love letters- jess mariano

1. the night we met

it was approaching 10pm and i was sat on the bus. it was dark and rainy night in new york- early march.

i had spent most my evening sat in a little coffee shop situated on a back street that nobody really knew about it.

i sighed to myself, as i waited for everyone to get on the bus. it was way past my curfew, but my parents were used to it by now.

i didn't pay much attention to what was going on around me, for all i didn't care. i just wanted to be home and asleep.

however, i noticed a guy walk up the steps. i subtly rolled my eyes at him. he was the cliche 'bad boy'. he had that james dean sorta look; his ebony coloured hair was perfectly styled and was dressed in a leather jacket, with a hoodie underneath.

i could instantly sense that he was looking at me, i tried to not make eye contact with him, but he slowly walked towards me and sat down on the empty seat next to me.

i moved my bag slightly closer to me, so there was more room for him to sit.

he had his hands in his pocket and his legs were facing away from me, with his head looking straight down at the floor.

an old lady tried to get past, "excuse me young man" she politely said, as he moved his legs forward, revealing more of himself.

he slowly began to seem slightly more comfortable, as his shoulders relaxed and he seemed more inviting.

when he glanced over at me, i looked into his deep chocolate brown eyes and found myself unexpectedly get lost in them.

we were both sat staring into each others eyes, waiting for one of us to look away.

"you blinked," the guy pointed out, as i rolled my eyes.

"i didn't realise this was a staring contest." i chuckled softly, before
the bus abruptly stopped, causing my bag to fly off my lap. "shit." i mumbled, watching everything fall out.

the guy watched me, as i leant down to pick everything up off the wet, cold floor.

i grabbed my jane austen, pride and prejudice book that had fallen out and annoyingly it was all damp.

"you've got to be kidding," i sighed shaking my head, as i shook the book to try and dry it.

"you've read pride and prejudice?" the guy asked me, with slight disbelief in his voice.

i looked at him with a small smile on my face, "you know who jane austen is?"

"yeah." he replied, as he watched the smile on my face become bigger. i had never met a guy who knew who jane austen was. "doesn't everyone though?" he shrugged trying to appear uninterested.

i just kept my gaze on him with the smile on my face twice as big, "what's your name?" i questioned.

"jess." he answered. "jess mariano."

we were slowly approaching my stop. "shit," i mumbled, as i frantically put everything back inside. "this is my stop and i'm gonna be late. this is great," i mumbled to myself quickly.

the bus stopped, as i quickly stood up. "excuse me." i asked jess trying to get through.

"wait, i never got your name," he stated.

"i really have to go." i complained completely ignoring what he had said, as i rushed past him running off the bus, after thanking the bus driver.

-

i walked into my house, with my hair dripping wet. i slowly closed the door behind me trying not to make too much noise.

my cat brushed past me, as i did so. "hey." i whispered to him, as i gave him a quick stroke.

i crept upstairs trying not to make too much noise, stopping every time the floor board creaked.

i heard a faint cough coming from the living room. my eyes widened, as i ducked down and looked through the banister.

i noticed it was my dad lying there fast asleep. i furrowed my eyebrows at the sight, before shaking my head. i continued to quietly make my way upstairs to my bedroom.

-

i got changed into some pyjama's and brushed my wet hair back and tied it into a braid at the back of my head.

i walked over to my bed and pulled my silk sheets over to climb in. after that, i switched off my light and tried to get to sleep, but of course i couldn't.

i couldn't stop thinking about the guy from the bus, jess. he just looked so good. he was that perfect guy and the only way to describe his scent was the he smell of lust. anything that would make you swoon.

he could not escape my head. all i kept thinking about was him and how much i regretted not telling him my name or giving him any form of contact. i couldn't believe i was never gonna get to see him again.