Page 4 of The Human Element (The Human Element Collection #1)
She laughed as she said this, shaking her head.
Was she really acting this flirty with a man she just met?
Has it really been so long since she had been with anyone?
These thoughts quickly scatter her mind, but she attempts to shake them off and focus her attention back on him.
He had to be a good bit older than her, but that never deterred her in the past. The last date she went on, the guy was about 10 years older than she was.
She always assumed her father would've never approved, seeing as she was 22; he was a bit old school in that way.
This man looked about late 20s or early 30s, and she watched as he picked a piece of lint off of his sleeve before meeting her eyes again.
“So, where are you from then?” He asked.
“Los Angeles, originally, but I’ve lived in London for years now.”
“Oh, what brought you there?” He seemed to be genuinely interested, unlike some people who simply ask out of politeness.
“Schooling, I went to The London School of Journalism.”
“A writer, eh? I was never very good at writing, I’m a numbers person myself. I work as a bank liaison. A bit more boring I can assure you.” He laughed, the sound of his Scottish accent was refreshing, yet contained a robust sensuality hidden within it; which she found to be incredibly attractive.
Lorelei wasn’t actually sure what to say to that, so almost blurting it out, she shoots her arm out quickly to shake his hand.
“I’m Lorelei, nice to meet you.”
“Dean, Dean Addair. A pleasure.”
Returning her handshake, it was firm and sent a tingle through her arm; like she had been lightly shocked, which she thought odd.
“Lorelei, huh? That’s quite an interesting name. There is a legend about a siren called Lorelei, if I recall correctly.”
Lorelei perked up upon hearing he knew a legend from which her name came from, and while closing her notebook and setting it beside her lap, she returned her attention to Dean.
“I work for a small magazine where we cover all sorts of myths and legends, I am definitely interested in a legend that has something to do with my name, if you’re willing to share.”
Dean smiled brightly, showing a beautiful row of teeth, excited that she wanted to hear the story.
“Well, it is said there is this rock on the Rhine River in Germany, where a maiden, so distraught about her faithless lover, threw herself from and died.”
“Wow, that’s just horrible, isn’t it?” Lorelei laughed as Dean continued.
“Aye ken, right? Well she came back to life as a siren, who would sit upon this rock and lure fishermen to their deaths.” Dean made his voice tremble in an attempt to be spooky, which made Lorelei laugh.
“Well,” she said, “That is some tale, then.
Dean gave a small smirk and teasingly asked, “You don’t plan on luring me to my early demise, do you?”
“Haha nope, it wasn’t on my to-do list for today.”
Is he flirting with me?
Lorelei couldn’t help but think he was. Dean was incredibly charismatic and articulate, on top of the fact that he was pretty attractive with an air of maturity Lorelei hadn’t come across in awhile. But he also seemed to be a bit of a spirited, fun-loving chap as well.
“I am here to write some stories on some of the classic Scottish myths. Inverness seemed like a good place to start. I’ll only be here a week or so, but I think I can get a lot of writing and inspiration in that amount of time. You must be somebody who is interested in myths as well?”
“Well I wouldn’t say I know much about them nowadays, but my mother adored them and would always tell me them as bedtime stories growing up. A few stuck with me.”
Suddenly, the train’s whistle blew, making her jump.
Checking her watch, she didn't notice how much time had passed. It was already 6 o’clock at night.
Soon the train was pulling itself into the train station, and with a lurch, it came to a halt.
As it did, so did her time with Dean Addair.
This realization was a little disappointing to her, seeing as how enjoyable the conversation she was having with him was.
Dean looks out the train window and sighs,
“Ah, looks like we’re here.”
He also seemed to be disappointed that their conversation was to be cut short.
Lorelei gathered her notebook and stowed it in her large, faded leather bag, the one her dad gave her when she started University—which resembled that of Dean’s ironically—and grabbed her small suitcase from the storage bin above her seat.
Dean stood up and kept the car door open for her as she smiled at him a final time.
“Thanks for making the end of the trip so enjoyable, Dean. It was nice getting to chat with you.”
Before he could respond, she slipped past him and made her way off of the train.
Stepping onto the train station platform, the beginnings of a brisk, autumn wind whipped through Lorelei’s hair.
Sighing, she adjusts her bag on her shoulder, looking around to see where to go, clicking the handle on her suitcase just as she realized her name was being called.
“Wait! Lorelei!”
Lorelei turns around and sees Dean running towards her, apologizing to the people he nearly runs into, until he is panting as he stands before her.
“Lorelei, I know you won't be here for very long, but I couldn’t miss the chance to ask if you'd like to go for a bevvy with me this evening?”
Lorelei blushed, a sudden apprehensive excitement brightened her cheeks. She only hoped he’d mistake it for the brisk weather.
“Ahh…a bevvy, that one I know! I always loved that is the term so commonly used here in the UK. That would be great, Dean. I’d love to get a bevvy with you.”
Regaining his breath, he smiles and lets out a comical “Whew!”
“Goodness, for having lived in the UK so long, at least you know that one! Tells me you're not one to shy away from a good pub, eh?" He paused a moment and twiddled his hands together; Lorelei found the gesture quite cute.
"I was a bit nervous to ask; I honestly wasn't sure you’d say yes. Where ya staying?”
“I’m staying at Drury Court.”
Smiling he continues, “I know a pub near there, The Castle Tavern? How about we meet there at 8?”
“That sounds perfect!”
Dean looks all too relieved; she accepts his invitation, and he gestures to the street, allowing his shoulders to drop slightly as he speaks again.
“Let me get you a cab.”
Lorelei shook her head and began looking down at her watch, unsure why she was overwhelmed with nerves at his chivalrous gesture. “Oh no, you don’t have to do that, really.”
“It’s no problem, the least I can do considering you’re making my entire day by joining me for a drink in a little while.
” He winked at her before pulling out his phone to order a cab, when one drove up only a moment later, which never happened that quickly back in London; Lorelei was thankful to get out of the cold.
Dean walks Lorelei to the car and then grabs her hand, giving it a light kiss that sends shivers throughout her.
“I’ll see you soon, gorgeous.”
Lorelei smiles brightly, and steps into the back of the cab, Dean closing the door for her before the cab drives away. As the cab headed down the street, Lorelei felt like she could nearly pinch herself over the interaction with Dean.
Omg, omg...Calm down, Lorelei. It’s just a date...A date with an extremely handsome man who seems to think you’re a catch.
She could tell her pulse was out of control, and she could still feel the gentle kiss he left upon her hand.
It was like electricity was shooting through her veins.
She couldn’t stop thinking about meeting up with Dean the entire drive to the hotel.
When she arrived, she checked in, and made her way up to the 4th floor.
The moment she was through her room door, she threw her stuff to the ground and jumped on the bed, screaming with excitement into a pillow.
Rolling over and spreading her limbs across the bed, she starts to think about what she might wear out tonight.
Sitting up again, Lorelei stretches. Tentatively, she sniffs under her armpits, and to her surprise, still smells like her lilac soap from home.
Figuring she didn’t need to take a shower before going out with Dean, she places her suitcase on the bed before unzipping it.
Rummaging through her clothes, she decides upon a black pair of jeans, some black suede boots with a medium-sized heel, and a baby blue sweater that showed a little more cleavage than she usually flaunted, which she felt quite confident in.
Once having her outfit picked out, she grabs her leather bag, finding her small makeup pack at the bottom of it.
Turning on a couple of more lights in the room, she locates the remote for the television and clicks it on, putting it on an animal special where a British narrator was currently talking over a family of wildebeests tussling.
She then goes over to the full-length mirror on the wall next to the television while she listens absent-mindedly to the man’s soothing voice as he continues to discuss their mating habits.
Lorelei takes a hard look at herself in the mirror, and can see why Dean had called her “scunnered.” She had massive dark circles under her eyes, a bit of her mascara smudged itself onto her eyelid and her hair looked like a rat had been living in it for about a week.
“Dear god, how the hell did Dean even want to take me out looking like this?” She said out loud to herself as she shook her head and ran to grab her hairbrush from her bag.
Brushing out her hair as best as she could, she decided to go for a high ponytail, and once her fly-away hairs had been sufficiently taken care of with some hairspray, she began touching up her makeup, adding a little extra pop with some winged eyeliner.
She figured she’d wait until right before she left to put on her favorite red lipstick, so she turned to go sit on the bed and watch some tv for a little while.
But the moment she turned, Lorelei felt an intense, instantaneous wave of dizziness wash over her.
Grabbing her head, she closed her eyes tight hoping it would pass momentarily, but it only intensified.
It was like a ringing in her brain shaking her very core.
Before she could think of what to do, she blinked repeatedly, attempting to regain some control over her body, and thought she saw a swoosh of something moving through the hotel balcony glass door.
She couldn’t remember anything after that.