His Dark Obsession

Chapter 21: Trance

Tara felt a hand brush against the small of her back and she immediately recoiled.
"It's just me, babe!" Jake came to stand next to her letting his arm remain where it already was.
"You surprised me!" Tara said as her discomfort dissolved.
"That was the intent!" replied Jake, and then switched his attention to Candice who had been conversing with Tara up till the moment he had arrived. "Have you been entertaining my girlfriend? You know there's extra bonus for keeping the boss's girlfriend happy?!"
Candice, who had gold blonde hair and was wearing a black backless bodycon dress, replied to her superior in a confidential, intimate tone that didn't sit well with Tara, "Boss, you know I am a pro at fulfilling all your needs!"
Jake smiled in hesitation, Tara noticed, and gave Candice a pat on the shoulder. Tara observed that Jake did his best to avoid her inquisitive stares; she decided she was going to ask Jake about his brazen office blonde later.
Candice had been keeping Tara company for the time that Jake had been away searching for Ian. She had been relating her sexual escapades with office colleagues to Tara all this while -- suffice to say, Tara felt uncomfortable about Candice being splendid at fulfilling her boss's needs in the office.
Tara was about to ask Jake to bring her a drink so that they could escape Candice but his phone began to ring. He saw the caller ID and informed Tara that it was his mom and he needed to take the call. Tara gave him an understanding smile and he stepped out of the hall.
"So where was I...yes, Ben, he is a copywriter, not much in terms of career but boy does that guy know how to pleasure a woman..." Candice began to ramble again.
Tara couldn't listen to anymore of her stories regarding the sexual prowess of the male staff at the company so she decided to interject, "Candice...I am so sorry. I have to step out for a bit. I think I have had too much to drink and I really need a breath of fresh air!"
"Oh! No problem, let me accompany you outside..."
"No need for that. I'll manage on my own and be back in a bit. You enjoy yourself, alright?"
"Are you sure?"
Tara kept walking towards the hall door as she replied to her, "Positive!"
When Tara was out of the hall, she exhaled a great deal of air. She had started feeling claustrophobic inside. She looked for Jake in the hallway but didn't find a trace of him, she figured he might have gone looking for Ian again. She decided to head outside for some air.
Tara saw two glass doors at the far end of the passage leading to a terrace outside. She reached them in haste and grabbed one of the wooden cylindrical handles to push open the door. Mild night breeze engulfed her as she walked straight ahead and leaned against the parapet made of brown-stoned dwarf wall and a black wrought iron railing.
The night outside was beautiful. From the terrace, New York was concrete and metal. She had always loved New York, always. She had been raised in Long Island but she had always longed to live in the city. When it was Tara's turn to send out applications to colleges, her first preference had been NYU. She had been lucky to get into the college of her choice and had moved out of her Long Island childhood home to rent an apartment in Flushing. During college she had been on the organizing committee for several plays and fundraisers realizing the fact that she had a knack for event planning. As soon as she finished college, Tara knew she wanted to be an event planner and own a flower shop; the two occupations went hand in hand for her. She provided people with the flowers most appropriate to express their affections and joys, and she also planned the entire setting where the display of those flowers would seem most suitable. She knew that putting a smile on people's faces was her calling. And now, here she was, in the heart of the city, with the man she loved and on a night so magical...
"Tara!", came a deep, resonating voice.
Tara looked to her right to see who it was and saw the silhouette of a man moving with panther like grace. She saw him emerge out of black shadows and the first thing she noticed of him were his metallic, blue eyes.
"Ian..." Tara was at a loss for words.
He reached her in silence and sinister quiet. "How come you are here?"
His question seemed strange, it was after all a hotel terrace and anyone could come and go as they pleased. Tara felt like Ian had asked this question more to himself than to her.
"I...wanted some air." Tara stammered, Ian had come to stand too close to her; his closness made for incoherent thoughts in her brain.
For a moment Ian didn't say anything to her. He just looked at her, he stared at her with deep, dark blue pools for eyes and she held his gaze, utterly mystified. How did he do that? How could a woman lose herself so completely in this man's gaze. She decided it was time to break the contact.
"You are also here..."
"I am."
Oh! The nerve of this man! He had a talent for being evasive. "You didn't want to stay inside, at your own party?"
"Not particularly."
Another non-reply. "So you decided to come outside?"
"It would seem like that."
Tara felt exasperated, she wanted things between herself and her boyfriend's best friend to be casual and friendly and here was Ian making it extremely hard for her to achieve that. She didn't know what to make of him. Right now he was elusive, handsome, mysterious, evasive, dangerous -- even lethal. None of those qualities attributed to any form of friendly affection.
Tara decided to give him one last chance, "How are you feeling tonight, Ian?"
Her question changed something in him. Maybe he hadn't expected that of her.
"I am feeling like I ought to, Tara."
"And what is that exactly?"
Ian gave a roar of a laugh, "You wouldn't want to know!"
"Why the heck not?"
Ian was taken aback by her vehemence and he straightened up, dispensing the railing support to his side, "I feel like I have achieved something in life. I feel like I want to do even better in the future. And I want what's missing."
Tara was immediately intrigued, this was the most open he had been with her since they started conversing, "What's missing, Ian?"
"I don't know, Tara."
"Why not?"
She saw something in his eyes then, something switched and he replied in an impersonal, casual tone, "I'll let you know once I find out!"
As the trance lifted she decided she might as well inquire about Jake from Ian. "Have you seen Jake anywhere? He went out to receive a call from his mother."
Ian's phone rang at the exact moment. He took it out of his coat pocket and saw the caller ID, "Think of the devil!"
Ian answered it, "Jake...yeah, oh...is everything okay? Do you need me to come to you? Yes, I can do that. Sure. See you in a bit."
When Ian hung up his phone, he had a solemn expression on his face.
"Tara, Jake's had to go to his mother."
"What? Why? Has something happened?" Tara felt immediately concerned and also offended for being left at the hotel without a word.
"His sister just arrived from Texas, apparently there's been some trouble with her husband. And he had to go to her."
Tara relaxed a little, realizing that it must have been an emergency which is why Jake had left so suddenly, "Oh...I hope everything's okay."
"It will be. Don't worry. Jake has told me to drop you off at home."
"Oh! You don't need to do that. I can manage on my own."
"No, Tara. I will drop you, it is no bother."
"I don't want to inconvenience you."
Ian looked straight at her and said, "You could never do that."