London life

It was a lovely summer evening in London. The sun had already set but the sky was still bathing in all the hues of pink and purple. The fluffy clouds had a rosy tinge too, foretelling another sunny day tomorrow.

Sitting at the bus stop, eyes upturned towards the sky, she admired the celestial show, grateful to be feeling London concrete under her feet. She’d always loved a good ol’ sunset, and now that she was getting to watch days turn into nights among this great city’s architecture, she felt life couldn’t be more perfect.

Yes, she was alone here - no friends or family around. But she was young, hopeful, and free, finally living in the city of her dreams - and that was more than enough to fill her heart with peace. While daunting for some, for her it was incredibly liberating to be this tiny and insignificant among the constant hustle and bustle…

“Oh, hey, you look cute,” she heard someone say out of the blue, interrupting her train of thought.

“Hello, thank you,” replied she, looking up to see where the words came from.

Was it the melodious tone of the voice belonging to the male silhouette leaning against the bus stop or the street London accent in it that made her look up with such interest? Probably both. She was glad she did, though - he looked very attractive too.

“What’s your name?”

“Lena.”

“Lena, almost like Luna, nice. I’m Zion, nice to meet you,” he said and sat down next to her, “I like your hair. Looks sick.”

“Oh, yeah? Thank you.”

“For real, though. I think it’s the first time I’m seeing a white girl with braids like this. So… what are you doing here on this bus stop all alone?”

“What can you be doing on a bus stop? Waiting for the bus to join my friend for a pizza. Besides, I’m not all alone - you’re here.”

“Ha ha very funny. Fair point, though…”

The little diamond earring in his ear blinked in the darkness as she looked at him to smile in reply. And as simple as it was, it somehow made her fall under his spell even more. Not in the literal sense; she never really believed in love at first sight (maybe only with your own children when they’re born), just in that she really wanted to get to know him better.

And so they flirted the wait for the bus away. Lena couldn’t have been more excited. When she finally got on the bus - Zion’s phone number now saved in her phone - her cheeks were still flushed from the whole affair. “Now, calm down, or else Alessandro will get too hopeful when he sees you”, she reprimanded herself just before she took the seat next to the Italian guy she was actually about to go on their first date with - the little detail she dared omit whilst talking to Zion, not wanting to miss the possibility of going out with him.

Was she being selfish to have accepted Alessandro’s invitation even though she was already pretty sure she wouldn’t want to be with him? Maybe… But why was she stressing about how a guy she barely knew felt when it was all about enjoying oneself? Simply a chance to get to know someone better and have something nice to eat. No obligations whatsoever.

Throughout the whole evening though, including the bus journey back (which happened to be earlier than planned for the date took an uexpected turn), her thoughts kept wandering back to Zion. She wondered if they’d actually end up going out at all. And if they did, where would that lead her? What did the Universe have in store for her?

“Have you heard of the ‘Yes, and…’ approach?”, she said to Alessandro out loud, continuing the train of thought started in her head.

“No, what is it?”, replied he.

“Well, it’s actually a rule-of-thumb in improvisational comedy. But I think it’s just a good approach to life you know. Because the thing is, you can’t control anything but your thoughts and how you react to things that happen to you. So, like, when something happens to you, you say ‘yes’ to it, which means you acknowledge and accept what the Universe is throwing at you, and then you say ‘and’, which is how you respond to it by figuring out how to turn the situation into your advantage.”

“Oh, yeah, I like that. Well, I guess now I know how to process what happened earlier today…”

But she wasn’t really listening anymore. She’d just noticed she got a text from her new Prince Charming and a flirtatious smile returned to her face. Luckily, Alessandro was too lost in his own thoughts to take any notice.

“Hey, babe, how you doing?”, Lena heard as soon as she got off the bus. There he was - sitting in the exact same spot he did a few hours earlier.

“I’m alright, thanks. What about you?”

“I’m good, thank you. It’s good to see you again. So how come you’re back from your night out so quickly, been dying to see me again, huh?”

“Ha ha. Yeah, sure. How did you guess? Well, you know how it goes - you’re in seventh heaven over your mouth-watering slice of pizza and then your friend’s ex-girlfriend shows up out of the blue and slaps him in the face, ruining his mood for the evening, and all that...”

“Oh, wow. For real? Is that what happened? Mad.”

“Yeah, well. But enough of that - now on with the fun stuff. Let’s go drink!”

“Mmm… trying to order me around already. I like your confidence. Let’s go then”, he replied and took her under his arm.

“Gotta establish myself early, you know”, she got back at him with a coquettish smirk.

“Mmm good. A girl with a mind of her own. Anyway, here we are. After you, milady”, said Zion as he opened the door to the bar, inviting her in.

“Thank you.”

How enjoyable the next hour or so turned out to be, only Lena could now. She loved the vibe with this guy. Not that she had any dating experience, but it was such a breath of fresh air to meet someone who didn’t bother with boring small talk and was pleasantly childlike but not childish.

He really seemed to have a view of the world of his own and an idea for himself - something she could never find in guys her age. Was it that she was too mature for her age or was it just that guys developed more slowly? She couldn’t tell. All she knew was that she felt her and Zion’s souls were alike.

And even if the amazing conversation flow was just part of his game to get her, you still had to be smart enough to be able to play so well, and she admired that.

In fact, she was so taken by it that the quick escalation of events that followed was gladly welcomed.

“Can I ask you something?”, said Zion once they reached the cinema and hid in a dark corner of the street to finish the extra drinks they had got on the way.

“Yeah?”, she replied and wondered why he was asking her such a question. “I hope he’s not gonna try something weird”, said the little voice in her head. “Well, at least we’re going to the cinema; there will be people around so if anything were to happen I can always shout.”

“Are you a virgin?”

“Umm yes. Why?” An awkward smile appeared on her face. Even drunk, it was still weird to talk about such things so openly - having grown up in a place where anything sex-related was huge taboo.

“No way. Wow. You’ve really never had sex?”

“Nope. Well, I did some foreplay with my ex a couple times, but nothing more than that. Is it really so hard to believe?”

“Well, yeah. Women in London aren’t like that. Wow. Impressive. I mean, not that it makes such a big difference, but you know. You should be proud of it.”

“Yeah, well. Like I said, I’m in no rush. It will happen when the time is right. Anyway, isn’t the film about to start?”

“Oh, shit, yeah, you’re right. Let’s go.”

He took her by the arm, and, feeling his strong muscles, her worries returned: “Shit. I hope he doesn’t try anything on our way back home when we’re all alone.”

Not that she suspected him of being a rapist or anything. It’s just that being a woman, she had those concerns almost naturally ingrained in her thinking.

“Don’t go jogging once it’s dark. Never walk with both earphones in at night. Hold your keys in between your fingers, ready to poke your attacker’s eye should there be a need.”And so on and so forth. Those were the kind of things women like her heard on a daily basis, eventually making them afraid of their own shadow.

But she refused to give in to these fears and let live slip through her fingers. She knew well enough the world was a dangerous place, but the truth was, terrible things could happen to you literally anywhere. Why would that stop her from living?

Besides, she had something extra that so far had successfully allowed her to avoid real danger. It was called female intuition, and it was the only superpower she trusted - no words of another person could ever hold bigger value than her gut feeling.

She let all those thoughts go, though, once they were sat down in the cinema room so that she could relax and enjoy the film. ‘Long Thaw’ was its title.

She wondered what it would be about when she felt Zion’s fingers gently slip into her hand.

Then, dramatic music started playing and a string of words appeared on the screen: “The soul is like a frozen pond when raised in a cold environment. It’s a long thaw to nurture its flowing richness enough to break the ice.”

And that was the last moment Lena would remember from the film, distracted by Zion’s hand slowly wandering up her thigh.

She could feel her heart beat faster, her crotch get wet and her eyelids become heavy with pleasure. It only took a moment before she found herself sitting on the guy’s laps, with her back facing the screen. Within minutes, the world around her became a blur.

A gentle kiss placed on her lips. A stronger one. Her hands diving into his soft kinky hair. Another kiss. His hands squeezing her bum tightly. Kisses again. And then his hand her pants. Hers in his boxers. Kissing all the while.

They went on like that throughout the whole film.

He wanted to go all the way, even suggested sneaking into the toilet once, but she remained adamant she would go no further than that.

Drunk and flushed after an intoxicating evening, she let herself slip and gave in when he insisted to walk her all the way back home ensuring she was safe. It was kind of him but it meant he knew where she lived now. Not safe. Oh, well, she could always move. That was the beauty of London.

But who would have thought that her last thought before drifting off to sleep once in her bed would be the quote from that movie they never watched. “How true the words were. Our souls really are like a frozen pond. It’s hard to break the thick shell of schemas and prejudices. But once you do, the inner waters are so refreshing. You become free and keep flowing against all odds, happy to accept world as it is your mind is open now…”