Cast & Fall (33 page)

“
Yes…and
everything was fine with the neurologist.”

“
I’m
so glad to hear that…Is your father here?”

“
No,
he had some prior engagements, but he sent his regards,” I said
politely. It sounded like a lie, though, I wasn’t sure if the
excuse would justify. The truth of the matter was, Steve hated
dressing up for occasions such as these. He had already sent in his
contributions and that was about how far he’d go with the
social.

Before
my mother died, the two of them went to all the social dances and all
the charity balls held in South Carolina. They were quite
distinguished when it came to their dancing abilities—that was
the old Steve…the new Steve was quite happy watching the game
with his buddy, Doug—that part wasn’t necessarily a bad
thing. Doug was a great friend. But, Steve had avoided certain things
that he’d enjoyed in the past because it reminded him so much
of my mother and their old life. I wouldn’t dare force my
father to come. He dealt with my mother’s death on his own, and
I could never blame him for what he needed to do to overcome the
loss.

“
Thank
You, Katheryna for helping with the Charity Ball. Like always, you
did a phenomenal job,” he said as they excused themselves to
mingle with their friends
and
colleagues that were also involved with the charity.

As
I looked at everyone’s faces, my heart interrupted me. Erratic
doesn’t begin to cover all the mixed emotions wrapped inside my
thoughts. From across the room, I saw
him
.
His all too familiar profile caught my eye. His hair slightly
different, subtly smoothed and slicked to the back.

As
I strode toward him, my heart began to thump, louder, stronger. It
would seem like in all the movies I’ve seen and all the books
I’ve read, the attraction was always so intense in the
beginning. But this was different. This certainly wasn’t new. I
knew him somehow. I hyperventilated and took a long deep breath,
feeling weak at the mere thought of his presence. I stared at him
with questions hovering in my head; how did this gorgeous, ethereal
stranger came to be…? A black, Venetian mask, covered the
Mediterranean sea of his majestic, mysterious eyes.

Oh,
the mysteries of those eyes, I gasped…the deep ocean that
threatens to swallow me. He wore a black tuxedo, perfectly pressed
and fitted. His white collared shirt, perfectly creased. I stopped
halfway, admiring him.

He
was flawlessly handsome, composed, polite and perfect in every human
way. He moved with such grace, stood tall, and always in perfect
posture. Suddenly, his eyes found mine.

Then.

There
was no one—but him and I.

Everything
and everyone seemed to have vanished from a far distance.

Then
I noticed, three women stood next to him in fascination. I could
never quite figure out, how he could stare at me and carry a whole
conversation with three women without being brusque. He had such a
finesse with people—an allure that only someone celestial
possessed.

Those
kind eyes—
I
saw a side of him that I always knew existed. He always saw himself
differently than what he is—someone with a heart and not a
monster that he always portrayed and saw himself to be. I didn’t
need to read his thoughts to know who he was.

He
stared in silence, mumbling under his breath as if he were speaking
to me. He glided, closing the distance between us, as he excused
himself politely from the giggling women. Scrambling for coherency
while his presence and stare, scattered my now too tangled thoughts,
I smiled brightly as he came and stopped a foot from me.

“
You
see you’re quite a catch when you’re not deliberately
running people scared,” I teased. He smiled curling his lips,
showing the curve that I adore so much.

“
You
look…very dashing tonight. Actually, you look dashing…always.”
I felt the emotion of my words as It slipped out of my lips—strong
and vulnerable. Heat flooded my cheeks.

“
Well,
thank You.” His eyes swept the flooded color and briefly
touched them delicately with his fingers. He flashed a huge grin this
time, before setting his
perfectly
smooth lips back to a fine line. I could never make him embarrassed,
not even a
blush
.
I couldn’t expect a human response I suppose.

“
Well,
now…
you
…
on
that dress and that mask…” He flashed his eyes on me
from head to toe. I flushed, as his stare flirted with me; I wasn’t
sure if it was intentional or not.

“
You
know, I only have
weaknesses
for you, it’s hardly fair,” a teasing smile erupted.
His
eyes, so translucent pierced through me. His velvet voice sunk into
me deeper. It took me a long while to recover.

“
Hmm,
the thought of that, what girl wouldn’t want to be me?” I
whispered, still feeling too disoriented from the hold of his words.
A hint of dark cloud passed his face. His eyes pained. As soon as I
uttered the words, I quickly regretted them. Only Tristan, could make
me so intensely happy, extremely sad and afraid all at the same time;
e
very
hidden fear in his eyes, every pain, every doubt that lingered, sends
a fear in me like wildfire that threatened my very soul.

He
seemed to have processed my comment rather quickly and decided to
brush off his negative reaction. His eyes lit again, but his crooked
smile gave him away. I slowly pulled him to the kitchen, trying to
make him forget about my comment and possibly, lighten his too
fragile mood.

“
I
want to introduce you to my friends,” I said. His expression
cooler now and I saw a hint of hopeful possibility in his reassuring
smile.

“
Okay,
but first things first.” From his pocket he pulled out a medium
sized, red velvet box and put it on my palm.

“
Here…open
it,” he said. His eyes smiled in anticipation.

“
What’s
this? It’s not my birthday.” My eyes raked from the box,
back to his brightly lit face.

“
It’s
a gesture,” he said coolly.

“
A
gesture?” I said, with a little and composed enthusiasm. I
placed the box on my right palm and gently opened it to find...an
oval shaped red ruby necklace. I was out for words.
This
was some serious surprise
.
I pulled the shiny
thing
out
of the box to assess it briefly. I couldn’t seem to find my
emotions for this generous gift.

I
slowly lifted my hair as he put them on. As soon as the cold gem
touched my skin, an overflow of emotions flooded through me.
Suddenly, my heart stopped at the thought of realizing the cost of
this necklace. If it were from some other person giving me this kind
of jewelry, It would have not occurred to me that this precious gem
was nothing more than an accessory piece.

“
I
love it…thank you…but…I’m not sure if I
can
afford
to
accept it.” He squinted his eyes like he was waiting for an
explanation.

“
It
must be very expensive,” I finally said—almost a
scolding.

“
Well…I
didn’t exactly buy it…I found it on one of my…well…long
trips and now had it made as a necklace for you,” he admitted.

“
I
believe, it’s a very rare Burma ruby.”
Who
finds a rare ruby on a trip?
my
emotion swirled around—still feeling disoriented by everything
that’s laid in front of me—as if his mere presence wasn’t
some miracle that literally came from
heaven
…
and
now this—

He
took a deep breath. “Please Katheryna…will you accept
it?…I’d like to give you something.” My heart
suddenly melted at the thought of what it meant…what it meant
to him; It wasn’t so much the gift itself that I loved—though
the stone was truly stunning—but it was more because, he cared
about me and he wanted to show me in a way that I understood—a
gesture, as he had put it—a human gesture. And as casual as
that sounded, it meant to me more than the gift itself.

Suddenly,
my lips were on his, as I gave my own gesture of gratitude. He’d
only had to finally pull back, for me to realize where we were at. My
face flushed warm after realizing my public display was way over the
top. And as reason and restraint
returned
to me reluctantly, he extended his hand. “Shall we?” I
couldn’t immediately
respond,
still feeling too disoriented from the kiss. Cheeks still flushed. I
was immobile.

He
chuckled before he took my left hand and gently anchored it and
placed it on his right arm. He led us out on a massive backyard. I
found myself gazing at him without meaning to, caught on my thoughts
of him again in my head. He eyed me pleasantly.

“
What?”
he mumbled. His eyes full of curiosity—fascinated by my
thoughts no doubt.

“
It’s
just that…well…for being…
not
human…you
do the human things so well.” My face was hot. His reaction
told me that he figured what I was getting at.

“
Hmm,”
he said with a pause, as he worked his way into an explanation. I
waited patiently.

“
I’m
not sure…but I’m glad you think so,” he grinned
this time. But my curiosity was just a thought. It didn’t take
long for me to realize what I already knew. He was good at
everything. The best at everything.

As
we made our way outside, I felt a chill in the air. He politely took
off his coat and placed it on my shoulders.

“
Hi,
Katheryna,” an echo of familiar voices rung in the air; Sam,
Avril, Airi, Michella, Sue and even Becca were all huddled together.
Some of the guys were there too—Rob, Adam, Al and Ryan; the
guys looked great in their suits and the girls, amazing in their
gowns.

Everyone’s
eyes automatically glided to him in fascination—his allure
didn’t escape their curious scrutiny. Their eyes opened wide. I
wondered briefly, if somehow, they knew that he was someone
different, someone wonderful and amazing.

“
Um,
this is Tristan,” I said. He shook everyone’s hand as
they introduced themselves. Becca who obviously already knew him,
secretly winked at me.

“
Katheryna,
you’re necklace is beautiful,” Sam noticed after her
not-so-subtle reaction to Tristan had finally settled. Everyone
admired it briefly, obviously not realizing that they were holding a
piece of fortune in their hands, and that, I was also standing next
to an angel…well, a
fallen
angel
.
The thought dizzied me. It was simply too much. Tristan only had to
balance me steady to keep me from tripping over my thoughts and
possibly passing out.

After
a while, Sam pulled me from a distance, still dazed with fascination
and was obviously trying to dig more information. But before her
interrogations could start, Tristan was next to me. “Excuse me
ladies…may I have this dance?” his right hand gestured
to take mine and I gave it so eagerly. He twirled me slowly and
locked my body to his.

“
Did
I tell you, I missed you already?” The endearment dripped too
passionately from his voice. I smiled at the words. “A human
line?”

“
It
might be human, but it still holds true.”

Our
bodies locked now in an embrace, while our eyes met. The music played
in the background as he held my hand with his and anchored the other
around my waist.

“
How’s
this for being…
not
human!” he
said, as he spun me once again and locked me back to him. Dancing
with him was like drowning in exhilaration and I didn’t want to
come up for air. His intoxicating scent filled my nose. He must know
the affect he has on me—my mind and body entangled in euphoria.
He brushed his lips behind my ear very softly, skimming my skin with
his nose.

The
music echoed and I was lost in the bliss. I was lost in him. Then, he
kissed me very slowly and delicately. I held my breathing evenly. I
didn’t want it to end. But he let go quickly. I was somehow
glad that he was better at this than I was. I’m simply unable
to stop when it comes to kissing him.