Saving Her

Character & Setting
Paul is a 28 year old photographer who works for the biggest newspaper in the city. The office building for the newspaper isn't in the safest part of town, and Paul often stays at work late. He hasn't run into any trouble so far since starting the job, but the risk is always there.

Story
Paul had been working for way too long on this day. It was 10:13 pm and he'd been in the photo lab for hours. The smell of the developing chemicals burned his nostrils and his eyes, and he was looking forward to being outside and getting some fresh air. He threw his bag over his shoulder and headed towards the door with the green "EXIT" sign above it. He sighed and pushed the door open, the cool night air hitting his face. He inhaled, taking it all in. It was dark, and only a few street lamps were lighting the area. He headed towards the parking garage where his car was located, and he was paying close attention to his surroundings. It had been a really long day, and the last thing he needed was to get mugged.

As Paul entered the large cement parking structure, he heard some muffled noises coming from nearby. The noises echoed throughout the building, and Paul quickly became alert. He rounded a corner and was presented with a very serious situation. Two very large and tall men had cornered a woman and were taking hold of her. She was screaming and struggling now, but they quickly covered her mouth and pushed her against the hood of her car. One of the men pulled out a knife while the other began loosening his belt. Paul’s eyes went wide as he took in the scene. Rage and surprise filled his body, and he immediately reacted to the incident.

Paul began marching towards the two men and the woman, and he shouted towards them as he approached. “Hey! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” He really didn’t know what he had planned to fight them off, but his instincts had taken over and he knew he had to stop them, whatever the cost. The cost would likely be him getting his ass kicked…or getting killed. The two men looked up at Paul, just as surprised and just as angry. He was quickly approaching, and he was trying to prepare himself for the coming battle. “Let her go, fucking scumbags!”

{I'm looking for woman who is interested in playing the victim who gets rescued by Paul. After Paul rescues her, she eventually opens up to him about her fears and how happy she is that he came along. This leads to an intimate relationship.}

Anna is a 25 year old paralegal, who is just out of law school, working her way up in a rather impressive firm downtown. They were going to trial in 3 days for a huge case, and her week had been filled with late nights at the office helping one of the partners prepare.

She left the office at 10:05, dreading the fact that she'd have to be back in less than 9 hours. She walked into the parking structure, and waited for the elevator which must have been broken again, so she wound up taking the stairs in her heels. When she got to the 5th floor, she began walking down the long row of cars to her silver hybrid, screaming as someone grabbed her. She felt her jacket being ripped off of her body, leaving her in a lace cami and her skirt. She struggled with him, nearly getting away when another pair of arms, much larger than the first grabbed her from the behind, pressing her against the back of a large suv, grinding himself against her black skirt.

She screamed loudly, hearing the elevator ding, hoping for a way out of this mess. She screamed again, silenced quickly by a knife one of the men had pulled from his pocket, bringing it to the back of her throat as the other began unbuckling his belt.

She trembled violently as she saw another man walk up to them, sighing a bit as she heard him confront the two, demanding they let her go. They left her trembling, her legs collapsing beneath her as she leaned against the tailgate of the suv. She knew she needed to call 911, or help the man who saved her, she needed to do something, but didn't, couldn't make her body move.

As she tuned into reality, somehow her savior had the men fleeing quickly in a black van with no windows but the front passanger, driver and windshield. She wiped her face with the back of her hand as he helped her up from the ground, his touch gentle her body still trembling.

"Thank you" She whispered, "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't helped me,"

Just as the men were letting her go and preparing to assault him, Paul reached into his back and began to pull out one of his cameras. It didn’t make any sense, but it was all he could think to do at the time. It was all he had to defend himself. Paul yanked the black device from his bag and the men took off running. He was confused at first, not understanding how he’d frightened them. Then he realized that they thought he was pulling a gun on them. He smiled and chuckled for a moment as the men jumped into the black van and sped off into the night. How lucky he was…

But his relief was immediately replaced with panic again as he saw the trembling woman on the cold concrete floor. He ran over to her and put his bag down. His arms came around her and he helped her to her feet. He could see the fear and confusion in her eyes, and he felt terrible. “Oh my God, are you okay? Did they cut you at all?” He checked her over, looking for any blood or bruises. She was shaken up and her clothes were a little torn, but she appeared to be okay. “Here, let me call 911 real quick. I’ll be right here next to you.” Paul quickly took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, shielding her from the cold night air. He whipped out his cell phone and dialed 911, talking to the operator and tell them where they were at and what had happened. He hung up the phone and returned to her.

“I’m so happy I showed up when I did. Fucking creepy bastards… You shouldn’t be walking alone at night in this neighborhood. You are out here so late.” He unlocked her car door for her and let her sit down inside, turning the heat on to keep her warm. He knelt down in front of her and looked into her eyes. He had never seen this woman before, but she was quite beautiful. She didn’t deserve to have something so terrible happen to her. No woman did. “I’m so sorry… My name is Paul. I’ll look out for you until the police arrive, okay?”

Anna shook her head "no, no they didn't cut me" She said, her voice hardly above a whisper. She could feel bruises forming on her arms and chest, where they had grabbed her, and on her back where they had pinned her against the car. When he mentioned 911, she tried to tell him it wasn't necessary, nothing had happened, so what would they be able to do? He insisted though, and wrapped his jacket around her as he called.

She wiped at her eyes, unable to stop the tears. A mix of emotions, fear, humiliation, anger, all swarming inside of her. Other than the tears, she felt numb, like it wasn't really her this had happened to, she was just observing it. She looked at him as he bent down and picked up her briefcase, purse and keys which she already had out, being so close to her car. he pressed the unlock button on the remote, and opened the door, helping her walk to the car and sitting her on the seat as he started the car and turned on the heat.

She couldn't imagine what would have happened if he hadn't come along just then, she could be dead, or being raped in the parking structure, or she could be in the black van, being dragged off somewhere. She couldn't focus at first on what he was saying to her, as he knelt infront of her, making sure she was okay. She heard him say his name was Paul, and he'd stay until the police came.

Nodding, she wrapped his jacket around her tighter. "My name's Anna" She told him. "Thank you" she said, wiping her eyes again.

Paul put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. He knew that she wasn’t in the mood to talk or have any sort of friendly male interaction at the moment, so he opted to step away for a bit. He stayed close to the car, keeping an eye out to make sure that the scumbags didn’t return for more. He leaned against the side of the car and spoke to her quietly, not really expecting a response. Maybe just the sound of his voice would be comforting in some form or another. “You’ll be okay Anna. You are safe now. The police will be here soon, and they’ll take down notes on everything you tell them. You’ll be safe at home in your bed in short while.”

Paul exhaled, sending a cloud of steam rising up into the night air. After a few moments the red and blue lights of the police cars began shining on the surrounding area. The cars pulled up and the officers got out, immediately asking Paul what had happened and what he’d seen. They quickly attended to Anna, putting a blanket around her and talking to her, asking her if she was okay and if she needed anything. Paul could see that she was still shaken up, and when the opportunity presented itself he quickly returned to her side, kneeling in front of her. “Anna, I know you are upset. But if you need anything…anything at all, just call me. Even if you just need someone to listen to you.” Paul placed one of his business cards into her hands, his name, email, and phone number listed on it. He gave her a reassuring smile and stepped away again.

He finished talking with the police and reached into his pocket, taking out his keys. He gave the police his information and began walking towards his Chrysler PT Cruiser. He got in his car, started the engine, and then stopped for a moment to think. He tried to think of everything that had just happened, and he hoped that Anna was okay. The idea of rape infuriated him, and a pretty girl like Anna didn’t need to have such a terrible thing happen to her. He shook his head, put his car in reverse, and left the parking structure…heading home.

Anna sat with her feet on the ground, only partially in the car. Her eyes looking towards the ground. She watched as Paul's feet walked away, comforted that he was only a few feet away, still close enough incase they came back. she wrapped his jacket around her tighter, the night turning out to be colder than expected, even with the heat readiating inside the car.

She closed her eyes, still very much awak, and rest her head on the head-rest, jumping slightly when she saw the lights of the police car. She watched as three cars pulled up, blocking the ramp of the parking structure. Five male police officers came over, and one female was with them. Three of them stopped at Paul and spoke to him, while the female and two of the male cops walked over to her. She answered their questions, her body starting to ache from earlier. She whinced as she tried to stand up, her sides and back visibly bruised. They wrapped another blanket around her, to protect her from the cold night air, and the possibilty of shock from the night's events.

The female officer suggested she go with them to the hospital for a rape exam, which she refused. She hadn't been raped, and being in the law field, she knew how invasive such exams were, often just as traumatic as the event itself. The officers all gave her contact information, as well as information if she needed someone to talk to, or any sort of help.

Over two hours after they first arrived, and having taken dna samples from under Anna's finger nails, taking her shreaded coat and suit jacked as well as pictures from the surronding area, they left, leaving just her and Paul alone in the parking structure again.

Paul walked back over to her, and handed her a card, telling her to call if she needed anything at all. She nodded, looking up at him, her look saying more than she could with words any more tonight. she turned and got into her car, locking the doors and turning on the lights as he pulled out of his parking spot. She drove around for a while, exhausted and emotionally drained but afraid to go home.

Once home, Anna locked both locks on her door, something she rarely did. She walked slowly to each room turning on every light before going into her bedroom to change into sweats. She whinced as she bent over to pull up her sweat pants, and slowl walked to the kitchen to get ice for her bruises. She walked into the living room and sat on the couch, after a few minutse of silence she opened her purse and took out Paul's card, dialing the number. It rang a couple of times before he answered.

"Paul, it's Anna from tonight. I'm sorry to call you so late, and I'm probably just being stupid, but could you come over to my apartment? I'm afraid to be alone tonight, and my family's all out of state, I don't know who else to call."

After Paul had parked his car behind his building and walked up to his apartment complex on the 5th floor, he had begun to let the events of the evening slip from his mind. All of it had shaken him up a bit as well, but he needed to get some rest. Tomorrow would be another busy day, which would likely lead into another late night. He put his bag down by the front door, shutting and locking it. He kicked off his shoes and stumbled towards his cluttered and messy bedroom. Stacks of newspapers and magazines littered the corners of the room, as well as many boxes of pictures he’d taken. Paul sat on the edge of his bed and pulled his shirt from his body. It wasn’t until now that he realized he’d left his jacket with Anna. Paul flipped off the lights and fell back onto his bed, his head resting comfortably on his soft pillow.

But just as he was about to fall asleep, his cell phone rang on his nightstand. Paul groaned slightly as he pulled himself out of his bed, his muscles sore from the busy day. It was probably the police calling looking for more information. He knew they wouldn’t care about whether he got his sleep or not. He picked up the phone and flipped it open, pressing it to his ear. “Hello?” Instead of the police, Paul was surprised to hear the voice of woman he’d met just a couple hours ago. Anna still sounded a little upset, which was justified, and she asked him if he would mind coming over to her place. It was late, and Paul’s brain wasn’t fully functional. His morals and his kind nature outweighed his need for rest. “Anna… I totally understand. Don’t worry about it. Where do you live? I’ll be there soon.” He took down her address and pulled a shirt back on. He probably should have questioned why this woman was so comfortable with a stranger so soon after these circumstances, but it never crossed his mind. Paul got back in his car and began the short drive to Anna’s place.

After a few minutes he pulled up in front of her home, stepping out of his car and quietly shutting the door. From the look of her house, Paul could tell that she was wealthier than he was. Not that he held a grudge or was jealous, but being a photographer wasn’t exactly the highest paying job. Paul had a comfortable life, and he was satisfied with what he had. Maybe spending a few hours with this woman would reassure her and get her back on the right track. He approached the door slowly, and once he had arrived at her doorstep he reached out to knock three times. He could hear Anna approaching inside, and when she opened the door he greeted her with a wave and an enthusiastic smile. “Hello there. I was wondering if you’d be interested in purchasing some Girl Scout Cookies?” It was a stupid joke, but maybe it would loosen her up and ease her mind a bit. Anything he could do for her… After a moment when he saw her smile, Paul got serious. “I’m sorry. I’m…weird. How are you feeling? Do you want me to come in?”

Despite the fact that Anna knew Paul was on his way over, she jumped when there was a knock on the door. She looked out the side window breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that it was him. She unlocked the locks and opened the door. She smiled at his joke, it was kind of him to try to lighten the mood of the evening. She wasn’t sure why she had called him, why she would trust a stranger after tonight, why she would bother him so late, and not just deal with it. She had to be to work in less than 7 hours, and his situation probably wasn’t any different.

“I’m okay I think” She said “I’m just alone here, and after what happened earlier…” she trailed off, as she opened the door wider, welcoming him inside. “I’m sorry, I never should have disturbed you, it was rude of me” She said, looking at her feet. She put her hand on her side, rubbing her bruise as she closed the door, looking at him, trying to gauge what he was thinking.

“Anna please…don’t worry about it. I’m sure that you have a lot on your mind right now…after what happened to you.” Paul gave her a warm smile and stepped inside her warm home. He rubbed his hands together, happy to escape the cold from outside. He looked around her place, noticing that she was much tidier than he was. He smirked to himself and continued. “You have a nice place here Anna.” He noticed that she was rubbing her side, and he immediately became concerned again. “Are you sure you don’t need to see a doctor?”

Paul took a step towards her, preparing to inspect her closer to see if she was okay. He was much closer now, but he stopped himself before he touched her. He suddenly remembered that she was probably very uneasy around strange men. He moved back away and sighed. “I’m sorry Anna…I was just going to…” He too trailed off, moving towards what appeared to be her living room. “What is it that you do? What kept you at work so late? Eh?”

Anna smiled a little bit, feeling better just to have someone here with her. "Thank you" She said as he complimented her home. He looked concerned as she rubbed her side, grimacing a little. "I don't think so, I'm just a little bruised" She said, not wanting to have to explain to a doctor at the ER how it happened.

She watched as he took a step closer to her, looking at how she held her side. She backed away a little bit. She knew he wasn't going to hurt her, but she was still scared. She let go of her side, trying to make him worry about her less, showing she was okay. "It's okay" She said quietly as he appologized, "I know." They walked into the living room, and sat down on the couch. "I work at Honish and Bartel" She said, not needing to explain what it was, everyone in the city knew about the large, powerful lawfirm. "I'm just a paralegal though, so I'm basically a gopher. Late nights going through literature, coffee runs, the things the partner's are too important to do themselves." She said smiling a little, trying to lighten the mood. "What about you Paul? You were out just as late"

Paul walked into the living room and took a seat on the sofa next to her. He relaxed a little and looked around at the picture frames in the room. So many pictures of Anna and her friends. He wondered if she had a boyfriend or if she was married, but he couldn’t see any pictures of a potential love interest in her life. But he wasn’t sure. “I’m a photographer actually. I work for the Tribune. I’ve been working late almost every night for a month now.” He looked over at her and smirked. It wasn’t until this moment that he realized how cute and adorable Anna really was. He had been so concerned with her safety and emotions that he hadn’t had time to take in her attractiveness.

“So…” Paul said, searching for something else to keep the conversation going. “Is there a special someone in your life that would be worried about you tonight?” Perhaps it wasn’t the most appropriate of topics to go into, but he couldn’t think of anything else to discuss. Maybe it would be better to let her control the conversation topics from here on out. The last thing he wanted to do was come across as “creepy” after the events of the evening.

Anna sat down on the couch with her legs crossed beneathe her, her head against the back of the couch. Sitting up straight kept her sides and back from aching as much. She looked at him as he looked at all of her pictures, and told her he was a photographer for the tribune. That was where his name looked familar on his card, some of the amazing shots in the paper she read every morning were done by him.

She shook her head at his question. "No, and I'm relatively new to the city, all of my friends and family are a couple hours away, and I didn't want to worry them with what happened tonight." She told him, pausing for a second. "I'm sorry to have bothered you tonight, it's not your responsibility to babysit me" She said, realizing she didn't want to trouble her friends and family, but she was willing to ask the man who had already saved her tonight. She looked at him, as she grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch, whincing as she twisted her side and back to reach it, wrapping it around her a bit, still chilled from earlier tonight.

“Please Anna…” She kept apologizing for asking him to come over, but he didn’t see the need. “..Anna it’s okay. You’ve had a rough and traumatizing night. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to be alone after such a thing. You don’t need to explain anything. I told you I’d be around if you needed me, and here I am.” Paul gave her a warm smile and watched as she attempted to wrap herself up in a blanket. He moved towards her again casually, helping her to wrap the blanket around her body. He could tell she was in pain when she moved, and maybe this would help. But as he got closer and tucked her in, their noses accidentally brushed against each others. Paul said nothing and casually backed away. He got the feeling that he was doing something wrong. Was there something he needed to be doing? He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to intrude into any of her personal space, literally or emotionally.

“So uh…you said you don’t have any friends or family here in the city.” Paul paused for a moment, nodding and thinking about that feeling. “Well I know what that is like. That was me a few years ago. It’s quite a lot to take on. You can feel pretty alone. So if you need a man to-“ Paul stopped himself mid-sentence, realizing that he was wording things awkwardly and she might get the wrong impression about him. “I mean…if you need someone to show you around…or a friend…I can be that guy. That person I mean…” Paul swallowed hard and cursed at himself inside. He was making a damn fool of himself around a woman who was already on edge in regards to strange men.

“Is there…anything I can get you Anna? Do you need anything? Anything you need me to do?” Paul sat up a little in his seat, ready to anything to appease her. Surely this is why she called him. She needed someone to take care of her for the evening. “Maybe you just need to take a hot shower and try to get some sleep. I can hang around down here for a couple hours until you pass out. Then I’ll lock the door and let myself out..”

Anna felt bad, as he told her it was okay, that she had called him, it was why he gave her his card. She smiled a little when he smiled at her, helping to wrap the blanket around her. "Thanks" She said softly, blushing a little at the fact that she couldn't even put a blanket around her by herself. She looked at him as their noses brushed one another's, grateful that he didn't say anything about it.

She smiled as he stammered through what he was trying to say, finally offering her to show her around the city. "That'd be nice" She said, moving her hand back to her side "Maybe sometime after my bruises go away?" she suggested.

"A shower does sound good" She agreed. She was so glad he was willing to help her, that he was such a good person. She nodded as he suggested he could hand out down stairs until she was asleep, and then lock the door behind him. "I'm not trying to sound forward but if you want, I could get you a pillow and blanket and you could crash on the couch, I mean, get some sleep at least" she said.

She had accepted his offer for him to stick around downstairs while she fell asleep, and he smiled knowing that would put her mind at ease. She offered to get him a pillow and blanket, and there was no reason for him to turn down such an offer. “Yeah, that would be great. Thank you. Whatever it takes to make you feel comfortable.” He smirked to her and relaxed into the sofa, watching as she disappeared down the hall. He yawned and stretched, realizing that he probably did need to get a little bit of sleep.

After a couple of minutes, Anna returned with a big blanket and a comfy pillow. She passed them to him and he set up the pillow at the end of the sofa and unfolded the blanket. He nodded to her and smiled again. “Thanks Anna. I’ll be down here if you need anything. Try to relax and get some sleep. I know you’ve got a lot on your mind, but tomorrow is a new day. Good things are waiting for a woman like you.” He winked to her and then began setting up his bed area. Paul pulled his shirt off his body and relaxed back onto the sofa, pulling the blanket over himself and folding his hands behind his head.

anna smiled at what Paul said, tomorrow being a new day. She nodded, and softly said "thank you" as he made his bed on her couch. She watched him spread out the blanket on the couch before slowly making her way up the stairs. She walked into her bathroom, locking the door and turning the shower on hot as she got out of her clothes. She put her blonde hair up into a messy bun, and stepped into the shower flinching as the water beat down on her bruised body at first. She stayed in the shower until there was no hot water left even with the faucet turned all the way to the right. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a large white towel and carefully dried off her body.

She put her sweats back on and walked into her bedroom, where she took some Tylenol before going to bed. Despite what had happened to her earlier tonight, she was exhausted and fell asleep quickly. All to soon however her alarm went off, waking her for another day. She slowly got out of bed, her side and back aching. She walked to her closet and put on a pair of dress pants and a sweater with a higher neckline. She wore her hair in a ponytail and spent little time on her makeup.

She walked downstairs and saw the blanket folded with the pillow sitting next to it on the couch. She walked over to the couch and picked up a piece of photo paper on which he had written her a note.

Paul relaxed against the comfy sofa and watched as she disappeared upstairs. It wasn’t long after he’d heard the water running that he closed his eyes and passed out. But even as he was asleep, Paul’s mind could only think of Anna. His dreams were of nothing specific, but they continually involved Anna. They were only interrupted when Paul felt the warmth of sunlight pouring in through the front window of her home. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up, yawning and stretching a bit. He needed to be to work in a couple hours, so he needed to get back home so he could shower and get dressed. Paul folded the blanket and placed the pillow next to it. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a bit of photo paper, finding a pen, and leaving a note for Anna on top of the blanket…

“Anna,

Thank you for letting me use your sofa. I only hope that you were able to get some sleep. If you ever need anything, you have my number. I’d love to show you around sometime. Maybe you could let me take you out for dinner. Remember what I said…today is a new day. And surely good things await you. Take care.

Your friend,

Paul”

Paul left the note for her to find and left her house, making sure to lock the door on the way out. He got in his car and made it home with just enough time to shower and get dressed before he had to start another day of work.

Anna smiled when she read the note Paul had left. She wondered what time he had left, and if he had gotten much sleep, she still felt bad knowing she had called him over so late when he had work this morning, just like she did. She set it on the coffee table as she put the blanket and pillow away. She picked up her purse and briefcase, sliding the note into her purse as she left for work.

It was a long day, like every one was before a big trial. She realized it was a little after ten, and she'd be making the walk to the parking structure alone again. A thought crossed her mind, that maybe Paul hadn't left yet, maybe he was ready to leave and she wouldn't have to walk to her car alone. She pulled out her cell phone, and picked his number out of her recent call list, and waited as it rang a few times before he answered.

"Hi Paul, it's Anna. I'm sorry to bother you again, but I was wondering if you were by any chance still at work tonight?" She asked, not wanting to explain why if he was already at home.

Paul had spent most of his day driving about the entire city. There were various stories he had to cover for the paper, and that meant taking a lot of pictures. He’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, and by the time he returned to his office to develop the pictures he’d taken, Paul was having trouble staying awake. It was a few minutes after 10 and Paul had fallen asleep at his desk. He woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing next to him. He quickly sat up and flipped it open.

“Hello…hello Anna. Sorry, I fell asleep. You aren’t bothering me at all. I’m just uh…I’m still in my office.” Paul looked at his watch and saw that it was pretty late. He suddenly realized that Anna was probably just now leaving work and wanted some company. “Are you outside? Do you want me to walk you to your car?” He was making assumptions, but they were justified. She probably wouldn’t feel safe walking to her car for a long while.

Anna smiled a little, "Yeah, I'm just heading down the stairs of my building and I was wondering if you were heading home any time soon so I could walk with you to our cars" she said.

She couldn't believe how nice of a person Paul was. Most people, she figured, after saving someone from being raped would think that was help enough, and let the other person deal with things on their own. She stepped outside of the law office and saw that the paper building was just across the street.

"I can head over to your building if you're ready to leave" She said, realizing she didn't know yet, whether or not he had planned on leaving yet.

“Yeah. Yeah that’s fine. I’ll meet you downstairs in a couple of minutes. See you soon.” Paul shut off his phone and grabbed his other jacket, stuffing the phone into the pocket and slipping it on his shoulders. He grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder. He took the elevator down to the main floor and stepped out to head towards the door. When he was outside he saw Anna waiting for him and he gave her a warm smile.

“Hey there. Thanks for calling me. I might have slept at my desk the whole night if you hadn’t.” Paul laughed and casually motioned for them to start walking towards their vehicles. “If your day was anything like mine, I’m sure you are happy to be done.” Paul walked alongside her. It took him a bit, but he soon realized that he was on edge and ready to defend her should anything happen again. Though the chances of that were unlikely, for some reason he was overly dedicated to making sure she felt comfortable.

“How are you feeling?” He looked over to her, wanting to know what was on her mind at this point. She seemed pretty relaxed, but he couldn’t tell if it was because he was there or because she was actually getting over the events of the previous evening.

Anna smiled when she saw Paul coming out the door. She lauged a little bit when he thanked her for calling him so he didn't sleep at his desk all night. "I'm glad the day's over too" She agreed as they started walking to the parking garage. She buttoned her grey pea coat as they walked, noticing how cold it was, and remembered how willingly Paul had given him her coat last night, when it was just as cold. She thought while they walked, about how nice he had been last night, and tonight when she called. He seemed to be looking around, something about him making sure nothing happened to her tonight.

"I'm okay" She told him "Still sore, but okay" She said, realizing this was the best she'd felt all day. Everything seemed okay right now, maybe it was because he was there last night, and could protect her again if he needed to, she wasn't sure, but she felt okay.

They walked a little further before she remembered his note. "I got your note this morning, and I'd like that, I mean, to go to dinner sometime" She told him.

“Really?” He said this with a hint of surprise in his voice. When he wrote the note he hadn’t expected her to take him up on the offer. But his heart raced when she told him that she wanted to go to dinner with him. “I just…I didn’t want you to think that I was trying to take advantage of your emotions or anything. I guess I thought it would be a good opportunity for us…to talk some more. I dunno…get to know each other better…”

Paul didn’t normally get this nervous around girls, but something about Anna was different. He’d been there for her in her time of need, and he felt as though he had an image to maintain. He didn’t want to disappoint her or come off as just another guy in this big city. For some reason…he really wanted to impress her. It had been a while since Paul had been with anyone, and he was obviously a little rusty when it came to talking to a woman. He couldn’t deny that he was taken by her.

Anna smiled, "Yes really, you saved me last night, you came over when I was afraid to be alone, and you're walking me to my car now, it's the least I can do, and it's not like any of the time we've spent together we've actually gotten to know eachother" she said.

They walked into the parking garage and rode the elevator to the 4th floor where they were both parked. She was nervous now, walking back to where it all started last night, what if they were back, waiting for her again? They stepped out of the elevator, and she looked around, stepping a little closer to Paul as they walked to their cars. She relaxed a little bit when she saw there was no one else around, and almost laughed when she saw they were parked next to eachother.

"I'm busy weeknights, and you obviously are too, so maybe sometime this weekend?" she asked, unlocking her car.

Paul stayed closed to her as they made it up to the 4th floor of the parking structure. There was nobody else around and they appeared to be safe. He sighed, smiling a little as he knew this would be a bit of therapy for her. She pointed out the fact that they were both busy during the week, and weekends would work best for them. He nodded and continued the conversation.. “Well in that case, how about Friday night at 6? I can come by and pick you up, and then we can come into the city. I know a really great Italian restaurant. You like Italian?”

He stopped next to his car and turned towards her, giving her big smile. For a moment Paul looked Anna up and down, finally feeling like he could take in her beauty without feeling guilty. She was really quite attractive indeed…long legs, great hips, fantastic ass, and perfect breasts. She was gorgeous, and Paul could get hypnotized every time he looked into her eyes. Paul stopped himself before his excitement became too obvious to her. He swallowed and unlocked his car as well, popping open the door. “Does that sound okay?”