His brown eyes were looking inquisitively at her from beneath dark bushy eyebrows and he seemed amused at how startled she was. “Hello, so sorry to startle you,” he said flashing an unrepentant grin. Nicole couldn’t control her natural urge to smile in return, “It’s ok,” she said as she began to gather up her things. The light was waning and she had completely lost track of time as usual.
“Oh don’t go because of me,” he said sitting forward with both hands on his thighs as though he was about to get up. “I’m not leaving because of you, I actually meant to leave an hour ago but I lost track of time” she responded as she put her sketchpad and pencils into their case and zipped it shut. Placing everything into her backpack she strung her arms through the straps and settled it on her back before finally giving the stranger a good once over.
