Tempt Me

The Stork Part Two

The Stork. Niall was taking me to one of the most popular speakeasies in New York. I did not know if I was truly conscious because how could a chivalrous man like my roommate take me to a gaudy bar in which criminals and mobsters are in control? Either way I trusted Niall with my life and I knew that he would take good care of me tonight. I had always had one protector, but now I had Niall. The Lord and Niall, with those two nothing could stop me.

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Once Niall had handed me the dress we went our separate ways to get ready to leave. Mama had always said that a true lady spends as much on her education as she does on her looks but I had never done that, until tonight. Back home everyone already knew what I looked like, who my father was, and how many times we visited the chapel for each week. In a small town nothing was kept secret. I always thought that the ladies in Mama's book club were more gabby and loquacious than the women here. It seemed as though even if people did not respect you, then respected your right to be left alone.

The dress that Niall had given me was lovely, in the aspect that it looked wonderful on a model but not always on a person. The threads on the end of the fabric would cause awareness to my small and pale thighs. I was always self conscious about my appearance because the girls back home had freckles, blonde hair, and firmer bodies than I did. Here in the city the women seemed to be a mixture of all different hair colors and figures yet their hair was styled in a small fashion. It was as though they had chopped all of their hair off except for a few inches and then curled them. I would never cut my hair into such a short length but if wearing these types of dresses helped me to fit in and meet new people, then so be it.

After I shimmied into the dress upon discovering that there was no zipper in the back, I began to stare at myself in the mirror that Niall had set up last week. He had talked about how every lady needed her vanity space and managed to get a mirror, even against my protests. It appeared as though whatever Niall wanted, he got. That was a good characteristic in a man, he would not stop until his mission was completed.

Mama had always said that although God put in equal time into creating humans, God must have put in extra time while creating me. I never quite understood what she meant but she phrased it as though it was a blessing that would eventually become cherished. Mama had a long, skinny body with the height of being able to reach items up on the top shelf in our kitchen cabinets. I, unlike Mama, had curves and could barely reach the middle shelf on my tip toes. My size was a blessing but also a curse. I could never reach objects that were much taller than I was because of my short arms however I could fit into very small spaces. One time a member of our town lost his cat under his deck and I was the only one small enough, yet old enough, to fit in there in the whole town. That was when I realized that perhaps being small wasn't such a problem, although it did not help that everyone else around me was much taller.

It appeared as though Niall had taken my height into consideration when purchasing this dress. The fabric around the body was shorter and appeared to be altered for someone like me while the threads were shorter than I remember seeing on the women walking to the library.

While I was now dressed like those women I remembered, I could not say that I felt like them. In a way I could sense something different about myself but I was still the same old Evelyn that I was before. I viewed life in a different perspective as other people yet I still believed in the "seen but not heard" philosophy. While I had just officially become an adult last year I still viewed myself as an innocent child. That was another reason why I had moved here. If my parents were not going to allow me to venture out under their protection then I would just have to do it without them.

One thing my parents would never allow me to do would wear this dress out in public. My ankles and calves were on full display. I took a step towards the mirror and my entire left thigh became exposed to everyone. I blushed when I first saw that but did not obsess on the fact that my figure was going to be seen. If people were dressing like this nowadays then I would have to adjust, no matter how strange and immoral it seemed to me at first. Niall was right when he said the woman defines the dress and I would make this one my own. I could be the woman that lived in this city and became more than a newbie while still holding fast to my beliefs.

Everything was possible in a big city right?

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After finally getting ready and walking out of my room I allowed Niall to see me in the dress. He had knocked on my door several times whimpering about how I would not allow him in. I had almost caved and let him see him but the final product was always better. Niall had looked up quickly when he heard the soft click of my heels walking on the floor towards him. His reaction was quite satisfying. His eyes got wide and jaw had a slight drop. He had stood up quickly and offered me his hand while still intently staring.

Blushing I placed mine into his and he spun me around causing the threads to fly up and expose more of my thighs.

Niall whistled, "Well I sure did a good job with picking out your present, didn't I doll?"

"I suppose."

"You suppose? Well obviously you haven't truly seen yourself yet. I put that mirror in your room for a reason. Let's go and look." With that said Niall began to drag me back towards my room by my hand.

We stopped in front of my mirror and he pulled me in front of him. He softly brushed some of my hair back and looked into my eyes through the mirror. "Do you know what I see?"

"Me?"

"You're right. And because I see you, I see a beautiful, wonderful girl who is now a woman. I know that you don't think of yourself that way but you are. You are someone who wants to experience so much but is so cautious before doing everything. You strive to be the best and plan out every minuscule detail that there is while looking as elegant as ever. The rest of the world is beginning to see you for what you truly are: a magnificent woman." Niall put his arms around my waist and brought me into his chest.

Niall was warm. He was familiar. He had always been there for me and had not given me a reason to doubt me. It was a bit peculiar how he was touching me, his roommate, but I was not one to judge. Perhaps it was custom for people nowadays to hold each other if they were close. I had always believed that to be something that families did but Niall and I had formed a bond by living together these past few months.

"A woman is elegant and knows exactly how to live her life, Niall. I am still trying to figure out mine. "

"But the passion that you have for trying to figure everything out is what makes you who you are. Not many people nowadays strive to create their own paths. The fact that you are trying to be different makes you different from all of the others. It creates that intriguing sense about you that makes me want to know you. It makes me want to know everything and help you create your own life."

"Shouldn't everyone try to make their life their own and figure out what they want in life? I do not see what I am doing any different than what you do."

"It is a man's job to find his life and create a suitable lifestyle for his future family."

"Would that not be the same for a female? A woman must live life before she finds her soulmate that The Lord designated for her. She must also make sure that her suitor is a reliable and economically stable person. She must find the man that charms her heart yet is rightfully correct for her."

Niall circled his hands from my waist to my stomach and intertwined them. "Well sometimes a lady just has to open her eyes and see the man that's destined for her. He might even be right in front of her for all she knows."

"Perhaps. However in order for a lady to figuratively 'open her eyes' she must have a condition in which she can experience new things." Brushing Niall's hands off me and smoothing down my dress and hair, I turned back to him. "Going out tonight would definitely be a new experience and an exciting one at that. It's getting late, shouldn't we go now?"

"Of course! We wouldn't want to miss anything exciting would we?"

And with that we walked out of our apartment to go see the bar. Mama always said that storks brought babies and maybe this stork would bring me something magnificent as well.