She jiggled her foot absent-mindedly, glancing down at her watch. It wasn't like she was late to go somewhere but she was getting impatient waiting. Besides a sleeping dog, the platform was empty. She cursed herself for telling her boss she wouldn't mind working late. I mean, the work's fine, it kept her distracted from the things that kept her up at night, she just didn't like the empty subway rides home. She pulled out the book she was reading from her oversized grey bag, her fingers tracing the intricate drawings on the purple cover. Soon, she was absorbed in the story and was startled when she heard a voice.

"Are you liking it?"

She looked up. Sitting on the other side, was a guy wearing a checkered shirt, black jeans, scuffed combat boots. He pointed to the same book with the purple cover with drawings on it sitting on his lap. She glanced at him, uneasily. She was the kind of guy her best friend Alexys would be crazy for, but he wasn't really her type. I mean, she wasn't even sure she had a type. After what that asshole did, she had buried herself in her work and men seemed like something trivial. She squinted her eyes - reminding her that she really did have to find time to go to the eye doctor this week - and looked at him. He wasn't bad at all. Despite the eyebrow piercing, his face has this boyish fun to it that attracted her. He continued looking at her expectantly and she remembered he has asked her something.

"Yeah, it's alright," she stuttered. He grinned at her and stood up. He looked both ways and jumped into the gap where the subways rode. She gasped, worried. He ran quickly, his feet moving swiftly to not trip over the track. He scrambled over the edge and stood before her, laughing nervously.

"Where are you?" he asked, motioning to the book still perched on top of her bag. As he continued talking to her about the book, she slowly let her guard down. She observed him as they talked, the way he motioned with his hands when he was enthusiastic and how his voice changed when he started talking about characters he didn't like. She had known him for the short time span of 10 minutes and she already liked him. The butterflies that had been sleeping in her stomach for the past 6 months woke up now.

Eventually, the subway shuddered to a halt in front of them and they boarded it together, their voices echoing through the empty spaces. They stood up, ignoring all the vacant seats, their bodies lurching together whenever the subway made a curve. As he told her about what kind of movies and TV shows he liked, she was surprised by how different he was from her and how she didn't mind at all. She had spent 7 years of her life completely in love with a guy who was exactly like her and what good did it to for her? She was a wreck when his predictable little self wrecked her heart. She pushed him far out of her mind as the lovely person in front of her told her enthusiastically how he thought John Frusciante was the most bad-ass guitarrist of all times. Knowing little about guitarrists, she nodded and looked up at him, noticing the light blond stuble covering his jaw. Finally, they reached her stop. She shuffled out and he followed her, telling her that was where he got off. They walked up the stairs, their hands swinging next to each other and every so often, brushing against each other awkwardly. When they reached the top of the stairs, she jerked her head towards the left.

"I'm that way," she said, not wanting him to leave.

He smiled at her. "I'll walk you there, okay?"

She nodded and they continued as they shared silly childhood anecdotes. She was surprised with how completely at ease she was with him, how she started telling him things her close friends didn't know. They strolled down the street as cars zoomed past them and then they were in front of her house.

"Well, this is me," she said.

"Wait, before you go up, I want to show you a song!" he said, pulling his iPod out of his pocket. He handed her the headphones and as soon as she slid them in, a soft strumming filled her ears.

She smiled. "I don't know this song."

"You don't? It's really famous! Well, listen, it's really nice."

They stood there, sort of swaying to the music. He put his hands on her waist during the chorus and kissed her . The song they were listening to ended and another song she didn't recognize started playing, although the music wasn't what she was paying attention to. She had expected groping hands, tugging of clothes but he didn't do any of that. He just pulled her close and kissed her like that was the only thing he wanted in the world, to be kissing her in front of the door step while his favorite songs played. He stopped and smiled, their noses touching.

"Hey, I like you," he said quietly. She smiled and kissed him. Yeah, she liked him too.

-

Have I mentioned how much I love subways before?