Watching the shadows dance never gets old for Stacy. Some people were born natural night owls she was definitely one of those people. When the moon rose and the shadows came alive always made her heart fall in love with the darkness and she gladly accepted the serene stillness as the dark came alive. It was surreal for her in an inexclibale way that only she could understand.
Stacy has always been drawn to the night. Full moons were always her favorite. She loved how the moon beams snuck through the tree branches and illuminated small patches of the forest and when the winds blew gently the branches would sway creating the dance of shadows that calmed her.
Seeing in the dark always came easy for Stacy. She assumed that her eyes just acclimated to the dark because she always seen or noticed what her friends didn't see. It was a peculiar trait that could be deduced by logical thinking.
A slight breeze interrupted her peace with a sudden realization that her 18th birthday was in a few days. It was a dreadful thought because her mother was planning an eleborate birthday party that frankly, she didn't need. Stacy didn't really want to entertain a bunch of people that she didn't know because her mother insisted on a stupid birthday party. It was just down right ridiculous. Stacy was introverted and her idea of a birthday party is a good book, a good candle, a hot cup of chamomile and honey tea and be left alone to curl up in her favorite comfy chair. It wasn't much to ask for.
The time around her birthday always threaded her heart with pain. Every year for as long as she could remember whenever her mom asked her what she wanted for her birthday it was the same answer. She wanted to know about her dad, and every year it was the same answer, it wasn't important information. Two years ago she stopped asking, was there even a point?
Stacy didn't grow up in poverty nor did she grow up wealthy. It was a simple comfortable life in a community outside of town, in a common style ranch, nothing outrageous and very ordinary. She went to a public highschool, kept to herself, and preferred to have no friends. Designer clothes, fancy handbags, and dances held no interest to her. What's the point of all that? She was there to get an education not to compete for prom queen.
"Anastasia!" Damn it..her serenity was stabbed by the shrill call of her name. "Mom, don't call me by that. You know I go by Stacy. I've been going by Stacy my whole life." This aggravated Stacy beyond words. The anger started swelling in her chest, this is the one thing that her mom knew pissed her off. She hated the name Anastasia, absolutely hated it. The name brought her back to bad memories of teasing and bullying in grade school. The other kids would call her 'The lost princess' and a slew of other names. The horror of her grade school years is what turned her inward and caused her introverted nature.
Stacy looked up at her mom to see her kneeling, trembling, with cold sweat dripping onto the pavement. "Mom!" She shouted as she scrambled to her mom's side. This is the first time she ever seen her mother so shaken. As she reached for her phone to call for an ambulance "St..Stacy it's ok. I just thought I was gonna be sick, help me to my room please". Please? What the hell is that about?!
Lenora was never the most polite woman. Always was blunt, one of those tell you how it is women. Sure she would say thank you and wasn't necessarily rude, but please? Stacy lay in her bed pondering the odd behavior of her mother. It's just weird and out of character. Ugh...her bladder announced an urgency that she needed to go the bathroom.
With her eyesight able to adjust to the darkness with ease so there was no need to turn on any lights. Adding the softness of the carpet made it easy to move throughout the house without disturbing her mom. When Stacy entered the bathroom she did what she needed to do as she was washing her hands she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. A small bright silver light caught her attention.
Startled, Stacy flipped the light on and looked into the mirror. What she seen was her normal green eyes. She always loved her eyes, the soft green complimented her amber hair. Though she wasn't considered super model beautiful, she was very pretty. Her facial features were soft and inviting. Stacy's nose small and proportionate, she like the way she looked. Her few friends tried to encourage her that she could have any guy at school, but she just wasn't interested.
She turned the light off and there it was again, that little glimmer of light. Stacy leaned forward and looked closely. There it was, a small shimmer in her right eye. Almost like there was a piece of glitter was on her pupil. Panic arose in her stomach as the possibility of something seriously wrong.
Stacy dashed to her mother's room and just as she was about to knock, she heard her mother's voice...
"Julian, we have a problem"
Julian? Who was that? That was the first time Stacy had ever heard that name. She pressed her ear to the door and tried to listen more but she couldn't make out any words in the muffled whisper. Feeling dejected she crept to her room with thoughts swimming in her head about all the peculiar events that happened this evening.
As Stacy drifted off to sleep her thoughts shifted to that damned birthday party. She gave up arguing with her mom about it. It was a battle that she couldn't win. Her mother insisted that the party was her introduction to the world, similar to a debutante ball. To Stacy, it was all unnecessary and a waste of time.
The next few days was a whirlwind of final dress fittings and speaking with vendors. Lenora was busy frantically making phone calls and frequently leaving the house to add the final touches. That evening Lenora brought home the dress. The dress was the only thing that Stacy loved about the party.
Oh that dress! It was a flared A Line dress with a sweetheart heart neckline. The hem of of the dress was a navy blue with crystals sewn in and when she moved it looked like stars were clinging to her. The navy ombred up word fading into a light silver. When she wore it, it felt like she was apart of the night sky.
The event was held at the Pack Ten. An exclusive resort that Stacy knew it was expensive, she didn't want to know about how long in advance her mom reserved the ballroom and the cost...she figured that the cost alone could put several students through top tier universities.
Stacy exited the limousine carefully and studied the architecture of the exterior of the Pack Ten. It was a beautiful, modern, elegant building that she wishes she could have the ability to design it herself. She sighed in wonderment of it all. The unease and nervousness was creeping it's way into her mind and she knew that she had to get herself under control. This is the one time that she couldn't embarrass her mother. She would never hear the end of it.
Stacy inhaled deeply as she steadied her nerves. This one last time she would have to endure her mother. On Monday morning she would leave for her internship at Moon River Architecture firm. She was excited for this because the internship provided everything she would need for the summer a room, food, and she would get paid. Only one or two got accepted each year and this would look great on her resume.
As she stepped into the ballroom the scene before her took her breath away. The decorations were navy and silver, matching her dress perfectly. Behind the head table there was a wall of French doors adorned by silver and navy curtains that flowed gently with the breeze. Beyond that there was an alluring garden of white roses and fairy lights. It was if walking through a dream.
Lenora made a scene of parading Stacy around introducing her to names and faces that she was sure she would never remember again. She caught the eyes of her few friends, Ryan and Megan and made her way to them. Before Megan could say how amazing she looked, Lenora was at her side grasping her elbow " Darling come, I want you to meet..." Stacy tuned her mother out and rolled her eyes towards Megan. "We will catch up later" Stacy said as her mother pulled her away.
Finally Lenora announced that dinner was ready to be served. Stacy didn't pay attention to what was on her plate. She was already mentally drained and the evening still had dancing and cocktail hour left to go. Stacy sighed and started looking around the room for Ryan or Megan and her eyes landed on him.
Her breath caught in her throat as she focused on the man at the bar. He was so handsome, like movie star handsome. The raven black hair is was caught her first, then his eyes. She felt her world begin to tilt at those bright blue eyes. She started to wonder what it feel like staring into those eyes while caressing his muscles and locking his lips onto hers.
My God, he was gorgeous. The way his eyes eyes sparkled when he laughed. The way his suit clinged to him. The way she knew she would fit perfectly in his arms. Stacy imagined wrapping her legs around his waist, they way he would feel inside her. That lip ring was begging to be sucked and his tattoos needed to be licked until she could reach all of them. The sent of coconut fill her nostrils, arousing her completely.
Stacy gasped as he slowly tilted his head and smirked at her and nodded. "I need air!" She abruptly stood up and turned into the garden rushing to feel the night air so her head can be cleared. This was not her! She never had thoughts like this and had no clue where they came from. Stacy was so ashamed of having these thoughts that were all consuming.she needed to get out of that room now.