Second Sight (the meeting, Lucas)

Lucas sat nervously on the curb, and schooled himself against looking at his watch again. He knew he was early. He wanted to be first, so he could set the tone, and also to get his bearing. He tried to slow his breathing and did a slow inhale to a count of five and a slow exhale to a count of five. He thought back to his days living with Anand who had taught him so many things, including this breathing trick. It always seemed to work and today was no exception. The summer of joy, and Lucas hoped to return and revisit the peaceful home of Anand one day. He heard a car approaching the parking lot and his heart went into hyper-drive once again. He stood up, trying to appear relaxed, and felt his heart drop as he saw that it wasn't her in the driver's seat. He decided sitting wasn't working, and looked at his watch again. 11:52. Torture. Being here first was supposed to give him the upper hand, but waiting was driving him a little nuts.

She pulled into the parking lot six minutes later.

He felt himself standing as though his feet were mired in eight inches of mud, and reminded himself to smile. He wasn't sure if baring his teeth in a grimace would serve well enough as a smile or not, but it was all he could muster at the moment. He waited as she stepped out of her car, and felt frozen in place. Her smile and the kindness in her eyes had a calming effect and he shook himself free, stretched out his hand and said hi.

He wasn't sure, but he thought he felt her hand tremble as he shook it, and somehow her nerves calmed his. He swept his gaze once around the parking lot and was a little surprised that she had triggered some protective instinct in himself. He knew she was nervous about meeting him today, but something inside his blood made him feel like keeping her safe was now his priority on some primitive level.

He liked her smell.

He trusted her, and he didn't know why...but now it didn't matter anymore.