Blue Sheep || ONGOING

Chapter 7

Basorexia;

The overwhelming desire to kiss

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The Sawyers were at their doorstep at 8 p.m. sharp. All of them dressed in modest and casual clothing which was rather relieving, Charise thought, considering the fact nobody in her household owned anything expensive. Except for herself, who was wearing an awfully costly bracelet.

They greeted one another and came. Charise immediately sensed a strong smell of perfume coming from the two wealthy women. She watched them both examine their small, old house that randomly creaked at night, she almost began to feel uncomfortable-

"I believe that we haven't met," a strong, deep masculine voice broke her train of thought. She looked up at the man that was speaking to her and drew a total blank, as though she had forgotten the English language.

"My name is Benjamin Sawyer, I apologize if I have startled you."

Suddenly feeling a wave of unbearable redness go over her face, she reached out her hand,

"I'm so sorry - Charise Sinclair, nice to meet you."

He gave her a kind smile and shook her hand. Benjamin Sawyer was a tall, slender man with a posture that reminded Charise of a bent wire. His hair was a dark ash-grey with a few streaks of white that was neatly combed down with a thick layer of gel. Behind the wide, silver-lined lenses she could see his gleaming fawn-brown eyes. She imagined he was a handsome and adventurous man when he was younger.

A women dressed in a long, black silk skirt and a soft (woollen, Charise assumed) red v-neck sweater that reached down to her cleavage put a hand on Benjamin's crooked back. Her chestnut hair was brushed and styled into large, spiral curls that draped just slightly below her elbow.

"Good evening," Charise said, "I'm-"

"Charise, yes, I've been told," she too, smiled a warm and gratifying smile, "Jennifer. It's a pleasure to meet you, I've been told you're an artist?"

Just as the pink shade had begun to wear off from Charise's cheeks, the word 'artist' that made her cringe inside, brought back the crimson red to her face. 

Bold of mum to tell everyone I'm an... artist. she thought to herself. Even saying it in her head made her want to puke.

"I wouldn't-" before she could finish her sentence she was once again cut off by Jennifer, "My daughter Ember is an art dealer. If you're interested, she'd love to sell you work."

She would? Charise wondered, surprised by Jennifer's sudden proposition, Where is all of this coming from?

"I'd be flattered," she said shyly, "Thank you, this is a wonderful opportunity."

Before Jennifer could answer, Jason Sawyer, the guest that Charise awaited the most, pushed through his parents and put a hand on Charise's upper back, 

"You look stunning," he said, "Come, let's talk." 

  She found it absurd how a well-educated, sophisticated and posh family kept on interrupting each other. Aren't they supposed to be... polite? For some reason in her mind she imagined them to have ideal manners, wear over-priced clothing and speak with an extended vocabulary that only the fabulously wealthy could understand. Now she felt incredibly stupid for thinking that - for having this beautifully painted picture in her head. Of course they wouldn't be like that... What was I thinking? With her fantasy proven wrong, she felt her shoulders relax and the tight knot in her stomach loosen - they were more relatable than she believed at first.

~*~ 

They stepped outside through the door behind the staircase. It was almost like a secret passageway, a door to Narnia perhaps or (as Charise liked to think) to Wonderland. As she stepped on the stone flooring and breathed in a dose of sweet, crispy air that filled her mind with memories; 'Shhh, don't make a sound or you'll wake them up!' Danny would hush at her and then as the older, more careful sibling he'd slowly open the Wonderland door. Together, they'd sneak out, careful not to make a lot of noise. It would be around 12 am, it was dark and hey sky would be dressed in a dark gown and sprinkled with thousands of tiny stars. They'd lie down on the blanket of grass and stare up at the night sky. Charise would ask a million questions about the stars, and Danny always seemed to have an answer - he enjoyed studying the galaxy like their father.

"I'm really sorry about my folks," Jason's voice made Charise jump, "They can be overwhelming, I know."

She shook her head, "It's alright - I actually thought they were quite lovely."

'Lovely?' Seriously Charise?

The moonlight covered Jason like a delicate sheet, tinting his already flawless features with a light shade of blue. Instead of a deep green, his eyes darkened to a beautiful ocean colour. His hair, which was poorly brushed rested slightly above hs eyebrows in loose, wavy curls. He had a perfectly sculpted jaw and cheekbones that were contoured by the moonlight, which gave him an overall dream-like appearance. 

Not even Michelangelo could've done a better job, she thought smiling, Do I look this good under the moon too? Or maybe he's just blessed.

As though to answer her thoughts, he looked at her and said; "You're really beautiful, you know that?"

Charise felt her heartbeat quicker, and even though she took it with a grain of salt, she nevertheless felt absolutely flattered. It was a different kind of flattered, a kind of warming feeling of approval. Maybe, just maybe, in that moment she was enough.

He came closer to Charise and gently lifted her wrist, examining the topaz jewelry that glittered in the moonlight. He strongly smelled of pine and smoke - to Charise that was the best scent in the universe.

"I want to show you something," he beamed, "Take my hand and I'll show you?" he offered his hand and she hesitated, "Don't you think we should go back inside?"

"Do you seriously think you'll hear something exciting? If you're so worried let me sum it up for you; We'll all sit at the table and my father will start talking about geography but then he'll be rudely interrupted by my mother who really doesn't care about geography and instead will start blabbering about some book she read six years ago, and then all of us will just sit there - listening to my mother because we're all well mannered folks. Then she'll make you promise that you'll read the book too, and you never will because it's incredibly boring - trust me, I've tried. So what do you say, come with me and see something you've never even dreamt of?" he gleamed with excitement like a little boy who managed to fly a big kite, "If at anytime you'd like to come back, we can. But if you stay now, you'll never be able to even fathom what you've missed."

And just like that, Charise took this stranger's hand and together they set off into the night, the stars lightening the way.

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Sorry for the length of this chapter! I didn't expect it to turn out so long!