July 21st

Chapter Two

I dazily blinked my brown eyes open, looking around. I saw an abandoned stage and a string of pearls laying on the ground, before my eyes closed again, dizzy and tired. Opening my eyes again, I noticed the abandoned bar. It’s sleek wooden exterior was getting wiped down by someone I knew. Or at least, I thought I knew.Oh! It was Warren. He winked at me while my head lolled back, landing against a piece of material that smelled like fabric and alcohol. My head whipped up, cautiously turning around. I saw the person who was holding me in snippets- the sparkling green eyes, the combed blond hair, which looked as if it was created from a golden loom. I saw a thin black tie, and a white shirt underneath.  My eyes landed upon the smooth, soft hands that had held me before. One arm was wrapped around me, the other was raised, holding a cigar and lazily puffing.

“Are you alright, Eve?” asked the man, his green eyes twinkling down at me and his arm bringing me closer to him. It took me a second to remember everything that had happened. I drank for my first time. I met this mysterious stranger, who had now changed me to elegant, pretty-eyed Eve instead of the excited country girl named Evelyn. I looked straight into his eyes, and his name flashed before me, twinkling just like his eyes. Leo.

“I’m not too bad, Leo. Just a bit of a crazy night.”

“You only had three drinks!” Leo’s eyes laughed, and I heard a soft chuckle under his breath. “I waited here for you,” he whispered. “I just waited here and thought to myself, how can I let someone as magnificent, as full of life, as innocent yet so incredible as you go?”

“That’s very kind of you. But really, I must be leaving. My brother is right over there.” I mumbled back, smiling with the weight of his compliment.

“Well, I’ll see you again, right Eve? Where can we meet?”

“Um... I’ll see you again here sometime, I suppose. It was truly nice meeting you.”

“Here, let me give you my address. Maybe I can see you when you’re not drunk?,” Leo joked, causing a smile to dance upon my lips. He took his arm off of me, and I stood up as he grabbed a notepad from his pocket. He jotted down something, and I glanced at his handwriting. It was smooth and straightforward, just like him. There were no added frills, but it was slightly slanted, just to prove his grace. He picked up my hand, placed the piece of paper in it, and enclosed my hand around it with his. Leaning down, close to my ear, he whispered, “Please don’t lose it. I hope to see you again, Eve.” With that, he leaned down and planted a soft kiss to my forehead. I’d never been kissed before, and his soft, pink lips tickled me with a passion that caused my heart to leap. I leaned into him by instinct, and he kissed my cheek. “I’ll miss you, Eve, but I’ve really got to go. I have something to show at a gallery in the morning and I must get some sleep, it’s already 3 am! Go home, go to bed, and call me tomorrow. I left my number for you too,” his gravelly voice sent a kind command, and I tingled inside. His waved goodbye, and walked out of the speakeasy, into the street, and disappeared into the night.

     Warren, who had just finished cleaning countertops, looked over at me and smiled a smile weighing with wickedness and a joking manner.

“So you found yourself a man on the first day?” His shining white teeth flashed me a grin and I couldn’t help but allow a small, close-mouthed smile in return.

“Not quite, Warren. He was something different though.”

“Oh, Evelyn, don’t say that. You’ve barely met anybody in this big city. There’s at least 20,000 men just like him, scattered about the city.”

“Do you not trust-”

“No, Evelyn, I’m not saying that. I just want you to know that you’re rebellious and you’ve got a pretty face. There’s tons of men just like that who’ll want to get to know you better, just choose the right ones.” With that closing statement, he walked over and grabbed the crook of my elbow, leading my slightly-hungover body over to a taxi. I felt as if I was both within the world and without- I was just a 19 year old drunken girl, in a taxi in the biggest city in America. I didn’t matter to many people, but there was Leo. He cared about me, I could tell by the twinkle of his eyes and how he leaned in when we were talking. I could tell when he enclosed my hand around the paper, and when he, upon my forehead, planted a kiss. Revealing the paper from the recesses of my hand, I looked down at it. The skyscraper lights shone apart it, showing to me what he had written. His handwriting made everything from the past night flash back to me, and I smiled. I didn’t want to be a fool and fall too fast, yet at the same time, I knew I would do exactly that and I wasn’t about to stop myself.

     When we arrived at our apartment building I dreamily hugged Warren goodnight, walked down the hallway, and fumbled for the key of my apartment, which I had strapped to my thigh, under my dress. I walked to my mahogany dresser, messing with the drawers until I found a white lace nightgown. It was so innocent, and reminded me of life in Gustville. It was traditional, conservative, and bleak. I tossed it on the ground, where it nestled itself into a corner of my room. I pulled my red dress up above my head, standing in just a slip of fabric. I tossed the dress, too, into the corner of my room. I carefully removed the golden earrings and necklace from my ears and collar bone, and I whipped off my headpiece. I stared at myself in the mirror, in just a slip. It was very modern, very New York City, very rebellious. So much skin was showing- my arms and legs were a scramble of broken tradition and the new lady. I climbed into bed, imagining Leo next to me. I wonder who he was. I knew he was an artist, since he mentioned a gallery before he kissed me. I imagined us under the blankets together, with his strong arms around me and his soft, sleek hands brushing my hair back the way he did earlier. Many years later, looking back at this day, I remember how foolish I was. Leo captured my imagination, my mind, my soul. Most importantly, he captured my heart, when I barely knew his story. I know that it was this day, July 21st, that drove me into a love so deep I couldn’t escape it. A love so deep it drove me to the point of insanity.