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Ken had no idea what he was doing, or why he was doing
it. His whole body shook and a cold
sweat ran down his back. All others
present seemed just as confused.
“What’d
you say?” Asked the man holding a small
handgun.
“I-I
said you should leave her alone.” Ken
said, nodding at the pretty young woman the thug had been in the process of
mugging.
“You
serious man? You planning on stopping me
or something?”
“I’m
pretty sure I already have, actually.”
Ken said. He forced himself to
look and act braver than he was. It
wasn’t easy, considering the man was quite a bit larger than he was, and had a
gun. “I mean, you’re not attacking her
right now, are you?” The woman stifled a
chuckle at his comment. Ken was amazed
she was capable of such a thing, considering her position.
“You
think you’re funny or something? Man, I
ought to pop you one.” The thug said,
leveling his weapon at Ken’s chest.
“Sure,
go ahead.” Ken said. He said it more for
the effect it would have than actually wanting to have a new hole in his
body. “Shoot me, I dare you.” He continued.
The thug suddenly didn’t look nearly as confident.
“Uh,
what?”
“Yeah,
shoot me. I mean, really go ahead.”
“What’re
you talking about?”
“Look
pal, let me tell you a bit about me. I’m
27 years old, have a crappy job that pays next to nothing. I live in a tiny apartment that even rats
avoid. I’ve never had so much as a date
with a girl. Oh, and my best friend is a
stray cat who comes by for a free meal every now and then. So yeah, shoot me if you think it’d do
anything. My life is stuck in a dead
end, so I’ve got nothing to gain, nothing to give, and nothing to lose. Now, if you’re not going to pull the trigger,
than let’s see what else we can do.” Ken
held his fists up in a crude fighting stance.
“I took karate lessons when I was a kid.
Care to see how much I remember?”
It
probably wasn’t much of a threat. Even
if he remembered any of those childhood lessons, his body was in no condition
to actually be fighting. His pudgy, soft
body was slow and weak, and even if he could land a punch on the much larger
man, it probably wouldn’t do anything.
But that wasn’t the point. His
actions were more of a mental attack than anything. And at that, he was doing just fine. The thug looked visibly shaken by Ken’s odd
actions.
“Y-you
know what?” The thug said as he put his
gun away. “I don’t feel like doing this
anymore, so I’ll let you all off for now.
But I ever see either of you again, we’ll be picking up real quick.”
Ken
just glared at the man as he left, disappearing down the largely empty city
street. Ken stood there until his
assailant was out of sight.
“Is he
gone?” He said quietly.
“Looks
like it.” Said the woman.
“Oh
good.” As soon as the words left his
lips, he collapsed, leaning against a nearby wall for support. His breathing was heavy, his pulse was
pounding and he was sweating rivers.
“Are,
uh, are you ok?” The would be victim
asked.
“I will
be once the unbridled terror goes away.” He said. She chuckled lightly at his little joke.
“Well,
thanks for the help anyway.” She said.
“Uh,
yeah, sure. No problem.”
“No
really, I mean it, thanks.” She said
with a bright smile. He looked up at her
as he attempted to recover.
She
really was an impressively beautiful brunette.
Far too good for Ken somewhat subpar looks. He knew he would never have a shot with her
romantically, and chances were he would never see her again. But a small part of him hoped.
“Yeah,
yeah sure.”
“I’m
Cassie, by the way.”
“Ken. Nice to meet you.” He said.
He had finally recovered enough to stand up straight.
“Likewise. So, Ken, I have to know. Why’d you help me out?”
“I don’t
really know. I just kind of did.”
“Ah. You weren’t hoping for a shot with me, were
you?” She said with a sly gun. Ken felt his face heat up for reasons other
than his previous encounter.
“N-no,
not really. I mean a pretty lady like you? No way I’d be able to do that. Besides, I bet you have a boyfriend already.”
“Nope. I’m single right now, but I am looking. And you?”
“Are
you kidding? You did hear what I told
that guy, right?” He said. Cassie’s smile turned into surprise.
“Wait,
you mean that was all true? I thought it
was just some weird psychological attack.”
“Well,
it kind of was. But it’s still all real.”
“Oh. Oh wow, I’m sorry.”
“Not
your fault my life ground to halta few years ago.” Ken said bitterly.
“You
know what you need?” Cassie said,
suddenly looking much more cheerful. “You
need something to get you moving again.
You know, a little push to start that forward motion of life again. Advance your position at work, get out of the
bad apartment. You know, that kind of
thing. Just get your life back on the
track.”
“Uh
huh. That’d be nice, but who’s gonna do
that.”
“I
will. And I know just how to do it too.”
“How?” Ken asked.
He couldn’t help but be a little curious.
“Solve
that problem you have with being dateless.
You’re going out on your first real date.”
“Uh,
with, uh, with who?”
“Well,
me, of course.” She said
matter-of-factly.
“Y-you? B-but you’re…”
“Doesn’t
matter what I am. I’m asking you out,
and all you have to do is say yes. If
you do, there can be other benefits, even if we find out we hate each other
later.”
“Benefits? Like what?”
“I’m a
personal trainer. I can help you get rid
of that.” Cassie pointed as his soft
gut.
“Seriously?”
“Oh
yeah, check this out.” She said. She raised her arm and flexed. Ken couldn’t actually see anything because of
her clothes though. He hesitantly placed
his hand on her arm. She was indeed
quite solid. Much more than he was at
any rate. “See? I can whip you into shape real good. And from there, who knows what’ll
happen? You might find all you need to
get your life going again.”
Ken
considered his options. He didn’t
exactly like where he was, but it was all he knew. If he accepted Cassie’s offer, he’d be
stepping into unknown territory. But
then again, wasn’t that the point? He
did need to work on advancing just about everything about his life, and Cassie
was giving him the perfect way to do that.
Plus, the offer for a real date with such a beauty was quite tempting as
well.
“O-ok,
yeah, sure. That sounds good.” He said.
“Great!
Can I see your phone for a sec?”
Ken
took out his phone and handed it to her.
She fiddled with it for a few minutes before handing it back. It didn’t take long for him to find that she
had added her name and number to his contacts.
“I’ll
see you later then. How about Friday at
eight? Or is seven a better time?”
“Seven
is good.”
“Cool. How about we meet right back here then and we
can have some fun.”
“Ok. Sure, I’d like that.”
“Kay.” She leaned in and gave him a big, friendly
hug. “See you then.”
Ken watched
her go with a dreamy look on his face.
His first date was going to be with someone he would never dream of
approaching normally. It was a sign. A foretelling of things to come. For the first time in years, Ken felt his
life beginning to progress in a great direction.
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Not really sure if the story fits the word, but I think it does a decent enough job. It's still a nice story though, right?
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