Shelli looked down at the wallet on the ground and then at all the people who were parting around her and then merging back into a sea of pedestrians in front of her again.

It looked brand new, the finest leather with golden trim around the edges. The guy who dropped it must either be wealthy or simply fancied nice looking wallets. Should she pick it up, she asked herself.

Or should she just leave it there and walk away?

No one else seemed to even notice it lying on the ground but then again it was Friday afternoon which meant that more attention would be paid weekend plans than on fallen objects.

Shelli noticed it because she planned to hole up in her studio apartment with her thesis and pound out the abstract by Monday. She stood there biting her lip as the traffic milled around her. If she did pick it up, she could just drop it off at a nearby police station, yes that sounded like a plan. Then again, maybe she should check for identification first inside it and if the guy lived close by, she could just drop it off in his mailbox.
She'd never give it to him directly. No, she had to be cautious after all, living in a major city with over three million people including some deviants. The bell tolled the hour at the nearby church and before it finished, she had stooped down and picked it up in a fluid movement then tucked it into her bag. She looked around to see if anyone had seen her or believed she had stolen it, but everyone's eyes remained focused ahead. She navigated her way through the crowd and ducked into a coffee shop filled with people crowding the counter.

But she stayed in the corner pulling the wallet out of her bag, her back to the crowd. She stroked the stiff leather and brought it to her face to sniff its newness. The label boasted an expensive brand name and she knew its owner would definitely miss it, after she opened it up and saw the line of credit cards.

Ah, and a driver's license, a guy couldn't get too far without that. It belonged to a Brock Callantine who lived just around the corner and whose photo on his license didn't do him justice.

His face looked too serious, his eyes too solemn although his shock of dark hair on his head looked perfect for a woman to run her hands through…not that Shelli had any thoughts of course.

She just had plans to return his wallet to him. Without running into him of course, all she had to do was walk to his place, drop it in his mailbox and be on her way home to spend the night with her laptop computer, a stack of books and plenty of tea.
After she settled on a plan, she left the coffee shop and walked down the sidewalk around the corner to his apartment building. She saw it quickly; it looked as if it had been a hotel once during a shinier era. The door stood open so she went inside the building and she saw the number of his apartment door, but where were the mailboxes? She glanced around and didn't see them anywhere.

Damn, she needed to return his wallet but if she couldn't find a slot to anonymously slip it inside of that meant she might have to do it in person. So she took a deep breath and walked to the door to try knocking. She did that tentatively at first and then rapped on the wood more sharply.
Nothing happened, oh well maybe he wasn't home. She realized she could always try mailing it to him. But when she was about to leave, the door suddenly opened and a man stood there watching her.

Her jaw just fell open and the wallet nearly out of her hand because he just looked so hot, dressed in faded jeans and a long sleeved sweater rolled up to his elbows. He smiled at her gesturing to the wallet.

"Oh you found it. I was just on the phone to the police but then I thought someone might return it, though not as pretty as you."
She felt her skin heat up and she handed it to him.

"It looked like you might need it."

His fingers felt tantalizing the way they brushed her own in passing.

"Come in…I have a reward for finding it."

She bit her lip, hesitant, because she really didn't know him. But he looked sexy so maybe if she got to know him, they wouldn't be strangers.
After stepping across the threshold onto his turf, she looked up at him.

"Okay I'm here…what have you got?"

He smiled before he slipped his arms around her so quick, yet so stealth and pulled her closer to him. The scent of his cologne surrounded her as the warmth of his embrace. But his mouth, it brushed her lips, intoxicating her breath and then his lips deepened their probing of her mouth.
Oh God, she thought as her body shivered because the man could kiss and his tongue gently circled her mouth leaving a trail of burn. Her body jolted, but she found her hands resting on his hips as she responded by exploring him with her own mouth before she could stop herself.
After all, moments like this didn't come often for her. In fact they didn't come at all.

An eternity passed, a lifetime lived it felt like while they kissed but when they broke finally, it had less than a minute. Her lips still tasted of him, her heart thumped against her chest. He smiled and then traced his finger along her mouth.

"Thank you for returning my wallet and you could stay a while and we could explore this further…"

She gazed at him before she decided with another kiss.

"Sure, why not?"

And just like that, she fell under his spell.