My father’s harsh voice snapped me out of my haze, ruining the cocoon around us. “Sapphire!” I shivered and glanced down, but not before noticing anger in the mysterious stranger’s amber eyes. “Come back inside now. Benjamin is here with his family, and Erik would like to talk to you.”
My hands clenched, and bile rose in my throat at the thought of meeting Erik again. We were the same age and grew up together. I considered him a great friend until he started touching me inappropriately and didn't stop, no matter how many times I asked. Since my family loved him, the easiest way for me to deal with it was to ignore him, which I had done for the last year.
Clearing my throat, I replied in a steady voice, “Coming.” Then I stood up and was about to say goodbye to my midnight stranger when he grabbed my hand and stopped me. My eyes found his and a shiver ran through me at his words.
“This is not the end.”
Once I nodded, he let go of me and I quickly made my way inside, putting a fake smile on my face yet again.
Sapphire
“Stop crying. You’ll ruin your makeup,” Sophie nagged, and I just rolled my eyes, despite the tears that were slowly sliding down my cheeks.
“Who cares, Soph? The moment was so beautiful.”
She took out a tissue from her purse and gave it to me. I tried to blow my nose into it as quietly as possible.
“It’s lame. I can’t believe you made me watch it. I hate romances.”
It was true. She usually preferred horrors and dragged me with her a couple of times, after which I had lots of awful nightmares. Shudders ran through my body remembering some of the scary scenes in those movies.
The lights came on, people stood up to leave the theater, and Sophie exhaled a loud breath of relief. “Finally.” Her high heels clicked softly on the floor as she was going down to the exit, and a few men admired the curve of her ass. Not that it was anything out of the norm.
Sophie was beautiful, in a model kind of way. She had long legs, a fit body, and wavy raven hair that fell down her back that was made into some hairdo, which made it look thicker. Her vivid, emerald-green eyes stood out with her tanned skin. She was never in short supply of men. I used to be jealous, especially when we were growing up and I discovered men didn't really like curves, but I snapped out of it quickly. I wasn't a bitch, and being jealous of your friend was a bitch move. Not that I was hideous-looking or anything, but I was not the type men generally found attractive.
Well, at least in my experience.
I was medium height and had an hourglass figure, and as a result, I usually wore skirts and dresses. Sometimes people teased that I should have been born in the 1950s, but I never found that amusing. I had D-cup breasts, a narrow waist, wide hips, and good legs. My hair was thick, curly, and long. Sometimes I wanted to cut some off, but no hairdresser would oblige as they said it would “ruin” such beauty. They thought I had a rare hair color that was shiny in its own way and was somewhere between dark brown and black—the color, apparently, millions of women wanted to have, but found hard to achieve. My eyes were crystal blue. My parents initially named me Caitlyn then decided to change it to Sapphire and kept my original first name as my middle one.
Not that anyone saw much of my eyes anyway, since they were covered in glasses with black frames. I used to wear contacts, but they were expensive, and lately, there wasn't any money to spare.
Sophie reached the gate, watching me impatiently. It always took me ages to come down the stairs after the movie, because she preferred to sit in the last row, and I had a problem with hurrying down stairs in high heels.
“Seriously, Sapphire, how come you still don’t know how to do it quicker? It’s not like you walk without them.”
“Because it’s hard for some people, and at work I wear flats. I have to wear heels with you. Otherwise, I look like a dwarf.” My curves and short height next to a gorgeous friend? Yeah, so not happening.
“Stop wearing flats to work then.”
“Funny,” I murmured, and we finally made it outside. I took a deep breath of fresh air. It was Friday night and the middle of summer, and the weather was magnificent. Strangely, New York wasn't as busy or occupied as usual. I loved the city, the magic of it, and the happiness it provided me. Some people complained about it being dangerous and too crowded, but that just made me shrug.
If they didn't like it, they could move.
Rude, I knew that.
But it was the truth.
For some reason, my mind was restless lately, as though something was about to happen. In addition, a feeling of being watched wouldn’t leave my gut. My hair stood up on the back of my neck, and uncomfortable goosebumps ran over my skin. I put my hand on my waist over the belt around my blue skater dress. The belt helped emphasize my body and didn't make it look like one big mass of breasts. I wore nude heals and held a red purse, which added a splash of color to my outfit.