The Blue-eyed Stranger: A Romance
                                                        

This was the moment Luisa had been dreaming of for months-every fantasy of a romantic encounter with Adam was finally becoming reality as his soft lips pressed against hers in the pouring rain. As they pulled away from each other slowly, Luisa found herself staring intently into his piercing blue eyes-the same eyes that had lusted after her youthful figure for months. Her heart beating wildly with both excitement and disbelief at the spontaneous moment of unadulterated passion, Luisa’s mind wandered back to the moment she had first encountered the man who both mystified and intrigued her, many months before. ..

It was at the first rehearsal for the show Sweeney Todd where Luisa, a spritely bright-eyed girl of 18, first laid eyes on a tall handsome stranger across the room, dressed to the nines in a blue button-down and slacks. “I wonder who that could be...” Luisa thought to herself, immediately drawn to the sophisticated older businessman. Not realizing how long she had been staring, the dashing stranger turned, locking eyes with Luisa for a second before shyly glancing away. Little did she know that one moment of silent connection was all it would take to spark a newfound, intimate love affair with the blue-eyed stranger. But for now, Luisa’s mind reverted back to thoughts of her role in the acclaimed Sondheim musical thriller; she was thrilled to be playing her dream role of Johanna! In her mind’s eye she could already see herself singing to a full audience, dressed in a blue silk gown and wearing the long blonde wig particular to the character, all while wrapped tightly in the arms of Anthony, Johanna’s – “Hey.” A smooth, careful voice interrupted Luisa’s daydream. Spinning around abruptly, Luisa was confronted by the mesmerizing blue eyes of her handsome fellow cast mate, smiling at her. He reached out his hand. “I’m Adam. You’re Luisa, right?” “Yep, that’s me!” Luisa said shaking his hand a bit too eagerly, flattered that Adam already knew her name. “So I’m assuming you’re playing Anthony?” Luisa said more matter- of-factly, hoping to sound a little less deliberate than she had initially come off. The last thing Luisa wanted was for Adam to think she was some silly little ninny-noddle! “Yeah. I guess we’re going to get very…close over the course of this show.” He smiled at Luisa again, then turned to speak to the director. Luisa was left in a state of pure giddiness; her stomach was doing somersaults, and she felt her face flush. She couldn’t believe her luck at landing such a gorgeous co-star! “This is going to be a fun show” Luisa surmised.
As the rehearsals progressed, Luisa didn’t see much of Adam. She wondered why he was never at rehearsal. Of course, he was ten years her senior so she figured he must have a real job which ate up most of his time. She came up with an infinite number of possibilities for his consistent absence- maybe he was in another show that conflicted with this one, or had a double life as an international model or spy, or (god forbid!), perhaps he was married and his jealous wife had forced him to drop out, outraged at the thought of him being with another woman, even if just a fictitious relationship. The last possibility left a lump in Luisa’s throat, although she had stalked his facebook page enough times during her nightly Twinkie binges to know for certain he was oh-so single. I mean c’mon.. no one ever lies on facebook, Luisa assured herself. Still, for some reason, Luisa couldn’t shake the feeling that Adam had some deep dark secret hidden from plain sight.

Finally, hardly a week before the show, Adam staring showing up to rehearsal, and the director was so relieved that the Anthony and Johanna scenes could finally be worked on. Luisa was also relieved, but a bit nervous to finally perform the intimate couple scenes alongside Adam. As the director ran off to grab her script to give advice for one of their scenes, Luisa and Adam were left completely alone, sitting beside each other. Neither one knew what to say to the other for the first minute of them sitting there. They sat in uncomfortable silence, the clock ticking on the wall and Luisa uncomfortable fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweater were the only audible sounds. Finally Luisa made a joke about the show, which caused Adam to laugh, breaking the awkward silence. Soon the two were discussing their jobs and other aspects of their lives. Luisa learned that Adam was in fact a graphic designer, not an international spy, and that he had attended the same college where Luisa currently attended. When the director returned, she seemed  surprised to see the usual cold, solemn Adam happily conversing with his younger co-star. Now that Luisa had finally gotten Adam to open up a little bit, she felt much more comfortable and confident around him as he put his strong hands around her waist, singing “I feel you Johanna” to her and pulling her in for the kiss. Their lips met for the first time, and a wave of unmistakable chemistry flowed between the two co-stars. So, naturally, after rehearsal when Adam asked Luisa if she wanted to come back to his apartment for awhile, she readily accepted. On the ride there, Luisa was chatty as usual, and Adam was quiet, yet still responsive.
Just as they were getting out of his car, the skies suddenly transformed from a brilliant blue to dark clouds, and it began to rain. Luisa squealed as Adam said “Come on! Let’s run for it.” He grabbed her hand as the two ran up the hill towards his apartment building. Just before they got there, Adam pulled Luisa towards him, surprising her with a sudden, passionate kiss. This wasn’t just a stage kiss like she had experienced before- this was a real kiss. As she looked back up at him smiling, he touched her face, pulling a strand of wet hair away from her cheek. For a moment he just stared at her pensively. It almost made Luisa insecure when he looked at her-she had never considered herself particularly attractive, definitely far from Adam’s modelesque looks. But in her moment of self-doubt Adam lifted her chin. “You are so beautiful. I’ve thought so from the first time I saw you.” “Oh Adam” Luisa sighed, pulling back into a tight embrace. “Let’s go inside before we catch a cold” Adam said, as if just remembering they were standing soaking wet in the rain. “I can’t wait for you to show me around your place,” Luisa said, flirtily smiling at him.
Once they were inside Adam’s department and he had given her a brief tour, Luisa excused herself to use the bathroom. She noticed that Adam’s bathroom was very clean and nicely decorated like the rest of his apartment. But as soon as she saw one aspect of the bathroom, Luisa gasped in horror. The toilet seat had been left up! Luisa didn’t know how to feel- she felt her stomach sink in disappointment, anger, shock. How could Adam, a man who seemed so perfect have committed one of the biggest crimes known to man? There was no greater turn-off than a guy leaving the toilet seat up. How rude! How absolutely disgusting! The perfect image of the man she had once perceived as so talented, so sophisticated and mysterious was now as shattered as the pieces of her young heart. She couldn’t stay here any longer-she couldn’t even bear to pee in the bathroom of such a despicable, deceptive man. All along I knew he was hiding something from me! Luisa thought as she stormed out of the bathroom, fighting back the inevitable tears. “Luisa? What’s wrong?” Adam said in concern. Paying him not mind, Luisa pushed past him, saying nothing and rushing down the stairs towards the street. Luisa heard Adam’s footsteps following her, but she didn’t turn back. Nothing could make her turn back now. Running out into the rain, Luisa’s tears blended with the tears falling from the sky above her. Devastated, she sunk to her knees, sobbing. Never had she put someone on such a high pedestal in her mind, only to find everything she thought she knew was a lie. I’ll never love again. It’s just not worth the pain, Luisa told herself as she put her arm out to hail a taxi. UGH..Men are just so predictable.
                                                                 THE END