Powerless (Book 1): Powerless (17 page)

“How
could
I
have
missed
that?”

Jennifer
shyly looked down at her hands,
“Well
I
guess
you
just
weren’t
looking.”

She
then
paused
for
a
moment,
taking
a
sip
of
the
drink
she
had
been
using
to
warm
her
hands
.
“But
to
be
fair
this
is
the
first
time
I've
actually
seen
you
sit in
with
your
drink. You
are
normally
in
and
out
of
here. Suppose
I
can
thank
the
rain
for
making
you
take
a
moment
to
yourself.”

Through
a
burgeoning
smile
Lee
gleefully
proclaimed,
“I’m
glad
it
rained
today.”

The smile she gave in return was instant, and Lee could see the tension visibly release from her shoulders. He knew that whatever was between them was mutual.

After
a
while
Jennifer
was
telling
Lee
a
story
about
when
she
was
young
and
trying
to
fit
in
at
school,
and
she
dropped
her
book.
At
that
moment
both
she
and
Lee
reached
to
pick
it
up.
His
hand
seemed
to
reach
out
and
meet
hers
half
way
to
picking
up
the
book
.
Lee
gave
a
little
chuckle
as
if
to
say
how
absurd
the
scenario
was.

Looking
at
her
he
declared,
“There
is
no
way
we
are
that
cheesy.”
and
smiled
warmly.

Jennifer’s
expression
on
the
other
hand
was
a
mixture
of
confusion
and
intrigue;
she
nervously pushed
her
hand
alongside
her
head
and
back
down
to
the
top
of
her
neck.
Gazing
up
at
Lee
she
said,
“I
know
this
might
seem
odd,
but
would
you
hold
my
hand
for
a
minute.”

Lee,
taken
aback
by
how
forward
this
girl
he
had
just
met
was,
answered,
“Eh…
Yea…
Sure.”
and
placing
his
hand
in
hers,
Lee
became
lost
in
her
eyes;
not
being
able
to
look
anywhere
else even
though
Jennifer’s
eyes
firmly
fixated
in
the
direction
of
their
intertwined
hands.

After
a
few
seconds
Lee
took
a
deep
breath
,
drawing
her
attention
back
to
him,
staring
him
in
the
eyes.

“I
don’t
know
what
it
is,
but
there
is
something
very
    
different
about
you...”

Lee
laughed
nervously
and
replied,
“I
hope
that's
a
good
thing...”

“It’s
more
than
good...”

He
suddenly
contemplated
that
what
she
was
saying
might
have
something
to
do
with
his
power
or
lack
thereof,
so
reluctantly
withdrew
his
hand
from
hers.
He didn’t know what her power was, and while he knew many people’s, there was no telling whether she had a power that he had ever experienced before. A touch of dread seeped into his chest as he contemplated this, the very thought of it contradicting how he felt about her so far.

Jennifer, once again playing with her locket, watched Lee as his facial expression betrayed the range of emotions he went through in a matter of mere seconds.
She
could
tell
that
there
was
something
hidden
inside
of
Lee
; a secret that he would not be sharing with her anytime soon. She wondered whether it was simply a past gone bad, affecting his present and future, or if it was something more sinister, perhaps something relating to his power, whatever that might be. She composed her face, giving a gentle smile with her eyes. The last thing that she wanted was for this sweet, intelligent man
to
withdraw
from
her, after they had spent the last hour getting to know each other at record speed. So she
completely
changed
the
topic, circling
back
to
aspirations
of
what
they
wanted
to
do
with
their
lives, what inspired them and just about every other topic under the sun. She had a feeling that the two of them would never run out of things to talk about.

Seeing her once again rub the locket on her chain and the obvious emotional attachment she had with it, Lee enquired, “That’s a lovely locket, have you had it long?”

“Yes, I’ve had it since I was little; my dad gave it to my mother.” Her demeanour and tone saddened “When he died, my mother gave it to me to help comfort me. I have worn it every day since; I literally never took it off after she put it on.” Opening the locket, peering at the old reproductions of her parents inside, keeping it close she hid the pictures from Lee’s line of sight as, having only just met him, sharing this part of her life wasn’t easy, and brought no comfort.

Seeing her discomfort and relating to her pain, Lee proclaimed, “I am so sorry, losing a parent is hard. I never knew my mother.” Sharing this small piece of himself both reassured and consoled her.

The conversation ended as
Jennifer
was
called
back
to
work,
but
they
exchanged
numbers
before
parting.
As
she
was
sauntering
away
she
peered
back
and
through
a
half
smile
and
with
bright
eyes
she
said
coyly,
“Now
don't
lose
that
number.
I
don't
give
it
to
every
boy
I
meet...”

With
that
Lee
reassured
her,
“Trust
me,
I
won't...”
and
left
the
shop.
Lee
struggled
with
the
concept
of
holding
back
his
intentions
towards
Jennifer. He was both
excited
and
scared
at
the
prospect
of
meeting
a
girl
like
her,
somehow
sensing
a
safeness
with her,
someone
who
didn’t
push
for
answers
to
questions
Lee
could
not
feel
comfortable
with.

He called
her
within
the
hour
of
getting
her
number,
but
was
worried
that
his
angst
would
be
viewed
as
a
negative
in her
eyes. He
had shied
away
from
true
affection
and
intimacy
for
the
previous
years
of
his
life,
scared
of
letting
anyone
too
close
for
fear
they
would
learn
his
secret. He put aside his nervousness and picked up the phone, after entering her number wrong three times due to nervousness he began to wonder if she gave him a wrong number. But he knew that this was unlikely and that the person she was wouldn’t be inclined to do something like this. He was also certain that she wasn’t an Italian restaurant as that was who he had called three times.

He attempted to dial a fourth time. Slowly entering each digit and then double-checking to see if it was right. After checking the last digit he hit the dial button and tentatively waited. The phone rang a couple of times and then it answered. A soft voice said “Hello.” Lee could tell her voice already and it seemed familiar.