"The Dark Stranger"
© VeGirl 2014

A couple of days later, I decide to go for a quick shopping streak after work, before heading home. One of our shopping centers, the smaller one is open even though the hour is late, and I stroll in there with an hour before closing time. The sun is about to set, but inside there is no sight of the beautiful feature of the sunset. Inside this mini mall, time is standing still, even if the humans are hurrying past me.

I find a new dress, a short green one in organza that catches my eyes on the rack. When I try it on in the tiny dressing cubicle, I am pleasantly surprised. I notice how the green color makes my eyes stand out in a way I have never noticed before. With a smile on my face I pay for it and walk straight to the shoe store to find something extraordinary to match this dress. Standing there with one high heel in my hand, a familiar shill along my spine makes me exhale sharply.

"Those would make your legs look fantastic, especially in that green dress," a familiar dark, husky voice says close to my ear.

Instantly I am breathless and I think of our kiss the other night. After a moment to gain my balance I turn and look at these beautiful features of his. "Vincent, are you spying on me?" I do my best to feign bravery with a cocky tone.

A crooked smile appears on his face. "Spying is such an ugly word."

"How does stalking sound?" I can't help but to tease and then return his smile. "Or what would you call this?"

He chuckles and every inch of my body react with that magical current between us. "I just wanted to see you again, don't make this into something ugly," he tease me and I don't know what to say to distract me from those silvery blue eyes and those alluringly inviting lips.

The tantalizing scent that surrounds him makes my head spin. I try to make my breathing less shaky, straighten my back and say something when he beats me to it.

"I can't wait to see how that dress looks on my bedroom floor," he whispers in my ear, let his lips touch my neck lightly in a kiss and then he just leaves me there, a trembling mess. I bend forward with hands in my knees, focusing hard to remember how to breathe.

"How did you land that hunk?"

I almost jump from surprise and turn around to find Eddie standing there with her mouth hanging open.

At first I do a fairly good impression of a goldfish before I regain my ability to speak. "Do you question my attraction to the opposite sex?" is all that springs to mind in my affected state.

Eddie glares at me and then rolls her eyes. "I mean he is absolutely gorgeous."

I draw in a ragged breath and then smile. "That, he certainly is."

    * * *

Over the next few days my eyes flicker to the greyish, shanty house across the street as soon as I walk past any of my windows, but the occupant is nowhere to be seen. Has he gone away? Why does he only appear after sunset? Why is there no lights on in that ragged old house? Surely he can't sit in there in the dark?

This man is starting to be an obsession of mine and every single time I try to relax my mind, it flutters to him. I can't stop thinking about his silvery blue eyes and how they sparkle with mischief, how his lips curl into that crooked smile, how he rakes a hand through his tousled hair and how he always seems to say stuff that makes me totally perplex. It is as if my brain melts in his presence and I have never experienced anything like this in my life.

On my way to work, I sit still in my car, the lights has just turned red and distracted I look around in this minor intersection on the other cars when an explosion of headache makes me press my hands to my head and groan in pain. Surprised I experience fragments of things flashing by; an old house, winds blowing through the trees and Vincent smiling to me.

A car behind me honks their horn and as suddenly as the headache came to me, it is gone again without a trace. I blink surprised and look in the rear-view mirror at an angry face in the car behind me. With trembling hands I put my car in drive and I roll carefully to work while angry drivers pass me with obscene finger-gestures.

"What's going on?" Eddie asks as I walk carefully into the kitchen. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Err... No I just got such a headache on my way over here," I say silently.

"You want an aspirin?"

With furrowed eyebrows I look at her. "No, it's gone now," I assure but that is when I start to tremble. My hands shake violently and I don't know what to do.

"Sam, what's the matter?"

I just looked at her with pleading eyes and she put her arm around my shoulder, leading me toward the staff quarters where she puts a blanket around my shoulder and forces me to drink some water; certain that would stop me from going into shock.

"Can you please tell me what is going on?" she asks softly.

"I don't know," I admit and I feel how my eyes are welling up. "I had some seizure on my way over here, and a monster headache." I almost start to sob.

She puts her arms around me. "Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure, I just need to calm down. The headache is already gone, so I'll be fine in just a few minutes." I am certain that this weird fit is over with and I just need to shake it off. "You can head back; I'll be there in just a few minutes." I smile a less convincing smile, but my wise friend pretends that she believe me and leave me alone.

I sit there with a blanket around my shoulders, sipping water while my head is spinning furiously to figure out what on God's green earth happened. Why was I dreaming of Vincent, aren't that a little too obsessed and creepy? What was that little red house that flickered through my mind? I have never seen it before, but yet it felt surprisingly familiar.

Is this some kind of compulsion from his side?

I'm having more difficulty than usual to focus on work. I keep mixing orders up, dropping things on the floor and am more clumsy than usual. A sigh of relief leaves my body when Eddie tells me to take the rest of the day off already after lunch.

To distract myself I slip into my training outfit and strap my running-shoes on. It is broad daylight and I can't wait to get out to the woods again for a jog. The treadmill has been a good investment, but nothing beats the real thing. My thoughts flicker to that time I ran through this scenery, when I got so spooked, but today everything seems normal and I take a long run. When I return home I am tired, relaxed and content in a way I haven't been in a long time.

After the cleansing shower I fix up something easy to eat and hit the bed way too early for me.

That night comes my next weird episode.

I see Vincent smiling toward me, and then he and I joke around, laughing. He takes my hand and we're dancing around with other people glancing around us. They seem to treat us very respectfully, smiling and nodding.

* * *

I wake up with a jerk, sitting upright in bed gasping for air.

What on earth was that? It seems like all my thought involve Vincent these days and I start to wonder if it perhaps is time to stop seeing him. I can't figure out why he is on my mind twentyfour-seven. Granted he is absolutely gorgeous and that kiss he gave me made my head spin, but why would I be thinking of him to this extent?

Perhaps I need to see somebody else?

Vincent seems to have disappeared completely and the curfew he put on me is suddenly not an issue anymore, it seems.

Eddie is still watching me carefully, and the other girls at work act as if they have been ordered to report any unusual behavior from my side and I feel guarded.

When I sit alone at a table in the diner close to work for my lunch hour, I pull my phone up and text Milo to ask if he want to go dancing at the cave this Friday.

Instantly a reply that makes me smile appears. 'I knew you couldn't resist me for long'.

"What are you smiling for?" Eddie asks when I get back to work.

"I have a date with Milo tomorrow."

"What about that hunk at the Mall?" She asks and my inner turns liquid at once.

"A girl needs to keep her options open," I say defiantly, feeling anything but that.

Again I catch Eddie glancing at me when she doesn't think I notice, during that day and the following. It feels almost like when she freaked me out with her theory about me being pregnant, or when she and the others were worried about me after Peter left.

"So, will I meet you at the Cave?" I say when she thinks I don't see her staring?

"Erm..." She tries to straighten her posture. "Sure, I guess... I can ask Kevin and we can meet you there." She does her best to sound like it's a casual thing and that she hasn't seen me with Vincent at all.

Oh why did I have to think of him now?

I put that new green dress on and the grey high heels I found. A matching grey leather jacket and clutch I take out of my closet and put on after having inspected my makeup in the big mirror in the hallway.

More than once I have to repress any thoughts of the mystery man and his appearances and focus on Milo, the sexy player that I have a date with. How did I end up surrounded by these extraordinary men? I try to think back to my time in high school, when I was nowhere near those cute girls which the hunks flocked around.

A cab takes me to the Cave, where Milo is waiting by the door. He whistles as I walk up to him. "Girl, where are those legs going with you?"

I laugh at his corny lines and shake my head.

He kisses my cheek. "All I want for those is to be wrapped around my waist," he whisper and I feel a slight tingle of anticipation.

"Promises, promises," I tease with a flirty expression, making him laugh.

Everything seems so easygoing with Milo and I'm having a good time that night. Eddie and Kevin meet us and we're having a blast together, drinking and dancing. Milo is very attentive and I revel in the attention he's giving me, just as I always have been. The only thing that has changed is now I don't have to draw the line at a few close-up encounters on the dancefloor.

This time I'm a single lady.

The kisses we share are hot and when he takes my hand towards his cab I don't hesitate the slightest. We arrive at his apartment, he leads me to his bed and I have no regrets when I wrap my legs around his waist just as he requested in the start of this evening. His reputation of being s good lover is accurate and I haven't experienced this kind of pleasure in a long time.

Content I fall asleep in his arms.

During that night I dream of Vincent, who is looking at me with betrayal darkening his features. The content feeling I had is now miles away and not even the tingling sparkle I usually feel around him is anywhere to be seen.

He walks up to me with dark blue eyes, the same shade as after our kiss. "What are you doing here? You are mine!"

I wake up with a jerk and know I need to get out of there. Discretely I sneak around and gather my clothes, careful not to wake him up. I slip my clothes on and with my heels in hand I tiptoe out of there, carefully closing the door silently behind me and walk through the still darkness of the early morning hours.

It feels like the ultimate walk of shame.

* * *

My cellphone wakes me hours later that morning. "Hello?" I answer sleepy.

"You snuck out?"

Immediately I'm wide awake. "Yeah, sorry about that, I..." I do my best to come up with an explanation, but my mind doesn't want to cooperate. "I just freaked... I'm sorry."

I can hear Milo chuckle. "How very player of you."

I laugh in return, and the fright of awkwardness is gone. "I don't want to cramp your style, you know." I tease him. "But you did good; it was definitely worth it." I chuckle contentedly.

"I know," he answers smug.

"How player of you!"

"Well, it takes one to know one." He reply with a smug chuckle. "I just wanted to see that you were okay," he continues and now I can hear honest concern in his voice.

How very not player of him, I think. "Yeah, I'm fine; I'll talk to you later."

We hung up and I snuggle back in bed again and think about those weird dreams I've been having. How can those dreams feel so real? Is all of this my imagination or is he able to manipulate my dreams? I don't get very far in my query, until I get interrupted by my phone again.

"Sam?" I hear Eddie hiss at me.

"Yeah, who else would it be?" I ask.

"Shh! Not so loud," she hushes me. "I have an emergency at work, can you fill in tonight?"

"Sure," I chuckle. "What would you do without me?"

"I love you! Now get back to bed," she orders.

"Way ahead of you!" I reply and after having settled on a time, we hung up. I get up, fix breakfast which I eat in the morning sun on my back patio. After contemplating about what my life has become, I decide to fight fire with fire, and strap my sneakers on and get out for a run to get the slight residue of headache to leave.

The sky is unusually dark and ominous and the run is not as effective as I hoped, so after having cut that short, I shower, takes a couple of pills and then snuggle on my couch with a good book. However good that book is, the partying and staying up late has taken its toll and I end up falling asleep on my couch.

The light is dim and the air a bit damp but I can feel how happy I am when Vincent takes my hand in his and smile at me. "Are you ready?" He asks in his usual husky way and I can feel myself nodding. With his hand in mine I find myself walking into a meadow where a man is standing. The smell of moss and leafs is pungent and I can see myself draw in a deep breath of air.

Once again I wake up with a jerk. What was this? The weird feeling is that I almost feel disappointed to lose that excited and happy feeling I had in my dream.

A couple of hours later I smile at the guests and co-workers while I help serve the main course. The perks of this late night job is that we don't end up at the same place. This night we attend one of the big flashy houses in the outskirt of town. All the guests are dressed in designer clothes and walks around looking like they own everything and everyone. I really detest how certain people looks down on others and I'm sure my face contents a smug grin as they mingle around, while I reset the table for dessert.

However much I try to smile I still can't shake that feeling from the dream off.

"Hey gorgeous, is she making you work both days and nights?" a familiar voice makes me turn and look.

"Trey!"

"Come here and give me a hug, girl," he orders and smilingly I oblige.

"I didn't know you hung with The Bald and the Beautiful?" I tease him.

"So, you're saying I'm not beautiful?" he tease me back, but laughs when I have no witty comment to strike back with. "Hey, I want to meet a new friend of mine," he says and with an arm around my shoulder, he turns me to face his friend.

"Vincent," I choke out and feel like I have been hit by a truck. His initial surprised face turns into that smiling confident one he always wears even though the smile doesn't seem to reach his eyes. "You two are friends?" I ask surprised when I am aware that Trey is observing us together. "I didn't know that." The two guys look at each other.

"It is quite recent." Trey explains. "And how do you know each other." He seems very curious of our connection.

"That is not so recent," Vincent says before I have a chance to connect my brain and my mouth. "We got to know each other a very long time ago, but just recently met again," he elaborates.

"Really?" Trey just says. "Well, I'll leave you to it then, it looks like you have a lot to discuss." He leaves us and I am suddenly aware of my waitress uniform and the staring eyes surrounding us. I straighten some imaginary wrinkles on my skirt.

"Don't," Vincent says and I look at him with surprise. He has taken a step closer to me and I'm having a hard time breathing. "Don't let them think they're worthy of your thoughts," he says quietly and through my surprised expression a smile forms. With a hand on the small of my back, he guides me toward the large balcony, which is like an upstairs patio. Warmth from his hand seeps through my shirt and I want more.

My smile subsides as I have questions I need answered. "You were gone..." My eyes flicker over his beautiful strong features as if to get reaquainted with a long lost lover.

He press his eyebrows tight together. "Yes, I had some business to take care of."

"Business?"

"Yes, the kind I am not allowed to tell you about." He smiles patiently. "So please don't ask."

"Sam?" I hear Eddie call.

"Oh shit, I have to work!" I hiss.

"We'll talk about this some other time." Vincent smiles towards me before I have to hurry back to do my work task, feeling a little like Cinderella being called back to her chores. Several times that night I steal glimpse of the drop dead gorgeous man who follows me with his gleaming silvery blue eyes.

Why didn't I ask him of the weird dreams, and why didn't I ask him further where he's been or how he suddenly is friends with Trey? Why did I run off like frickin' Cinderella?

I walk to get the last of the dishes when suddenly everything around me disappears into a stormy forest scenery. Vincent is there with me and something is chasing us. "Come, we have to get away!" Vincent yells and tugs me along. "They'll take you if they'll catch you!"

I hurry as fast as I can, but we can hear footsteps catching up on us.

"Hide!" Vincent hisses.

Suddenly the image is gone again, like a soap bubble popping into tiny pieces. I stare wide eyed at Vincent who is suddenly standing right in front of me and I can see how he looks quizzical at me. "What's the matter, sweetie?"

"I... I..." No more words are coming out. Tears fills the base of my eyes like tiny pools.

Suddenly the strained muscles around his eyes relax and I can see he is having an epiphany. He widens his eyes. "Is it coming back?"

"What is happening?" I can feel my eyes welling with tears tip over and spills its content overr my cheeks, and I want to know what on earth is going on. "I dream of you and me..."

I can see him breathing heavy.

"What is supposed to come back?"

"Your memories..."

.