“Fantastique,” was the last word to come out of her mouth as she led the young man away from the party, only a ten minute walk or so. Nights as beautiful as these needed no pointless commentary, endless filler words. The stars, crisp air, and humming of the crickets were the only details that mattered. It wasn’t until they came upon the pier, bare due to the party apart from the lights’ illuminations that dusted the sand, that Maanon began to speak again. “This is not my...happy place,” she explained, slipping her feet out of her shoes to dig her toes into the soft sand, an action that caused a slow but growing smile. “It reminds me of it, of...my happy place.” Bumping her shoulder softly against his, she asked, “That is close enough, non?” a question she didn’t expect an answer to and, partially, didn’t wan’t an answer to. So, she wasted no time unzipping the back of her dress so the fabric could fall along her skin and find it’s spot in the sand. There was a part of Maanon that wanted to let this man make his own choices, but unlike him, she didn’t enjoy time alone. Perhaps by herself in a group of people, yes, but she didn’t enjoy being completely solo. And because of that, her fingers found his tie, loosening it before she nodded toward the water. “Do not take forever meeting me out there, hm?” The smile on her face faltered, only slightly, considering the fact that he very well could wander off and that would be that, two strangers parting ways. That however, was out of her control. Turning, walking toward the water, and tossing her mask to the sand in the process was not, so she did just that.
