Fame & Passion

Chapter 2: The after-party

Paris, France
February 18th

It was like 1 am, and Valentina had already lost Emily. She wasn't worried, though; they had met a group of their model friends who were also at the after-party that night, so she was either with them or with some French guy she liked.

Val was dancing alone, a little bit bored, but she didn't need anyone else to have fun. She was tipsy; she had taken a few body shots with the girls earlier, and now she had a sweet drink in her hands. She didn't remember what it was. She was getting tired on the dance floor and decided to explore the party. She quickly forgot about Taylor (again) when she didn't see her anywhere; she probably didn't go to the after-party.

She approached an area with a few sofas to take a seat. There was barely anyone there, as everyone was dancing. Val saw a drunk guy half asleep on one of the couches and a girl sitting alone in another, so she went and sat next to the girl she didn't recognize yet.

As soon as she seated, she realized she had a drunken Taylor next to her. Tay looked bored, just like her.

"Hey! You scared me there," Taylor talked like her tongue was asleep. It was funny seeing her like this; she was a funny drinker.

"You look so silly like that; this is a new Taylor."

"Oh, you're the model from the gala! I gotta admit you looked so sexy; I couldn't stop looking at you."

"Oh my God! Taylor, you're so drunk right now, but you're funny. Where's your boyfriend anyway? Did he leave you alone like this?" Val blushed so much she thanked there weren't many lights in the room. Actually, she couldn't even see Taylor right.

"You don't have to worry about him," Taylor got closer to Val; she almost invaded her personal space, whispering into her ear; "We can have the night all to ourselves."

Val didn't respond; Taylor grabbed her hand and took her to the dance floor, where their bodies could be even closer to each other.

Taylor loved dancing with her friends like that; I mean, in her drunk mind, Valentina was her best friend after exchanging a few words together.

The atmosphere was so hot; it was hard for Val to resist doing anything with Taylor. She had to remind herself that they were surrounded by people, that Tay had a boyfriend, and she was probably being just friendly. Yeah, she danced like that with all of her friends.

The night was fun, the time ran fast when they were dancing, when Taylor's hands were all over her and she wasn't going to stop her. At 2 am she got a text from Emily; she was going to the hotel with the French guy. So now she had to call her driver and go alone, but she also didn't want to wake him up this late.

She didn't want to leave Taylor alone at the party either; her boyfriend was clearly not there, and they both had a few glasses of champagne together.

Taylor just wanted to keep dancing. Val turned around and locked her hands around Taylor's neck. "We will continue the night at my hotel," she whispered into her ear.

Tay couldn't walk properly, so they went out of the party with her arm all around Val's shoulders and laughing into her neck. Oh, I bet the paparazzi were going crazy right now. Val took her as fast as possible to the first taxi she saw and drove them to her hotel.

Valentina hailed a taxi and helped Taylor inside, their laughter filling the air as they stumbled into the backseat. The taxi driver raised an eyebrow at their state but remained silent, accustomed to the occasional wild nights in the city.

As the taxi wove through the streets of Paris, Valentina couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. The boundaries between friendship and something more had become blurred, and she wondered what the night held in store for them.