Enter Tim

Chloe was grocery shopping, humming a song to herself and just minding her own business. She was still buying for two people of course. Sean might be pretending to be non-existent in their flat but that was all it was, pretending. Sean was still there and still needed food and toiletries. If ever her future lover were to ask why she bought so much, she would just say it was because she wanted it that way.

Chloe was wearing a short black tank top complemented by waist-high short pants. Her top hugged her body and showed-off some cleavage of her modest breasts. She was braless that day. Her nipples poking through the fabric. Needless to say, it attracted the gaze of some of the men in the store who saw her and she knew it. She’d let them look. That was all they were getting.

“Chloe? Chloe, is that you?” A male voice said from behind Chloe.

Chloe turned around and spotted the source of the voice. It was a man holding onto a shopping cart halfway filled with supplies. The man was tall -- much taller than her actually. The top of her head had just barely reached his shoulders. Chloe knew this man. She and he were classmates back in high school and before that. They hadn’t seen each other since they had gotten their high school diplomas.

“Tim? Oh my goodness, I didn’t expect to see you here! Long time no see.” Chloe smiled, a little happy to see an old friend.

“Neither did I but it’s good to see a friend from high school,” Tim said and returned Chloe's smile, “It's been a while, hasn't it, Chloe?”

Chloe remembered Timothy, or just plain Tim, from those days. A tall yet lanky looking boy with messy blond hair in need of a good combing. His blue eyes often looked bored in and out of class. His face showed a lack of interest in anything. He was the quiet guy of the group, the one who kept to himself most of the time, the boy who kept his head down and avoided drawing too much attention to himself. He was like the fly on the wall that nobody seemed to noticed or care about. But Tim apparently to thrived on that.

Chloe didn't have that much interactions with him. But she knew he was the reliable and diligent sort. More than a few times she was in a group project with him. Tim would do a lot of the initial work without anyone's notice or knowledge. Everyone else just seemed to follow his lead after that. Sometimes it resulted in a good grade. Sometimes not so much. Admittedly, she was never close or even good friends with Tim. He was just a little too withdrawn for Chloe's liking at the time. And while she had nothing against the guy, she found him to be an uninteresting person.

However the Tim she knew was not the same Tim who was standing before her. At least, not physically. It had been years since they last saw each other so she wondered what else has changed about him.

“And I’ve got to say you are looking fine and dandy.” Tim said casually.

If there was one thing Chloe knew and it was this: the Tim she remembered hardly complimented anyone. Chloe was no stranger to compliments but coming from Tim, that had counted for something, right? However Chloe wasn’t quite sure if he was complimenting her physical appearance or her general well-being.

“You’re not looking bad yourself,” she responded.

His once wild hair had been trimmed and neatly combed. He had appeared more mature because of it. His face, once a depiction of boredom, was more gentle-looking. His eyes had optimism and kindness in them and it made him look approachable. He was lanky in the past. But at the present, he seemed to be on the healthy side of things and has a fairly athletic build. But with his long sleeves and his jeans, she wouldn’t be able to confirm that until she had gotten him to undress. All in all, he was pleasing to the eye.

And speaking of eyes, Chloe didn't fail to notice how Tim was looking at her. She saw how his eyes briefly trailed up and down her person and took in the sight of her. He was checking her out and was trying to catch glimpses of her cleavage. She smiled at having caught his attention. The Tim from back then barely looked at her. Then a light bulb lit up and Chloe smiled. But first she needed to know a few things about him and it would start with a certain finger on his left hand.

So her sight discreetly travelled to it. There she will come to find...

(switching's note: The succeeding chapters are where important branches start happening. The ones with the best reception will be given priority focus.)