Noah had a feeling this woman had some heavy stuff in her past that had made her who she was. Timid, and a loner.
They walked across the road and down to the lake. Noah took off his sweater and placed it on the grass.
“It’ll get dirty.”
“So I’ll wash it.”
“Grass stains are hard to get out.” She watched him sit.
“I promise not to make you get them out. How come you’re nervous of me now, and yet you weren’t in the bar?”
“We’re not surrounded by people here.”
“But you said that I was a good guy, remember?”
“When you’re travelling alone, you have to be cautious.”
“As you should be.”
She sat, but not close to him. There was at least two feet between them. They both looked out over the dark, glimmering waters of the lake.
“Did you know that Earth is only the fifth largest planet in the solar system? We’re located in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way called the Orion Arm,” Noah said.
“How come you know this stuff?”
“I read a lot. Those stars there are Orion’s Belt, also known as The Three Kings or Three Sisters. The stars themselves are called Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.”
She started to relax as he talked, dragging every bit of knowledge about the solar system from his memory.
“Don’t get up, just hand us your money, and you get to carry on with your astronomy lesson.” After these words were spoken, two men stepped in front of them. One held a gun, and it was pointed at Lani.
“It’s all right.” Noah touched her shoulder as she made a noise.
“I said give us your money now!”
“For me to reach my wallet, I need to get to my feet, because it’s in my pocket.”
“I don’t think so.”
Noah lifted his butt, then kicked his foot up, dislodging the gun from the man’s hand. It landed in the water. He leaped to his feet.
“That makes things even,” he said, punching the first man in the face.
The second ran at him and swung, and Noah took a punch in the nose. He heard a crack, which couldn’t be a good thing.
The first regained his feet and came at Noah as he fought the second. From the corner of his eye he saw Lani move, and then the man toppled backward into the water. With a last right jab, his friend followed.
“Nice work,” he managed to grunt as he turned to see Lani on her feet, arms in a fighting pose. “Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and ran up the bank and back onto the street.
They needed to get under some lights in case those guys came at them again.
“Your nose, Noah.”
“Noses bleed like a bitch.” He felt blood running down his chin and wiped it away with the sleeve of his shirt.
“We need to get you help.”
“I want to report this incident first.” Noah pulled out his cellphone and called the cops. He gave his details, then pocketed his phone again.
