She sat by the phone, waiting for his call. She gave him her number over the internet the day before, and he was supposed to call to let her know when to meet and where. Her friends voiced their worries, but she didn’t listen. She chatted online with him for a year now and felt like she really knew him. She’d been wanting to meet him since the first few instant messages were exchanged. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know exactly what he looked like, because she finally felt like she found someone she could really talk to, maybe even love. As she was looking at her watch to see the time the phone rang. Her dog barked at the sudden noise.
“Quiet you.” She scolded. Then she answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Is this Lilly Monroe?” asked a man’s voice.
“Yes.” said Lilly. “Who’s this?”
“This is Neal.” he said. “The guy you’ve been chatting online with for the past year.”
“Oh hey! So when do you want to meet?” Lilly asked.
“How about now, in the park?” Neal suggested. Lilly thought about it for a moment. To her this seemed kind of sudden, but she figured she might as well go through with it if she was going to go this far. Maybe he was just excited to meet her like she was him?
“Alright then.” she decided. “I’ll need a few minutes to get ready though.”
“Okay, well bye.” He hung up. Neal sounded on the phone as formal as he did in the instant messages, she thought as she skimmed through her closet. She finally decided on a skirt she didn’t think was too short and a light blue blouse, to bring out her blue eyes. She left her long blonde hair down, figuring it looked better and framed her face nicely. She began to get nervous as she brushed her hair and applied a little bit of makeup. Finally, after half an hour and choosing the right black heels, she deemed herself presentable enough for her date. She kissed her dog on the forehead as she grabbed her purse and was walking out the door to her apartment.
“I’ll be back later okay Jasper?” Lilly said. The yellow lab barely lifted his head to acknowledge her. She shrugged as she closed and locked the door, heading to her car. She knew the park where Neal wanted to meet, because the two of them constantly talked about it over the past year. It was Lilly’s favorite place to go to think.
Autumn had arrived at the park so the leaves gave it a colorful glow of reds and oranges. Lilly walked through the park, looking for the man who had described himself through her computer. She finally saw him standing alone on the path staring up at the trees. Seeing him for the first time she stopped in her tracks. Her nerves built up like a boiling pot. The man was gorgeous. His jet black hair, slightly muscular build, and manner of dress made her feel as if maybe she should have dressed up more.
He finally noticed her standing a few feet away and turned towards her, his pale blue eyes boring into her own. There was something there, a glimmer or a spark, that made her feel this man was different from the others. She tensed up when he walked up to her. He was taller than her so she had to look up at him. Nervously she held out her hand.
“It. . . it’s good to finally meet you in person Neal.” she said. Neal bowed and kissed her hand, something no man had ever done to her. Then he pulled from behind his back a beautiful single rose and handed it to her. She couldn’t stop the blush from rushing to her cheeks at his otherworldly manner.
“For you.” he said. “Let’s take a walk?” Lilly nodded and took his offered arm as they began to stroll. They talked for a while, mostly going over the conversations they’d had over the past year. It wasn’t too long before Neal, noticing the sun starting to set, stopped and turned to Lilly.
“Let’s go to my place for supper shall we? I have a dinner laid out. It’s not too far from here.” suggested Neal. Lilly was shocked he’d asked her so suddenly, but she didn’t want to say no. She could practically hear her friends screaming in her ear about the decision she was going to make.
“Sure.” she said. “My car is parked not far from here.”
She led him to her car. Her heart was directing her as her mind was screaming no over and over again, but she didn’t listen. As she drove Neal directed her to his place, which was surprisingly close to the park. It seemed strange to her that they’d never met before today considering they live in the same city.
When Neal showed her to his apartment, she found herself not very impressed. For a good-looking guy like him, she figured he lived in a fancy apartment. It was plain, and there was hardly any furniture. Some things were still in boxes stacked on top of each other. She wondered if he just moved in, or was actually very lazy. Lilly pretended she was okay but she could feel her personal alarm going off in her head. There were dimly lit candles on the table in the kitchen, but no dinner. She turned to look at him.
“Where’s dinner?” she asked feeling as if something was very wrong here.
“There isn’t any. I lied.” said Neal. “In fact, you’re not leaving this apartment tonight Lilly. At least not in the way you think.” Lilly became scared and tried to head for the door, but Neal blocked her. She mentally kicked herself for not listening to her friends.
“I’m not going to hurt you Lilly.” Neal said after seeing how frightened she looked. “My kind wouldn’t dare harm a mortal.”
“Then, what are you going to do?” asked Lilly. Neal went over to one of the unpacked boxes and pulled out a smaller box, one that looked like it came from a jewelry store. He handed it to her.
“Open it.” he said. She didn’t know why she listened to him and opened the tiny box just that she was very afraid of what might happen next. Inside was a tiny ring with an amethyst on it. She looked at him.
“I. . . don’t understand.” she said in confusion.
“You’re going to need that where I’m taking you.” he said. He took the ring and placed it on her finger. Then, without any word he pulled Lilly into his arms. Lilly tried to pull away but failed, and in a flash of feathers and golden light, the two of them disappeared from the apartment.
