. . .

He took a step back from the woman to put a bit of space between them, in doing so he inadvertently banged his portfolio case into my leg. He quickly stepped away, turned around and apologized to me. That’s when I noticed his eyes. They were steel grey, or maybe ice blue, it was hard to tell which, but they were striking beautiful. When he smiled, they squeezed shut and sparkled like stars on a cloudless night. The exact color escaped me but they were dazzling; dazzling and locked directly on to my eyes. 

“Sorry,” he said but didn’t look away.

Slowly, as if in slow motion, a smile crept onto my face before the words, “It was my fault,” left my mouth. We both stood staring at each other, not making a move. We were definitely too close to each other, invading each other’s personal space.

“No, it was my fault completely, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Sorry if I scratched your slacks.”

“No worries.” I didn’t look down to check for any damage, I couldn’t. “You hardly touched me. I should have been paying more attention.” Both of us tried to take the blame and play down the collision. And both of us continued to stare and smile. Finally I remembered what I practiced. “Victor, Vic Dunphy.” And I held out my hand.

“Adam. Adam Bloom.”

“Seems we both want to take the blame for an innocent collision, Adam.”

“It looks that way, Vic.” Adam said, his smile returned.

I was still smiling and neither of us had looked away, we were staring into each other’s eyes. One other thing I noticed, my heart was racing. “Where you headed?”

“I was trying to make the 5:42 to High Bridge.” He finally broke his gaze and looked at the schedule board. “You?”

“The 5:47 to Trenton.” My gut reverberated like a piano string.

He looked again and nodded at the board, my train was announced for track seven. I looked, his train was marked as ‘All aboard’ on track three, which meant he needed to run.

“Your train is boarding.” Adam said, he still hadn’t moved.

“You’d better run if you want to catch yours.” I urged him and prayed the escalator to platform number three would stop.

Adam looked at the board again, and back to me. “There’s another train soon.” 

“I can take the next one.” I said. Unlike the golden-eyed man I locked eyes with weeks ago, I hadn’t even considered this man’s age. I’d seen his clothes, and noticed his face and hair, but I hadn’t yet considered his age, or status, or intention. What I did decide was this guy made my insides twist up. Standing this close was making my knees weak. I was immediately attracted to him, more so than to any other person that I can remember.

I added. “There’s a pub upstairs, if you’d like to have a beer while we wait.”

Adam looked at the board again, I watched as he calculated his choices. His gaze was instantly back on me and he nodded. “I’d like that, Vic.” He said, now his voice wasn’t soft and warm, but assured. 

We walked in silence across the hall and up the stairs to the pub. The place had a long dark bar, the end of which faced the waiting area and the overhead schedule board in the Station. When there are delays or cancelation, the pub is packed. That night, everything was on time and the place wasn’t busy. 

We took two seats at the end of the bar where we could turn and see the board. I ordered first asking for a light beer, Adam followed suit. Glancing at him while I fumbled with my wallet to pay the bill, I could tell he was as nervous as I was. My guess was that he too was in a relationship, and this might be crossing a line. But each time I glanced, his eyes were still trained on me. 

We both exhaled when the beers came, taking a long sip. We laughed, placing the pints cautiously on the coasters in front of us. 

“I’ve never done this before.” The laugh that left my mouth wasn’t funny. “I mean inviting a stranger to have a beer instead of catching a train home.”

“Me neither.” 

Adam had the kind of face that got better looking the longer you looked at it. It wasn’t movie-star striking but the more I searched it the more beautiful it became. I liked that and it made me smile again. 

“What?” He asked.

I knew the answers, but they were too numerous to give. “You’re going to find this ridiculous, but I have a theory about what it means to lock eyes with someone, like we did tonight.”

He sipped and waited for me to continue.

“I’ve no proof, but I think when there’s such a strong impulse that two people lock eyes on each other, there’s a connection that goes soul deep. If you believe in reincarnation, it might mean those people were very close with each other in a past life.”

“Really?” Adam cocked his head and looked at me sideways. “You don’t think I thought you were cute?”

“I’m flattered, but I see cute guys all the time and rarely get or give more than a momentary glance. You and I couldn’t stop staring at each other.”

“I noticed that.”

“And I couldn’t stop smiling at you.”

“Me too.” Adam took a sip but never stopped looking into my eyes.

“I’ve been investigating this for a while, it happened two weeks ago”

“And?”

“He ran to catch his train.”

“And I didn’t.”

“You could have. We both could have.” I sipped my beer and watched over Adam’s shoulder as the next train to Trenton departed. I scanned the board to see that there were two trains on the board for him, one in ten minutes and the other a few minutes after that which would have been an express.

I remembered my plan so I started. “To be candid, I met a couple of other guys this way, one was a pro, if you know what I mean and another who first thought I was his professor, turned out that he needed advice. Neither of them had the draw on me that you did. Is that crazy?”

“I guess not.” Adam sipped, still gazing at me. “Since you’re being so open, I’ll admit that I felt something too. I’ve never met a guy in the train station before, hell, I never talk to anyone in the station.”

“I’m married, just so you know.”

“I see, full disclosure.” He smirked.

“Since we were so close in a previous life, I figure I should be honest.”

“Right. I’m not married but living with someone, have been for some time. A guy. I’m gay.” Adam lost his smile.

“Me too, sorry. We’re not technically married but have been together for a long time.” I reassured him. 

“Ah.” His smile returned. His smile made my stomach tighten. “I thought you were gay, but you never know.” He put his drink down and checked the board. I watched his mood change from high to low. He looked back at me and I saw it coming. “What are we doing here? We’re both in relationships.”

“I’m not sure. All I know is that we have a connection. And I think it’s strong.” What more could I say? 

Adam finished his beer and checked the board again. “I should go, my train is boarding.”

“I understand.” I finished my beer and stood. “Thanks for having a beer with me.” I saw a change in his face again. He went from confused to needing to get as far away as he could. He stood and stepped away. His train was announced for last call and he checked the board again.

“Thanks for the beer.” Adam said. He took a step away before I could match his steps.

“It was nice to meet you, Adam.” I held out my hand and hoped he accepted it. He did.

“It was nice to meet you Vic.” He looked from me to the board and then to his Vans. Then, to my surprise, he locked eyes with me again, as he had that first time. “Will, “ he hesitated. “Will I see you again?”

 His smile grew to match mine. “I hope so.”

“Meet me here tomorrow. Same time?”

“Ok. Same time.”

I held out my hand but he didn’t take it, instead, he hugged me fast and ran off to catch his train, his long dark hair waved like a flag behind him. Just before he descended the stairs, he stopped and turned. I gave him a short, low wave. He waved back, looking for the first time like a kid, then he was gone.

My eyes were wide and my heart was racing. At first, when he stood to leave, I was convinced he’d want nothing more to do with me. But that wasn’t it, in fact he asked me to meet him again and then he hugged me before boarding his train. It hadn’t been one sided. 

As I stood there staring at the spot where he’d last been and realized that my train had just departed, I tried to recall every detail about him. He had either blue or grey eyes, needed a comb and his name was Adam something. I couldn’t recall what his face looked like though I knew he was handsome and I knew if I ever saw him again I’d recognize him immediately. I had absolutely no idea of his age or where he lived though I know he told me? 

What did he want with me? He was partnered, fuck, so was I. What was I doing there, standing, watching some handsome younger man miss his train?

All I knew was that I would meet Adam Bloom again the following night and I couldn’t wait.

. . .