'The Best Day of Your Life' Part Three

Stuart met Sally the way that most young couples met at that time, at the local club. It began like any other night with him and his friends having a few drinks and chatting up girls. Stuart had never had problems speaking to girls. He was a very athletic man who liked to keep fit by running three or four times a week and this gave him a toned physique that he was very proud of. He was very confident with his approach to women, who found him charming because of his quick whit and dry sense of humour. He was also very handsome, being tall with naturally tanned skin and black hair. He knew he had an effect on the opposite sex because they would always visibly blush whenever he offered to buy them a drink or asked them to dance. Stuart liked having this control over women, but as the night went on he kept noticing the shy girl sitting in the corner with her friends and thought he would give himself a challenge, knowing she would be leaving with him by the end of the night.

He made his way across the swaying bodies on the dance floor and sat next to the girl, who didn't look remotely fazed by his approach.

“Please excuse my intrusion, I was watching you from the bar and thought you looked a bit lonely. Have your friends abandoned you?” Stuart asked with a cocky tone as he swept back his hair.
“No, they've gone to get some more drinks” Sally replied as she continued to sip her wine and look towards the bar.
“Oh” Stuart was not expecting this kind of reaction. There wasn't a hint of blush on her cheeks and she had answered him with a completely casual tone. Not wanting to fail he persisted,
“Well why wait for them? Come over to the bar with me and I'll buy you a drink.” He intended to meet her eyes as he said this for full impact but she was still nonchalantly looking over to the bar. Stuart quickly examined her features to see if there were any signs to suggest why she wasn't interested. He first looked at her small, delicate hands. There wasn't an engagement ring on her left wedding finger. He looked next to her neck where there was a thin, delicate necklace with a locket pendant that drew his eye to her small, but abundantly sized cleavage.

“What are you staring at?” Sally questioned as her eyes grew narrower.
“Oh-nothing” said Stuart as his eyes quickly darted away. He thought he was discreetly staring at her breasts, obviously not.
“Were you staring at my boobs?” Sally said with a hint of anger in her voice.
“No, I was looking at your necklace, it's very nice” Stuart was almost shouting over the music as the volume seemed to have gotten louder.
“Oh right” Sally returned to sipping her drink and looking towards the bar.
Knowing he had lost her attention, Stuart asked,
“Was it a present from your boyfriend?” He tried to sound as casual as possible when he was desperate to know the answer. She had intrigued him with her emphatic nature and he found it incredibly attractive.
“It was actually” Sally said as she took another sip of her drink.
“Oh okay” Stuart's heart sank a little. He had never met anyone like her. Girls would always be the ones asking after him and he would be the coy one. Her reactions could be mistaken for arrogance as she never looked directly at him when she spoke, but she actually seemed like she didn't realise how beautiful she was, he could tell by the way she sat. Her legs were crossed, she had her arms across her stomach and her shoulders were slightly hunched over. She was very naturally pretty with wavy auburn hair that went just past her shoulders.
“Well it was my ex-boyfriend who bought it for me” Sally continued as she turned towards him and met his eyes. Her eyes were a beautiful chestnut colour and her face was dotted with freckles that were across her cheeks and nose, giving her a youthful innocence.
Her reaction proved to Stuart that the power had been restored to him and he casually broke her gaze and smugly smiled to himself. He had won his challenge.
He knew that if he got up and walked away now she would either be overcome by her feelings and follow him or 'accidentally' bump into him again later on in the evening. But before he had the chance, she was already getting up to leave.
“It was nice talking to you, I didn't get your name?”
“Oh erm it's Stuart”
“Well it was nice speaking to you Stuart. I've got to go because my friends are about to leave without me, bye!”
And with that she quickly finished her drink and made her way across the dance floor to catch her friends by the door.
Stuart was stunned by her sudden exit and found himself fighting his way through the crowd to get to her. He knew he couldn't let her go without at least finding out her name.
“Wait a minute!” He called but the music was too loud and his voice was lost against the hubbub of the club.
She continued to walk through the doors but Stuart was still too far away to reach out to her. He ran outside to find her and was struck by the iciness of the night which sent a shiver through him. He had to quickly adjust his eyes to the brightness of the street lamps which were almost blinding compared to the dark haze he had been used to. He squinted as he frantically looked in all directions for her and in the distance he could see a tinge of auburn hair which reflected the light like a star in the night's sky. Stuart followed her as if his life depended on it, he knew that he could find solace in her light like she was guiding him to a better place.
“Wait!” Stuart shouted as he ran to catch up with her. Sally and her friends all turned around with startled expressions on their faces. Stuart finally caught up with them and said in a breathless voice,
“I didn't get your name” He was now almost panting with his hands on his chest trying to stop his heart from beating so fast, it felt like it was about to explode.
“Oh it's Sally” she said with an embarrassed giggle. Her friends were staring at him as if he was some insane lunatic that had escaped from an asylum.
“Okay Sally, when can I see you again?” Stuart was shocked at how desperate he sounded, but he was past caring. His pride had completely disappeared, along with his image as his once slick, Bryl-creamed hair was now in complete disarray after his ordeal and his face was drenched in sweat.
“Er, let me give you my telephone number” Sally looked utterly bemused by what she was seeing and she could hear her friends smaning behind her. She pulled out a pen and a tissue from her clutch bag and scribbled down her number on it. She briefly considered giving him the wrong number because he was such a mess but did feel quite sympathetic towards him so she gave it to him anyway.
“There you go” She said as she handed the tissue to him, she could feel his sweaty palms as he took it off her.
“Thank you” Stuart said with a sigh which was exhaled with a mixture of relief and humiliation.
“Okay, bye Stuart”
“I'll speak to you soon”
Sally turned back around to her friends and continued walking. Stuart stood for a few moments and contemplated how much of a fool he must have looked. He was still shaking and tingling, but this was not from the cold temperature. An alien emotion had taken over him. He was in love.