The sky, accented by the almost white moon and the few scattering of clouds, created a purple hue. The sun had set long ago, leaving the town in darkness. Katie strutted down the cobblestone pathway, careful not to trip. Her three-inch stilettos tapped the stone making sounds like castanets. The street, dark and quiet, hinted that the dwelling occupants were away or sleeping.
A gust of wind blew from behind her. She shivered as the cold air hit her bare thighs. She draped the crimson cloak around her, swearing under her breath. The color of her dress, the same as her hair, accented the contrast between her dark hair and light skin. It dipped low in the front, creating more cleavage then normal. A velvet cloak that reached her knees covered the flared skirt. It had a hood and the arms were long, past her dainty wrists. She squeezed her body, shivering as another gust of wind went right through her.
"I'm not lost. I know where I'm going." Katie repeated this mantra over and over again, not admitting that as practical as she was, she hadn't written down the right address. Two friends had offered her a drive but had turned them down. She felt uncomfortable accepting a ride from friends when they went to parties for two simple reasons. The first worried her less, that she would then need to leave when they left, otherwise feeling rude that she would want to leave before or after them. The second reason, more personal, drove her decision to come alone. She knew she would worry all night that the driver would be drunk, either on purpose or by drinking a spiked drink. She wished now that she had taken Erin or Celeste up on their offer. They had better luck then she and were not lost in a bad area of town. Katie strode down a deserted street, very much alone and lost.
Her feet started to hurt from her careful pace. She hated costume parties and wondered why she had decided to dress up. The combination of sultry black dress and long red cloak made Katie second-guess her choice of clothing. When Erin had suggested the outfit, Katie had said no at first. Eventually she had agreed, saying to herself that she could be wild and daring for one night. Now, as she continued her jaunt down the street, she decided that spiked heels when she usually wore sandals and flip-flops were the worst choice. Her toes were crushed together and pain radiated from the balls of her feet. She wanted to stop and remove her shoes but did not want to walk barefoot. She no longer had a choice as the heel of her shoe dug in to a gap in the worn road, causing her to lurch forward. She cried out then landed hard on the ground. Her wooden basket, part of her costume of course, scattered down the street, and she sat on the ground holding her right ankle.
"Are you O.K.?"
The voice, deep and sexy, calmed Katie and she had an instant image of what the person looked like. A look of surprise filled her when she turned to see the figure. He appeared even more handsome than she had imagined. Even though he was far enough away, she could smell his soap and cologne. Both were calming smells, almost too familiar.
"I saw you fall. Are you sure you don't need any help Kathryn?"
Katie blinked. The light from the moon lit up his face, revealing his baby blue eyes. She tried to glance at the rest of his body, but she couldn't. She twisted to face him and the radiating pain from her ankle distracted her from her sudden obsession.
"What?"
Katie did not mean to sound so rude but she knew he had said something to her but she had not heard what. His thick accented voice, deep and sexy, made her mind race with naughty thoughts.
"I would bend over with my legs spread wide for him any day"
Her face turned a crimson color as she whispered her thoughts aloud. She imagined her red lips wrapped tight around his cock and his long thin fingers reaching inside her. She sat with both legs stretched out, her right knee bent as she held her throbbing ankle. He crouched besides her, not touching any part of her body.
"You fell pretty hard and broke your shoe. I want to know if you are O.K."
"Oh. Yeah. My shoe broke?"
Katie once again swore under her breath, ashamed at her ditsy and stupid behavior. She reached down and felt the spiked heel, snapped in two. Her broken shoe meant she would have to walk barefoot. His body radiated warmth but strange as it seemed, she shivered, her body beginning to go into shock.
"I'm Sebastian. I live just down the street, and if you want I can lend you one of my sister's shoes."
"That would be nice."
Katie stood up. His smell was driving her mad. She knew she should be frightened but the familiarly instead calmed her. Once standing, she removed her shoe and winced. Even in the darkness, she knew that a bruise would form on her ankle. Happy that she could put weight on it, she hobbled down the cobblestone street.
"I have ice I can put on your injury as well."
Katie just nodded. Although she wanted to stare at him, she needed to concentrate on the path before her. He motioned her to turn left into a small entranceway. He opened the door and led her into a tiny home.
She took the two steps down and her eyes found a comfortable red leather chair. She sat down and looked around. The apartment smelled of apples. Her mind flashed to picking apples when she was a child, biting into a big red apple as she watched her siblings run around the tree. Her mother would simply roll her eyes as she picked three baskets, enough for her baking and school lunches.
