James
Darkness. In the surrounding room, I saw nothing. I waited to see if my eyes would adjust, but as the minutes' tick by, I still only look out into an endless sea of black. Something stirred on my right that caused me to jump. With my startle a small gasp that escaped my throat. More time passed by before my breathing calmed back down. I reached my hand into the unknown to feel what may have been beside me. Quivering my hand moved through the blinding abyss, fingers shaking. The noise that came from my throat next was twice as loud as the gasp that had escaped it earlier. I screeched at the feel of a body, cold to my fingers, laying here beside me. I sat there and was trying to collect myself, mind racing, and go back over the events that led up to this moment…
I buried my head underneath my navy-blue comforter as the sun, streamed through my window. The intrusive light bursting through my window flooding my bedroom with rays colored multiple shades of yellow. I moaned in protest at the intrusion of sunlight. I tossed and turned finally I gave up and swung my bare feet onto the white-speckled Berber carpet. I gave my toes a wiggle, looking down admiring my freshly painted French pedicure. My pink plaid cotton pajama bottoms fell around my ankles as I stood and stretched, extending my arms to the sky, or as close as my 5'5" frame would allow. After my morning stretch, I glanced over to my clock and read the red numbers. "Seven in the morning, I am awake an hour earlier than necessary," I thought. Being a naturally motivated individual, I only shrugged and went into my kitchen to start my day with a bowl of cereal. Each day was a good one because I loved living in my little humble abode. My house was in a centralized location and a wonderful place to live. My two-bedroom townhouse was in the North Knoxville area and came at a great rental price. The white Berber carpet speckled and still flawless. My black granite countertops offset the white grouted tile floors. The 1700 square foot space had six rooms in total: a master bedroom with a walk-in closet, a second bedroom made into my office. The living room, kitchen, and a bath and a half with an off-white Jacuzzi tub, complete with jets to soothe away those difficult days. Outside, my backyard had plenty of space surrounded by a tall wooden privacy fence. This was heaven for my two-year-old back male German Shepard, Thor. My black female cat, Aria, a name like my own, ruled inside. I arrived in my kitchen where I snapped out of my daydreaming lost in admiration of my house. I prepared my cereal and sat in one of my barstool chairs to eat my bowl of Raisin Bran.
Today was one of my rare days off. I worked at an exclusive country club most of my weekends. I served alcohol to the affluent society in Knoxville, and to those that would venture to these parts, be it for vacation or permanent living. During the week I assisted a veterinarian in the small town of Halls.
My love life for the last three years was spent with a homicide detective for Knoxville Police Department. Our relationship worked around our busy schedules, so we usually planned our days off centered around each other. Our plans generally consisted of dinner and a movie, going back and forth watching one at the theatre and in one of our homes. We changed up and sometimes would attend a concert, or a special event that came to town. Our vacations were always about two weeks in the spring and two more in the summer basking on an island drinking a fruity umbrella drink.
My thoughts of delicious Italian food and cheesecake were rudely interrupted by My sound of cell phone ringing. The Kill Bill whistle ringtone was chosen to have a ringtone ensuring I would never miss an important phone call. I strolled over and picked the Galaxy up from my coffee table and saw on the caller ID my boyfriend Mark was the culprit on the other end of the line. "Hey baby," I answered with a chipper voice filled with anticipation for the long-awaited evening ahead. "Hey honey," he replied with his usual sweet voice mixed with a slight tone of authority. "Ariyanna, let me begin by saying I am so sorry, but I have to finish these reports on those murders in the Old City." He paused awaiting my response, hearing nothing from me, he continued. "I promise I will make it up to you. "I huffed, taking the softness out of my own voice, and replaced it with my words spoken in a more calloused tone. "No Mark actually that's not ok. You know you and I have busy schedules and these sporadic dates are ones we don't break." I noticed that at some point my voice took a turn and was moving towards a whiney tone rather than a serious one. "Mark, it's been three years, and we are at a standstill and not moved for over six months." Mark breathed out loud, "Ariyanna, don't do this, we are both professionals and love our field of work. One of the reasons I fell in love with you is we have that in common." "But Mark," I protested. Keep in mind our committed devotion to our work gives us little free time to cherish each other." Mark cut me off, "Ariyanna, come on now, what about those canceled nights you had an emergency that walked in the door at closing time?" "What?!!" I screeched. "Please God tell me you're joking, "my voice hardened to match his. "I have breathing life on my table. By the time you find your patients, they are already dead, and you're not racing against time to save them." I gasped out loud, realizing the words I had spoken to my beloved. "Oh no Mark, I am so, sorry. I didn't mean that. You understand that it's just... "Ariyanna," Mark interjected, "I gotta go. We will continue this discussion at another time as for now I have to catch a killer in the first 48." With that, my phone went dead. I sat there stunned at my harshness and blatant coldness towards the importance of his job. It has always been a struggle for me to have compassion for humans. I cursed under my breath. I went back to the kitchen and dumped the rest of my cereal down in the disposal. I flipped the switch and watched it disintegrate down the sink. My phone rang making my heart skip. I was hoping that I could salvage the three-year relationship I had thrown down the drain. Once I picked up the phone and looked at the caller's identity, I rolled my eyes and answered, 'Hey Ryan, what's going on? My boss of the country club asked me with a panicked voice, "I need you tonight for a couple of hours, you free?" I blew my breath out, "sure am now, what time?" "Eight o'clock." Then, the familiar sound of my phone line going dead. I looked on my navy-blue couch where I saw my black fur ball curled up. Her usual practice she is sleeping a part of her 18-hour cat sleeping time per day. I smiled as I spoke to the feline, "Aria, you have it so easy. As my grandfather used to say, 'some cats have it fairly good in this country." I gave my black ball of fur a little scratch on her head and walked upstairs to get dressed. I pulled up to the valet in my black Jeep Wrangler and placed the truck in park. I hopped out, tossed the valet attendant my keys. With a quick smile, I walked inside where I saw my boss standing there waiting. Ryan had a height of about six feet, a bronzed complexion, which offset his wavy dirty blonde hair. His look complimented our polo and khakis we wore as the standard uniform. His face lit up as he clapped his hands together at the sight of me, he mouthed the words, "thank you." I nodded in his direction and then made my way behind the bar. My shift was over almost as soon as it started. But, instead of going home, as usual, I took a seat at the bar and ordered a Miller Lite on Draft. I scrunched my nose as I took a drink of the mind-altering yellow liquid topped off with a white cloud of foam. I usually never drink, but then again, I rarely end heartbreaking relationships either. I sat there drowning in my sorrows, staring into my mug. I was so immersed in my world of self-pity I didn't notice that someone took a seat beside me. "You know you shouldn't drink on the job," the stranger said, tone low and seductive. His voice caught my attention. "I'm not too sure what the rules may be, but they may fire you, even someone as beautiful as yourself." I rolled my eyes thinking to myself, "way to be an original buddy." I took a breath as I postured myself to turn on the charm for one of my potential future tippers. He could be like the others who sat alone drowning their sorrows in the frosty mugs filled with the golden liquid poison of their choice. I fixed a coy smile on my face and turned my barstool. I seductively crossed my legs through the turn, to face off with my newfound friend at the bar. I was three-quarters of the way through the turn when flipped one of my brown locks over my shoulder. I stopped caught off guard gawking at this stranger; mouth agape with drool falling out. I see a variety of individuals daily. Many of the beautiful and I believed I was impervious to the charisma and good looks of the opposite sex. Yet, this was the exception to the rule. The vision in front of me had dark hair with a few locks falling. His skin was flawless. His body had the perfect amount of muscle, not little or thin, nor bulky and overbearing. I sat there rendered speechless as I took in the breathtaking beauty of the man sitting beside me. He helped me through this awkward circumstance, with his slow deliberate movement. He lifted his head revealing candle lit brown eyes. He smiled, perfect teeth and white as the snow that carries a brightness that blinds you as it reflects off the sun. "My name is James," he said with a half-cocked grin. A few seconds ticked by before I finally found my voice. "Mine's Ariyanna," I squeaked, flipping another one of my brown locks over my shoulder. "Come on, get it together Ariyanna." I thought to myself as I shifted on the barstool trying to keep a relaxed looking appearance. "Ariyanna," James said, "that name is perfect." I noted the unusual comment but said nothing. "So Ariyanna," James continued, is this a usual habit? You know… drinking alone at the end of the bar?" Flustered, I stammered out, "Oh goodness no, not at all." He raised an eyebrow waiting to hear the rest of the story that tied to my "denial." "Idiot," I thought to myself. "Now I must explain this strange behavior, giving answers to a stranger about the events that led me here. What the heck is wrong with me? I finally took a deep breath. I prayed the rise and fall of my chest would divert his attention from my idiotic behavior. "Well," I began. To be honest with you today has been full of surprises." "Any good ones?" he responded voice dripping with sarcasm, as he lifted his glass to his lips to sip out of his mug. I blushed as a response, and thought, "unreal!" This man is looking straight ahead oblivious of my actions. I was acting like a girl that has a crush in high school. I must have fallen and hit my head and gone, idiot." I glanced around to be sure that none of my fellow workers happened to be witnessing this horrid event. Once I finished scanning the room, my attention came back to my new acquaintance to see he was staring dead at me. As his eyes intensified, he smiled again," expecting someone?" I looked at the Godlike face of this man and shook my head back and forth, saying no. He only nodded his head and then reached down and took my hand, stood up and led me out of the country club. At the front door, Richard the valet looked at me confused as James handed him his ticket. The valet ran off and returned with a black Hummer. The truck highlighted with touches of chrome placed to accent the spotless vehicle. James opened the passenger door and without hesitation, I climbed inside. He tipped the valet and climbed into the driver's side. He put the truck in drive and pulled out of the parking lot to hit the streets of Knoxville. It wasn't until we hit I 40 before he spoke. "I'm certain I can have one of my staff bring your vehicle to my house without the necessity of a ticket, correct?" He smiled, revealing a row of perfect white teeth. I returned the perfect smile answering, 'yes. I am so sorry usually I am a much better conversationalist than this. I don't know what's wrong with me?" He tipped his head back and laughed, "well if it's any consolation I have been nervous. I was uncertain how you might react wanting a change of scenery. My motivation was to end the pressure of eyes watching" I brushed a flyaway piece of hair out of my eye and smiled." "You know at least one of us was thinking. I couldn't agree more; losing an audience was a great idea. More relaxed now I was finally getting control back over my actions. I looked out and watched the scenery pass by me. The wind in tune with the sound of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata from the speakers that surrounded me.
James turned off the interstate and took a few back roads before he made one final turn taking on a long driveway. On both sides of the driveway, there were trees for miles. After a good two minutes of a driveway, a clearing with a breathtaking mansion built of gray stone. My eyes revealed my astonishment as I looked at the gorgeous house that overlooked the lake. The Hummer pulled to a stop in the circular driveway in front of the house where James switched off the engine. He climbed down from the driver's side, walked around to the front of his truck, and opened the passenger door. I stepped onto the driveway, regretting the black stiletto heels I had worn. I wobbled, gained my balance, and then placed down the other foot. After I walked a few steps forward, James shut the car door behind me. He then caught up to me and took my hand once again to lead the way. We did not head towards the front door. Instead, a stone walkway that wrapped around the side of the enormous castle looking home. The walk continued around the house until we finally made it to the gazebo overlooking the lake. The moon cast a perfect lighting that danced on the dark water giving the lake a life of its own. The view so hypnotizing that I didn't notice we had stopped walking until James took my other hand into his. He took one step, closing the distance between the two of us and bowed his head against his forehead. Then, as the wind whispered as I took in my surroundings, but before I could put together a thought, we kissed. I was standing there breathless and dizzy at the same time. He reached his arms under me and swooped up my legs, I shuddered as he carried me towards the house. I nuzzled his neck as he walked, taking in his clean, intoxicating scent. The front door opened as he approached it, but I took no notice of the individual that may have been on the other side. He walked up the large stairwell and down a long hallway to an enormous bedroom. He laid me on the bed, then darkness took hold.