stared at the windows, everything was closed, it looked like no one was living there. "What the hell I am doing here?" I muttered. I looked around me just to be sure I wasn't seen and then I left again. This time I went straight to my office.
I parked my car at my usual spot, it was my parking lot anyway. I pressed the remote and locked the doors. I had a strange feeling of being watched so I looked around but there were only the usual cars. I knew all those cars except for the black truck on the other side of the street. I stared at it a bit, no, never seen that one before. I shrugged and walked in the building.
"Morning." I greeted the security, then I pushed the elevator's button and went upstairs.
James POV
I got out of the house with one target in my mind. Why I was doing it? I had no fucking idea but I wanted to see her again. I left Francesca sleeping and I slid out of the bed determined to stalk Andrea. Stalker...but then it wasn't the first time I did it right? I used to watch her from far when we were in high school but back then she didn't even know who I was.
I picked up the paper where I had written her address and drove downtown. Her office was quite near my old apartment but when I decided to move in with Francesca I decided I wanted to be somewhere quieter and bought a house in Marin County. I cursed while I drove back town regretting the fact that I lived quite far. I stepped on the gas, I knew I was above the speed limit but I loved to push the limits, plus I had to be there soon.
I parked right in front of the building but on the other side of the street. There wasn't a danger of being seen. My truck was all black and the windows were shadowed, she wouldn't see me. I could only hope I got there in time. I turned the volume of the radio down a bit and I began to tap on my wheel while I waited impatiently. My heart raced as I waited and ...damn...I waited for long.
"Maybe she's already up there?" I talked to myself looking up at the skyscraper. I was losing my hope when I saw a car parking and Andrea came out of it in a amazing black dress. "Oh man..." I whispered smiling like a fool while I watched locking her car. "So beautiful...she's so beautiful." I saw her looking around and running her hand through her hair and then pulling it back her shoulders. I've always loved her hair, it's even longer now. It's been eleven years since I last saw her. She's perfect.
"Fuck!" Did she see me? I bent a bit but then I remembered there was no way she could see me, so I sat back straight and watched her crossing the street in her high wheels. Her long legs crossing perfectly as she walked like a gazelle. Her hips swaying a bit. I was almost drooling watching her. "What are you doing here Andy?" I whispered. I felt my heart skipping again as I watched her with my jaw on the floor. She had that power of hypnotizing me. My world stopped, it all went silent. I could hear my heart pounding as she stepped each foot on the floor. I felt a breeze on my face as she pulled her hair away and then my cell rang on the passenger seat making me jump and hit with my head on the wheel.
"FUCK!" I shouted. I picked up my cell to find Lars's name on the display. "Motherfucker!" I mumbled. "What the fuck do you want?" I answered the phone.
"Did I interrupt anything?" I heard the fucker laughing on the other side. I ran a hand through my hair and took a deep breath. I knew what I was doing was wrong and I felt like a freak.
"What do you want." I snapped.
"Did you forget about meeting me at the studio? We have to go through those recording we have live."
"Fuck.." I cursed.
"You forgot. Glad I called uh?"
"I am on my way." I said hanging up the phone not leaving him the opportunity to say anything else. I was about to start my engine when my pervert and shameless soul had the perfect idea. I got out of the car and crossed the street running. I entered Andrea's building and greeted the security.
"Morning. Can you tell me please what time Andrea Fischer usually leaves her office?" I popped him the question just like that. I went straight to what mattered. The security guard gave me a look and smirked. Yeah...I know what that means, just like in a fucking movie I pulled a 50 dollar bill off my wallet and waved it in front of his eyes.
"Around 5.30 pm." He blurted. I paid him and left the building feeling I was scum for doing such thing but I was coming back at that time. I wanted to see her again.
Andrea's POV
I worked all day long like an insane person. I wanted to think about something else than my reencounter with James. He looked so good...his smile is just so perfect and crushing...his eyes are just so addictive. I began to wander as flashes of him attacked my mind. Then my phone rang making my jump on the chair.
"Yes." I answered it.
"Sarah is on the phone and she wants to talk to you." My secretary said.
"Put her through." I heard my daughter's voice greeting me with giggles on the other side of the line. "Hi sweetie. How are you?"
"I miss you mom. Grandpa bought me a new horse!" She yelled on the phone. I could hear her jumping around in joy as she told me the news.
"He spoils you too much." I said.
"I am his only granddaughter mom." She argued.
"When are you coming back?" I asked.
"Not so soon. It's summer mom and I am better here at the ranch than there in the city, plus I have new friends here. How's Alex?"
"He misses you too."
"I miss him too. Look mommy I got to go. Sandy is waiting for me outside and we're going to play near the river." She informed me.
"Sarah be careful, ok."
"I am almost 11 years old mom. I think I can take care of myself." I giggled.
"Of course you can. I love you sweetie."
"I love you too mommy." She said making the noise of a kiss on the other side, then the line went dead. I looked at her photograph in my desk. Her smile, her cute blue eyes and her blond hair. She was my shinning star. I picked up the photo and kissed it.
"Missing your princess?" Belle said peaking from the door. "Time for our Starbucks!"
"Let's go. I can use a chat, then I have to come back here." I got up from the chair and grabbed my purse.
"Yes, we have to talk." She said enthusiastically. "You have a lot to tell me. I rolled my eyes as I knew what the subject was going to be. We walked until the end of the street just randomly talking about our days and then we asked for our usual black coffee and sat at our usual table.
"So you knew James Hetfield?" She began.
"I knew the kid James Hetfield, yes. I told you all about that last night, I don't want to talk about that anymore."
"No way...you have to tell me everything! How did you meet? She insisted. I smiled and then my mind traveled to Downey. I was a cheerleader and he used to sit on the field watching us training. He was a weird kid with no friends or just a few but I was fascinated by his mysterious way.
"He used to sit and watch us the cheerleaders. He was an unpopular kid at school but I somehow liked to look at him. I didn't venture to come up to him and talk because, you know, I was popular and shit and if you're popular you're not supposed to talk to unpopular people, high school shit."
"But eventually you talked to him, you guys met." I smiled again. I remembered how my heart raced when Brian took him to the beach with us that afternoon. Our eyes met for the first time and he was such a shy kid that he didn't say anything even though I had said hello. I fell in love with him right there.
"Brian was a common friend but I didn't know and one day we gathered our group to go to the beach and he took James with him. That's how we met."
"That story is so cute Andrea!" She clapped. She looked like a teenager bubbling right in front of my eyes. "So you guys talked..." She expected me to continue.
"Yes. Well kind of. He was very shy you know, it was hell to make him talk but softly I made him talk and with time he began to feel a bit more comfortable and so he'd talk. He was not like everyone in school pictured him. He was funny in his own way, he had these weird look but then I liked it. His eyes were the most amazing eyes I had ever seen and his smile was just awesome. He was my first love..." I sighed.
"And then you don't remember that night? Anything?"
"I remember going to the party of course. Parties were wild back then, there were a lot of alcohol and light drugs, you know, joints. James was a heavy drinker already, he could take more than all of us together and he took some drags on a joint that was passing around, then he offered me. I took it, it wasn't my first time, I had a few beers and I was feeling fine. He was smiley and happy and talking like I had never seen him before and then he invited me to dance with him. We danced slow and close and then he began to whisper things in my ear. I remember kissing him and I remember going upstairs with him but after that it's a blank. I know it happened..."
"How do you now? I mean if you don't remember..."
"Friends told me. James disappointed look, the way he pushed me away from him after that night when I said I didn't remember. And then..." I shut my mouth in time from saying more.
"You got a boyfriend though." She commented.
"I did. To let go of him but it didn't last long. We broke up a couple of weeks later and then my parents left town with me. I left Downey and never came back there."
"Why did your parents leave the city?"
"Let's talk about something else now." I smiled at her but then her eyes opened wide as she had seen a ghost.
"Oh my God!" She exclaimed. "Sarah..." She said and then her hand covered her mouth.
"Leave my daughter out of this." I said serious.
"But Andrea...you never said who her father was. Her age matches the events but then you had a boyfriend after but now knowing this... Sarah is just so..." I clenched my teeth at her to make her stop.
"Leave Sarah out of this you hear me." I took a sip of my coffee and looked out at the street.
"She's his isn't she?"
"Belle..." I looked at her with a menacing look to make her stop and then gazed at the street again. A familiar black truck parked in front of the coffee shop and then I saw long legs in cowboy boots stepping outside of it. He ran a hand through his hair and my heart began to race at a frantic speed. "We need to leave now." I said getting up and forcing Belle to get up too.
"Why?" She said running after me but everything was clear to her when we reached the door and James just walked in. Our eyes met again and I felt my knees failing on me. The same look as 11 years ago, the same lost look in his eyes, the same tenderness...
"Hi." I heard his voice and his teeth showed in his perfect smile. "I remember you from last night." He said. "How about that drink now?" He was now far from being that shy kid he once was and had no idea of who I was.