He saw her every night at the bus stop. She was the single most beautiful thing he's ever seen. With her long auburn hair she mesmerized him.
He was a shy boy all his life so he couldn't talk to her but he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. At first she didn't notice him but when their eyes finally met she sent him a coy smile before she broke the eye contact, blushing furiously.
He knew she was the girl for him. And he knew he was the guy for her. He was sure she must've felt the same way as she was sending him little glances every now and then.
One night the seat next to her was free. Her handbag was placed on it signaling every other guy at the bus stop she was waiting for someone. Waiting for him. She kept it free for him. When he walked over to the free seat next to her he didn't even need to say a word for her to give free the seat right next to hers. Their eyes met for a split second and then she turned away. Both too shy to talk to one another but he could sense the tension. There was electricity in the air. She was bouncing her leg like crazy and he wished he could just touch her, calm her down, show her there's no need to feel nervous, tell her he felt the same way. When the bus arrived and she left him before either of them had the courage to talk to one another, she dropped a little card. She left it for him so he could give it back to her the next time at the bus stop. He identified the card as some sort of debit card for some cosmetic store. Nothing special but she left it there with a purpose. When he turned the card around it held her name. Her name. Her full name. He read it over and over again and let it roll off of his lips a few times. He liked it.
The next night when he gave it back to her she thanked him and he fell in love with her all over again. Her voice was angelic albeit she had a nervous tone to her.
From then on he would greet her by her first name and sit next to her at the bus stop every night.
After a while his bus time got rescheduled so now his bus arrived before hers did.
And every night before he'd leave he'd place a single red rose on his seat right next to her. He never got so see her reaction but he could only imagine her cute little blush and her big beautiful smile.
And one night she didn't come. He waited for her at the bus stop. She must've been a little late. He occupied their seats so no other person would dare to take her place right next to his. When an elderly women ask for him to give free the space, he told her that he couldn't because he was waiting for somebody. Waiting for her. He waited and waited but she never came. So when his bus arrived he just placed the red rose on his seat for her to pick it up when she arrived.
The next night when he arrived at the bus stop the rose was still there. It was trampled over and lay torn to shreds on the ground. But she wasn't there. So he left another rose. And another and another. Ten days passed and she wasn't there. He seriously regretted not asking for her phone number when he had the chance but he was just too shy. What if he lost her all together now? Just the thought of that made him sick to his stomach. He needed to find her. He still got her name. He needed to fin her and make her his before she left him again.
Weeks passed and she opened her apartment door to hundreds of red roses. He placed them there to make up for all the days where he couldn't give them to her. He knew for a fact how happy she must've been to know that he had found her. She knew they were from him; he had found her.
Every night she had to take the bus after work for her to get home and every night she had to wait st the bus stop.
One night she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her and when she looked around she saw him. He was staring at her and it made her uncomfortable. And when their eyes met she felt like a dear in the headlights of a moving car. She quickly send him one of those kind of smiles that white people give black people in the streets when they're passing each other. After that she quickly turned away. Blushing. She was by no means shy but something about that stranger made her skin crawl.
Now she saw him every night at the bus stop. She couldn't unsee him. Was he always there or did he only recently start using that bus stop? She felt like that thing when you learn a new thing and suddenly you see it everywhere you go.
One night the seat next to hers was free and she really didn't want anybody to sit next to her. She didn't want him to sit next to her. So she put her bag next to her on that empty seat.
It worked. Nobody asked her to move it and she allowed herself to relax a little but just as she wanted to put earphones in she saw him stalking over to her. When he stood in front of her with an expecting look on his face, she wordlessly gave free the seat so she wouldn't have to talk to him. When he sat down next to her he was way too close for her liking. She could feel his body heat radiating off of him. She could feel his breath on her shoulder and neck and it made her nervous. She started shaking and her leg was bouncing a mile per minute in anticipation of the arrival of her bus. She couldn't wait for it to come and when it finally pulled into the bus stop, she scrambled to her legs and grabbed her bag almost dropping it in the process of getting away from the strange man next to her.
The next day when she arrived at her usual seat she was relieved to see that he wasn't there but when he finally did show up she momentarily stiffened. And when he approached her her heart skipped a few beats.
This time he didn't just sit next to her. He talked to her. Used her first name even. Apparently she dropped one of her debit cards the night before and he decided to give it back to her. Even though she was thankful, she couldn't help but feel a slight discomfort when she realized he knew her name now and when she thanked him for returning her the card, she couldn't keep the slight waver of her voice under control, making her sound like a scared little girl. But that's how she felt.
From then on he would greet her by her first name and sit next to her at the bus stop every night.
After a while his bus got rescheduled so he had to leave before her now and she couldn't have been happier. She felt like a little child on Christmas eve.
Her happiness was cut short though when she realized that that nameless stranger left a single red rose right next to her before he left. She was thankful he didn't turn around so he couldn't see her reaction. She felt like crying and throwing up at the same time.
She took the rose and threw it in the trash.
All those following nights it always played out the same. It was like that cycle that she couldn't break out of. He'd great her, sit next to her, leave that rose for her and get onto his bus. And repeat. Over and over again.
One day she couldn't take it anymore so she decided to take a different bus at a different bus stop. That way she'd be home a little later but that's a burden she was willing to bear.
She'd still be a little paranoid and cautious for the first couple days but that went away soon and eventually she felt save again.
Weeks passed and she opened her apartment door to hundreds of red roses. Her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her throat. She looked down the hall of her apartment complex but there was nothing to be seen. She struggled to breath and she could feel a panic attack rising inside of her. She knew they were from him; he had found her.
