On the third day, Train Guy was sitting in a different seat. I sat in my original place.

When the train stopped at the next station the thin bald tattooed man got on. He slipped into the seat beside Train Guy. They had a brief conversation that exuded quiet aggression.

The bald man passed Train Guy a small package and then stood. He searched for a vacant seat and found one opposite me. The sleazy, leering look he gave me set alarm bells blaring in my head.

He must have known he freaked me out because he laughed, leaned forward, put his hand on my knee and said, "Do you want to fuck?"

My breath caught. I jerked my knee away, skidded to the corner of my seat and stared at him in horror.

Train Guy frowned but stayed where he was.

I decided to ignore the comment and hoped the man would go away.

Instead, he leapt across the aisle landing on the vacant half of the bench beside me and said, "I asked you if you want to fuck."

Terrified, I squeezed my bag against my chest.

Before I could say anything, Train Guy had the man by the front of the shirt and lifted him off the bench. He manoeuvred the man across the passageway, shoved him onto his now vacant seat and said, "Back off!" Then he sat beside me and stared at Bald Man.

Bald Man frowned at him, nudged his head towards me and said, "She yours?"

Train Guy glanced at me and shook his head. "No."

"Do you want to fuck her?" Bald Man said and laughed as he looked me up and down.

My throat constricted. I couldn't believe he was speaking as if I couldn't hear him. I wanted to retaliate but was frozen with fear.

Train Guy's phone rang before he could reply. He focused on Bald Man as he listened, and then said, "What would you have me do?" He paused and added, "My call." He shut down his phone and stared at Bald Man.

The train stopped. Even though it wasn't my station I wanted to get off. I gripped the pole to stand.

Train Guy shook his head. "This isn't your stop."

I stared at him wide-eyed, shocked he had taken note of my stop. I found my voice and whispered, "I'll get on the next train. Thank you."

He gave me an intense look and said, "Stay where you are."

I bit my lip and swallowed as his eyes strayed to my mouth. A pleasant shudder rippled in the pit of my stomach and before I realised, I found myself obeying him.

He yanked his head at Bald Man. "I need a word."

Bald Man smirked at me and said, "Maybe next time, baby."

I found some courage and muttered, "Piss off, creep."

Train Guy snickered, "I guess that means she's not interested, Stan." He gave Bald Man a light shove in the back as they walked into the next carriage.

I sighed in relief and turned in the opposite direction.

An old lady smiled across at me. "Are you all right, love?"

"Just a bit shaken." I put on a brave face and added, "What a creep?"

"That would never have happened in my day," she said. "It was nice to see someone with the courage to stand up to him." She smiled and added, "Nice looking boy, too."

*

When I crossed the car park, Percy sat by his door. He waved. "Hello, Jasmine."

He's a nice man who I'm sure is lonely. I felt bad about how I had treated him the day before so I beamed at him and returned his wave. A spicy aroma wafted in the air. "Are you cooking?" I asked.

"Yes, I make Vindaloo, you would like some?"

"Do you have enough?" I asked with a big smile.

"Oh yes, Jasmine. I make a lot when I am cooking. You will like it. Not very hot."

"Okay," I said. Do I have time for a shower?"

Percy grinned. "Yes, yes, yes. I will wait."

I showered, threw on tracksuit pants and a light jumper then flicked through my DVD collection and grabbed Pirates of the Caribbean.

Percy was waiting for me. He reminded me of an eager puppy. His large brown eyes glimmered as he smiled and said, "Come, you will sit here."

I held out the movie. "I brought a DVD I thought you might like."

Percy studied the cover and gushed, "One of my favourites."

"You've seen it?" I screwed up my face in question. I should have guessed because everyone I know loves this movie.

"Yes..." He beamed. "Once. It will be nice to watch it with you, Jasmine Baker."

Percy served me a huge portion of the best-tasting Vindaloo I've ever eaten. I swallowed a mouthful and said, "How is your taxi driving job going?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Australians are a strange people. It is very hard to understand a lot of what they say."

"Really?" I said, finding this hard to believe.

"Oh yes." Percy laughed some more. "Today a man said to me." Percy cleared his throat and then impersonated an Australian accent. "G-day Mate, I'm chucking a sickie and going to a barbie at Tomo's, so take us to the Bottle-O so I can pick up some coldies."

I laughed so hard that I nearly choked on my rice. Percy patted me on the back and poured me a glass of water. "You are so funny, Percy. That was a great Australian accent."

He looked at me with seriousness and said, "But what does it mean, Jasmine?"

I gave him a quizzical look. "Do you mean the accent?" I asked not understanding what he was asking.

"No. The words." Percy cocked his head. "I know G-day means, hello, but the rest is lost to me." Percy grinned. "The man got very annoyed when I missed the turn into the drive-through bottle shop."

"Oh," I said. "Chucking a sickie means he was pretending to be sick and having a day off work. A barbie is a barbeque. Tomo will be his friend's name and Bottle-O means the drive-through bottle shop. And coldies are cold beer."

"Ah, thank you, Jasmine." Percy jumped from his chair, grabbed a notebook and started to write. He smiled and said, "I'm writing a list of these words to remember them." When he was finished, he asked, "And you? How is your job going?"

I didn't want to talk about my work so brushed his question away and waved the movie. "Come on, let's clean the dishes away and watch this."

Percy spent more time staring at me than at the television screen. I wondered if I had a single friend who'd be perfect for him.

Bald Man is so rude. I would have freaked out if I was Jasmine.

It was good that Train Guy defended her.

Word Count - 1105

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