Love at First Lie, Chapter One

As a woman of learning, Kaitlyn had never believed in the supernatural. After all, there is no such thing as magic - no ghosts, no werewolves, no vampires, and while there may once have been knights in shining armor, there have never been dragons to slay - and she flat out refused to be a damsel in distress.

But, if she were to believe in something more than what could be seen with the evidence of her eyes, it would be love at first sight. Not because she’d experienced it herself; women generally don’t - the world being too harsh for them to put stock in such things. But, she would believe in love at first sight because a liar once told her it was real - and it was the one time she was sure that he’d told the god’s honest truth.

“Hello Gorgeous!” Darryl called as he sidled up to the bench where Kaitlyn sat, sandwich in hand, enjoying the lingering warmth of the late summer day as she ate her simple lunch.

Kaitlyn was not an ugly woman, but neither did she consider herself “gorgeous.” She made for a nice enough picture, if a bit prim, as she sat on her bench under the dappled midday light coming through the leaves of the low hanging oaks as they shifted gently overhead in the cool breeze that hinted at the coming autumn.

She was a bit on the thin side, pale from years spent working indoors, and had long black hair that she kept carefully tucked into a neat bun. She dressed practically in a neat white shirt and long skirt, her ankles crossed in a demure fashion that showed her deeply ingrained manners. In her mind, she was nothing special - but there was nothing wrong with that either. She lived a good - if a touch dull - life. That said, she secretly yearned for something a little more exciting, and Darryl was - if nothing else - an excitable sort.

“You must be blind,” Kaitlyn snorted, shaking her head at the ridiculous man as he sat down beside her, so close that his thigh rubbed up along hers. He’d been doing this every day for the last week, and while she’d shied away from the contact at first she found that the contact - however minor - was growing on her.

“I may be blind, but I can see well enough to fall in love at first sight.” Darryl replied easily, smiling as he lifted the other half of her sandwich from where it had been resting on its wrap in her lap.

He bit into the sandwich, and hummed appreciatively. Like Kaitlyn, the sandwich wasn’t anything special - corned beef and mustard on rye - but as Darryl chewed, he wore the expression of a cat that had gotten the cream.

Kaitlyn eyed Darryl, bearing the skeptical expression she always wore when dealing with clients; the law office that she clerked for routinely represented miscreants of all stripes. She might not be a lawyer, but she knew a troublemaker when she saw one.

Darryl was short and stout, with a long curly beard and twinkling black eyes behind thick, round spectacles that did nothing to hide his unfortunate nose. While he was fastidiously clean, he wore rough spun clothing full of patches, and sauntered with the air of a man who had never done an honest hand’s turn. Everything about him was carefully presented - a part of his show - one which he was putting on for Kaitlyn now.

But, his look was not the most notable thing about him. The most interesting thing about Darryl was the way he lied. He could lie like a bird flies; naturally, not needing to flap when he knew where every updraft was that could lift him higher. Kaitlyn had only met the man a week earlier, after he’d swindled a poor fool during a shell game across the square from where she’d been eating her lunch, but these few and fleeting interactions had been enough for her to form a full accounting of the man - or so she thought. Sometimes, as she would learn, seeing was not always believing.

“Does food taste better when you steal it?” Kaitlyn asked, lifting one eyebrow at the miscreant beside her - though she didn’t make a move to reclaim her food. The man took liberties, but it had been a long time since anyone had tried to take liberties with her, and she found his complete lack of propriety oddly refreshing.

Darryl’s expressions shifted to a thoughtful one as he chewed. After swallowing, he finally replied, “It does add a certain frisson of flavor, yes. But, stolen kisses taste sweeter.”

Then, he leaned over to kiss her cheek, his moustache tickling her pale, lightly freckled skin. She thought his whiskers would be wiry, but instead they were soft against the apple of her cheek, which was quickly growing rosy and warm.

“I’ll see you tomorrow sweet cheeks,” Darryl chuckled as he hefted himself to his feet. He took a final bite of the sandwich as he sauntered in the direction of a couple that had just entered the square, fresh targets for his chicanery acquired.

Kaitlyn watched him go, her lips parting slightly to try and form a retort, only snapping shut when she realized that the moment had passed. It was not the first time he’d left her feeling like a fish out of water, lips flapping, and it would not be the last.