Before Nightfall (UNCOMPLETED!)

CHAPTER 2: HIM

ZACHARY’S P.O.V.

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Sauntering down the esplanade, I take in a deep breath of the cool, crisp air of fall. I see the waves crash the shore, their interaction jocund, as the waters partake in a dance of moving forward and back. Amidst their gaiety, arose a congruency. As the waves bask in the joy of teasing the shore with their movements, here I am: beatific beyond compare. My life has come to a point where I no longer have to be in a messy rut of confusion or disquietude. Every void I once had has been filled, every wrong I once did has been corrected..

If I am not a living, breathing proof that miracles do happen, I do not know who or what is. Just when I thought that my life had come to an end, he saved me. He rescued me from the lowest pit of the hell I lived, and he ascended me into a heaven, like the angel he is. In this heaven, he showers me with bountiful love, adulation and warmth. At dawn, he breathes a new life into me. At dusk, he takes my soul away, but leaves behind a promise: that he would always be mine to love and keep. He does all this with a simple kiss, and it is for this kiss that I live every single moment. It is for this kiss that I am willing to die for, for I know that while I may pass, my soul lives on from the blessing of his lips.

Jason's love is a slow ride I spend my nights and days on. He spoils me with breathtaking sights of his charm, and tirelessly drives me around the towns of his grace. His love is the kind that would crash into someone and send them into fatality.. only to have them resurrect into a new form of beauty. If there is anyone that knows love best, it is Jason. 

Perhaps, I am lucky. Had it not been for that night I ran away from the torment of my abusive ex-boyfriend Tristan, I might not have come across Jason. The soil of my garden would not have blossomed flowers and bore fruit if it were not for the rain that is his entire being. My garden would be barren. If it were ever so fortunate, ironically, my garden would be watered by the tempest of my insanity.

Thoughts like these never fail to leave me verklempt. There is no paragon to match how thankful I am that I met Jason. A happiness hors concours washes over me, knowing that our love is mutual and nothing short of passion and solicitude.  At times, wrath consumes me, whole, when I remember the time he felt compelled to rescue me from Tristan's grips. Sadness then follows up in the emotional procession, when memories remind me that had it not been for Jason, only God would know if I were alive now.

My soliloquy comes to an abrupt finish when I hear a husky tenor voice call my name. I immediately turn my head to where the call had come from, and I am greeted with an absolutely delightful sight.

"Baby," I say, sotto voce, in full relief and unequalled joy. My love has come, and he has come for me.

"I'm sorry I took so long," He pauses to kiss me on the lips, his hands are placed firmly but softly on my shoulders. "Had quite a number of things to settle at work. It didn't help that tonight's dinner was the main thing that was on my mind."

Jason sounded slightly irritated and distressed when he uttered the last sentence. For as long as I have known him, Jason never fancies attending dinner parties. He believes that such events are "an infringement" of his "personal space and privacy". He thinks it's cute when he tells me that another reason why he hates attending dinner parties is that I would not pay attention to him, what with me being the naturally chatty person that I am, talking to everyone I meet.

"The annual Nightfall dinner is important, baby. Besides, we only attend such community events once a year. Gossamer told me that Hiawatha calls us recluses because we always refuse to make an appearance at any Nightfall event," I mutter, as I fix Jason's Ike Behar tie. "Fucking bitch."

"But I don't understand, though. The Nightfall dinner is just where every rodomontadist in the district, which, in case you still can't tell, is pretty much everyone in Nightfall, brags about how rich they are. It's pointless, really," Jason complains, disgusted. His eyes roll to see the waves of the esplanade.

"I guess that's what we get for moving to Nightfall. I insisted on moving to Lovelock instead, but you had to let your worry cloud your thinking,"

"Excuse me, Mr. Cobalt? You would be in a lot of trouble if we moved to Lovelock. You're a very attractive man, and you know exactly what happens to very attractive people in districts such as Lovelock," Jason snaps. He frowns with his eyebrows. 

"Oh, please. Do you really think I would be sexually harassed if people knew that you were my boyfriend?" I ask, as I give him a tap on his chest, trying to knock some sense into him.

He sighs, almost like he was defeated with the question I had asked him.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you to again. You know I love you, right?" Jason asks in a noticeably worried tone.

"Nothing will ever happen to me. Don't you worry your pretty, little mind," I console. I give him a short but sincere peck on the lips. "Enough worrying. We better go now. Otherwise, we'd be late."

We return to our condominium to get ready for the evening's event. I am dressed to the nines (like I always do), and I shower myself in fragrances of scents unforgettable. My maquillage is en pointe, and my hair is just perfect. If looks could kill, I am certain that everyone that lays their eyes on me later, would be dead.

"How do I look?" Jason asks.

I turn from the mirror to look at Jason who just got out of his shoe closet. I marvel at the Adonis standing before me. He looks sharp in an Armani Collezioni tuxedo I had picked out for him when he accompanied me shopping a few days back. He couples the outfit with a Monsieur Jean Yves bow tie and a Burberry watch (a birthday gift to him from my parents). He finishes the whole ensemble with "a few" spritz of Tom Ford's 'Champaca Absolute'. This is man in all his aesthetic glory.

"Let's just say that when we get back from the dinner party, I'll have room for another meal," I flirtatiously respond, giving him a wink.

He flashes a sexy smirk, sending shivers of excitement down my spine. The night has yet to start, and things are already getting intense. I guess this is going to be one hell of a good night, as always.