Having fallen for his trick, I blatantly accepted my fault and sat back down on the rock knowing that he had no intention of redirecting himself back inside where the party was actually being held anytime soon and I for one had no plans to return either. I was too reclusive but I guess that was what being stuck in complete isolation for a year did to you.

We were both stuck out under the moonlight together. It made me quite curious wondering what he was up to before he ran into me out here. Maybe I was over thinking it and the only reason he had left the mansion was to be courteous and not to pollute the air inside of the wretched smell and sight of smoke. But the thing was I would never probably never know. It wasn’t like he was going to voluntarily tell me.

As I started to scrutinize the way he acted, I began to think that he was definitely someone who hoarded more secrets than he was willing to tell. Although, that accounted for the majority of the population in the world.

His fingers fixed the collar of his shirt and he straightened the black tie around his neck. His suit was a bit larger for him, like he borrowed it from someone, but still, he managed to look pretty dashing in it. He had broad shoulders and a fit body that showed even through the thick material of his multiple layers of clothes.

“So why won’t you tell me your name?” I asked the fair stranger whose height proved to have a significant difference when compared to mine. “You’re not going to make me get onto my knees and plea, are you?”

He chuckled, running his thumb along his bottom lip and slowly a grin spread across his features. “No, that would be unpractical.” His smile became too wide for his face and I laughed. “Don’t you think I would have told you by now if I had wanted you to know?”

“But what’s in a name?”

“Much more than you would think,” He answered, crouching down by my side. When I titled my head, I immediately saw his radiant green eyes which stared back into mine and I felt my pulse quicken as he brought his palms up, cupping my face in his rough hands. “My identity is for me know and for you to find out.”

“Well that sounds so promising,” I responded sarcastically.

The faint trace of smoke laced his breath and I smelt it as he exhaled. His breathing was slow and sluggish but I was the complete opposite. Underneath the silence of the night, I felt my heart pounding against my chest not being able to anticipate what he had to say or do next. I thought it was the most noticeable thing ever, but he didn’t react at all.

He broke his gaze and his hands left my heated face finally. Sitting down onto the grass right beside me, he hugged his knees and stared out across the body of water which stayed still. “So,” He spoke slowly, his voice growling in a rasp. “What is a beautiful girl like you sitting out here with me for when she should be inside?”

I pretended to ignore the heat under my skin, turning my cheeks from a pale complexion to a horrid florid shade upon my cheeks. It was embarrassing that I was incapable of controlling emotions when he kept himself composed so easily without even breaking a sweat. If he were to have seen me blushing, I probably would have never heard the end of it.

Pulling my hair to the side, I pursed my lips and sighed heavily. “Shouldn’t I be able to ask the same of you?”

“Are you calling me beautiful then?” Twisting his neck around, he glanced back at me with a raised eyebrow and an overly confident yet sexy smirk etched on his face.

I didn’t understand how one person could be so many things at once. One second he was extremely clever and sly with his word choice and the way he interacted with me, but within the next he had the capability of completely taking my breath away with his actions.

As I stared down, I was able to wipe the smirk off of his face. He laughed at me and I immediately felt the need to defend myself even though there was no way I would be able to ever win against him. “That’s not what I meant.”

“No, I think that’s what you meant,” He argued. “I think you wanted to call me beautiful.”

“Are you always like this?” Our conversation shifted in a very subtle manner. Intuitively, I stood up and took steps to my left and then my right, pacing around. “Are you always so vain and self-centered?”

His eyes grew wide for a sudden moment but he proved to be very resilient to my words and it surprised me how quickly he was able to retaliate a response. “Are you always so stubborn?” He asked me as he stood up on his feet, following me around. He was hot on my heels until I stopped in my footsteps.

“I called you beautiful, why can’t you accept it? A thank you would be appreciated.” He grinned again with the jubilance of a five year old who had just gotten a lollipop written all over his wide smile that could be seen from a mile away.

Damn it.

“Thank you,” I spoke in a soft whisper, not quite sure what else to say even though I was quite flattered that he called someone as mundane as me, beautiful.

“That’s much more like it Adelaide.” My name sounded so much lovelier when he said it for some particular reason I found myself wanting to hear him say it again.

“We’ve been out here for quite a while,” He pointed out, scanning our surroundings as he said it. The colorful leaves having fallen from the branches of the trees flew around as the wind picked up. Night howled at us while we both stood right in front of each other, our proximity closer than it was before. The sky only seemed to be getting darker and it was becoming harder to see his eyes under the limited source of light.

“Yeah,” I muttered.

“I think someone’s going to realize you’re gone soon and I don’t want to be blamed for keeping you out here.” The wind picked up again and blew a few strands of my hair everywhere. After the breeze left, he looked at me before reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I followed close behind as we walked back towards the mansion together.

Notes

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