Billion of Coincidences

Chapter 3 Sean's POV

Not shockingly, I had the worst time ever. The endless procession of models bored me within the first twenty minutes, and I promised Anthony I would at least show up for the after party. "I wouldn't doubt that," he sneakily remarked.

My original plan to just sleep in the parking lot didn't work with annoying flashes of paparazzi following me all the way to my car, so I ended up in the bar. This will top all the dumbest ideas I had all day, because by the time I reach the fashion show after party, I'm nearly wasted.

Avoiding Anthony in this condition is way harder, but I'm not so worried when I notice that I can easily blend in with a crowd which is equally, if not more, wasted than me.
After a few more drinks, Anthony becomes a distant thought and I find myself in the middle of the dance floor. This is how I live: parties, girls, and drinks fill the void of loneliness until I have to sober up, get disappointed in life, and then go to a party again. This is an infinite loop that I'm not even trying to break.

I start flirting with a tall blonde girl, following my usual routine and trying to get us alone.
"Do you want to go somewhere more private?"

Now, if I was less drunk, my senses would have noticed something odd about this girl. The stare she gave me was not infatuated or sultry, but the triumphant one. For an instant, she looked evil.

"Sure," she said, her face twisting into a bitchy smile. "Let me just take care of something for a second."
I quietly end up in the corner, sipping my drink and waiting for the blonde whose name I didn't even bother to ask. I know that a hangover will hit me hard next morning, but tonight, I am feeling more rebellious than usual.

Completely bored, I do the only thing my brain is capable of doing in this state, which is watching people. No models who walked the runway are here right now, which is a shame. Although I recognize some faces, I make no move to start a conversation with anyone, hoping that the blonde comes back at any moment so I can finally leave. That is, until I recognize the couple from the park from earlier today, who sit right in front of me. Wow, the universe really wants me to feel single.
Because there is nothing else to do, I start to eavesdrop on their conversation. The girl sits with her back to me, so I am faced with the sight of her companion. They're speaking in perfect English, and I am immediately curious about who they are. Paris fashion shows are definitely not walk-in events, you have to be personally invited to attend, not to mention the price of everything, even the drinks in this bar. So what are these two doing here?

With the loud music, it is very difficult to make out their chatter, but I catch the guy glancing at me once or twice, before he motions for them to stand up. He probably thinks I'm some sort of a creep preying on a girl, or even worse than that, some journalist. Before I can give more thought to this idea, they come back, but change their seats, so the girl is the one facing me. And even in the dim light of the party, I catch her face, and my breath hitches. Again, I come to realization that she is unbelieavebly pretty. Not model-pretty like the girls I saw earlier, but adorably beautiful. Her eyes are actually sparkling (I know, cliche), a rich shade of brown, long eyelashes visible all the way from the other table. She laughs and covers her mouth, and I feel like I've been electrocuted, a strange tingling sensation running through my body. I know I am staring, but I can't force myself to look away. I tilt my head a little, trying to make out her outfit, but I can only see the straps of her dress, and just by that I can tell that the dress is see-through. I feel a familiar sense of excitement at this thought, but it is quickly replaced with another moment of stupor as she gives me a quick glance and a tiny smile. This smile doesn't reach her eyes, and her dimples aren't as showing as they were in the park. This weird mental comment made me realize that I was staring at her in the park as intently as I am doing it now. All thoughts about some random blonde girl evaporated at the instant.

Our eye contact lasted a fleeting second, probably even less, but my delusional drunk mind took it as flirting. As I am mentally preparing myself to come over, the guy gets up and slowly makes his way to my table.
"Hey there, do you mind if I sit down?"

He looks way older than the girl, and I pray that he is her brother. I simply nod for him to sit across from me. I look at the girl again, and see her staring at the floor, a ghost of a smile on her pretty lips. This makes my head spin from excitement. What kind of game is she playing?

"So how's your night?" God, I'm horrible at this small talk thing. "You love fashi-"
"Can I buy you a drink?" He cuts me off, leaning a little closer.

Wait, Huh?

Is this guy hitting on me, or am I completely wasted???
I am searching for an appropriate response to his offer and coming up short, so then I say the first thing on my mind.

"Actually, I was thinking about getting your friend's number. I thought we had some mutual understanding?"

As soon as I say it out loud, I realise how stupid it makes me look. The guy's face immediately falls, and he already gets up when he looks back one last time, "She's never even going to tell you her name."

Yeah, I realize it now.