Chapter 1:
I first noticed her while walking downtown on a blustery summer day. A waif-like girl, not more than a hundred pounds, walking slowly through a busy intersection in downtown Chicago. Her long brown hair was blowing in the wind but it was the soft tapping of the pavement in front of her that attracted my attention. I peered down and noticed the rhythmic swinging of a white cane in front of her body. She seemed oblivious to the movement of the noisy traffic around her, holding her sunglass-clad head upright and steady as she strode confidently through the crossing. I didn't notice the blur of yellow while I glanced at her exquisite ass in her skinny jeans, clinging to her shapely figure like the tights of a ballerina. But when the taxi honked his horn angrily as he sped around the corner on a red light, I leapt instinctively ahead of her and slammed my palms loudly on the hood of his car.
"Watch where you're going, asshole!" I screamed, glaring at the driver through his windscreen while I blocked his progress with my legs straddling the front of his grille. "Are you blind? Can't you see people are crossing the lane?"
"Sorry," the cab driver shrugged, sticking her head outside his window. "The girl was walking so slowly, I was just trying to get ahead of the crowd."
"Not everybody's in a hurry, buddy," I said, shaking my head. "You should be more careful, you could have run someone over."
By now, the pretty blind girl and the rest of the passing pedestrians had traversed the intersection, pausing briefly on the other side to stare at me while they waited for the light to change at the adjacent crossing. When the signal turned green and the cars queued up behind the taxi began to honk their horns impatiently, I slapped my hands once again on the cab's hood and grudgingly moved out of his way.
"Thanks," the blind girl said when I joined her on the other side of the street. "But I had it under control. I heard him coming and was about to slow down."
"I didn't know," I said, peering down at her equally tight sweater, showcasing her perky breasts and hourglass figure. "You just looked so vulnerable walking alone like that through the busy intersection. I don't know why the city allows cars to turn right on a red, especially at the height of rush hour. Somebody's liable to get killed one of these days..."
"Not to worry," the girl chuckled. "It's not like I haven't done this before. I'm used to crazy cab drivers by now."
"You're not worried about not being able to see them?" I said.
"I can hear them approaching long before they pose any threat," the girl nodded. "I've developed a pretty sharp sense of awareness using my other senses. You'd be surprised what a blind person can do with only her hearing and a long enough cane."
"I'm sorry about that blind comment I made to the driver," I said, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my thoughtless interjection. "That was insensitive of me."
"No worries," the girl laughed. "It's just a figure of speech. I'm used to it by now."
"I suspect it's much more than that to you. Please accept my apologies."
"Why don't you let me buy you a coffee to thank you for your kindness?" the girl said, tapping her cane softly against the side of my shoe. "That is, if you're not in as much of a hurry as the impatient cab driver..."
"No–I mean yes," I stammered, flushing lightly at the girl's invitation.
"Great," she smiled, crooking her free arm. "There's a little shop around the corner that serves the best coffee in town. Why don't you let me show you the way?"
"Okay," I said, slipping my arm between hers and feeling my skin tingle as she stepped off the curb and began tapping her cane on the pavement while she pulled me closer to her.
I had to smile at the irony of a blind girl leading me through this part of the city, where I already knew the location of virtually every coffee shop and upscale clothing store next to the Miracle Mile, having lived here most of my life. But I was happy to find any excuse to get closer to her, feeling the soft brush of her fuzzy mohair sweater rubbing against my exposed skin. When we reached the entrance to the shop, she opened the door for me and I stepped tentatively inside, breathing in the heavenly scent of the exotic coffees brewing behind the counter.
"What will you have?" the girl asked, turning towards me as she approached the cashier.
"I feel like indulging today," I smiled, scanning the hand-drawn menu on the large chalkboard hanging over the far wall. "How about a caramel macchiato?"
"For the lady," the girl said, nodding toward the barista. "And I'll have an Americano."
There was an awkward silence while the barista turned to prepare our drinks, then the girl reached out to squeeze my arm.
"Why don't you find us a free table near the window?" she said. "I like to feel the sun on my face while I sip my coffee. I'll join you in a few minutes."
"Okay," I said, not used to being the submissive one, especially in the company of a supposedly handicapped partner.
I found a table in the corner of the shop and sat down, watching the girl effortlessly pay for the coffees while tapping her credit card over the point-of-sale terminal lying next to the cash register, then she picked up the drinks and walked in the direction of our table, slowing down just in time to place the steaming coffees deftly on the surface in front of me.
"Yours is the bigger cup," she said, sitting down opposite me while she angled her cane gently over her lap.
"Thanks," I said, picking up the cup and taking a quick sip of the tangy brew, humming approvingly at the sweet taste of the exotic concoction. "But how did you know where to find me?"
"I followed your scent," the girl smiled. "You're wearing a lovely perfume. Is that Yves Saint Laurent?"
"Yes, Black Opium,” I said, widening my eyes at her surprising sense of perceptiveness. "How did you know?"
"I've got a keen sense of smell," the girl nodded. "I suppose it’s somewhat overdeveloped because of my loss of sight."
The girl gently removed the lid of her cup and cradled it between her hands while lifting it slowly under her nose. She inhaled deeply and smiled with a slight upturn of her lips, then she tilted the mug between her parted lips, sucking back a small mouthful while she hummed softly, swirling the elixir inside her mouth before swallowing it like a gentle rivulet in a babbling stream. I'd never seen anyone drink their coffee so sensuously, and suddenly I felt self-conscious about wolfing down my overly flavored coffee so quickly.
"I'm Jade," I said, practically choking on my next mouthful as I studied the soft curves of her face. I couldn't see her eyes behind her dark glasses, but her countenance reminded me of a young Audrey Hepburn from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's.
"Juliet," the girl nodded, raising her cup toward mine in a gesture of goodwill.
"Jade and Juliet," I smiled at the lyrical alliteration of our names. "Something tells me that near-miss with the taxi wasn't just by chance. I have a feeling we were meant to cross paths today."
"Maybe so," Juliet smiled with a soft flush of her face. Now it was her turn to betray the growing attraction between us...
