The sound of the ringing doorbell resounded through the house.
Knowing that Jenny would want me to greet the guests, I flew downstairs.
Jenny was already at the door, inviting them inside. She looked me up and down, and nodded in approval. In her eyes was the unspoken will for me to call her mother while our guests were here. I nodded back at her.
She introduced me to the guests as her 'wonderful daughter Veranika'. I looked at each of the guests in turn. There was a lady who looked like she has stepped off the front cover of Vogue.. She had on a bright red cocktail dress. In her hand she held an exquisite little black handbag. Her face had very little, if any, makeup, except for the eyeliner and red lipstick that matched her dress. Her hair was, or looked, naturally blond and it fell about her shoulders like a waterfall. She smiled at me, and unlike many other people's that I knew, her smile reached her warm, brown eyes.
The man, whom I turned to next, looked a lot older than his partner, and had black hair with flecks of silver spread throughout. He looked very serious, and as he stood there, unmoving in his black suit, I could have sworn he was a statue. His eyes were blue, and they sparkled with interest.
My eyes moved further, to the boy he had his arm around. He looked a bit older than me. Our eyes locked and my knees melted. I could have stared into his soft, brown eyes for ever and ever. And I probably would have, if he hadn't smiled. The corners of his eyes crinkled and I snapped out of my trance. I blushed, embarrassed, and looked at his hair instead. It was a dark shade of brown, almost black. It waved its way down to his ears. He too was wearing a suit.
The man held up his hand for a handshake.
"I'm Damion, Boss of the World bank." I shook his hand.
"Veranika."
His hand was warm and leathery.
Then the lady stepped forward and announced herself as Scarlett, which I thought really suited her, given what she was wearing and all that. As she stepped forward to hug me, I noticed that she had a very thin gold chain around her neck. A tiny ruby hung on it.
I turned to the boy.
"Phillip."
"Veranika."
And we shook hands.
_______________
Later, as we were sitting at the table eating dinner, Phillip and I talked. About school, life.
When it was time for dessert, he passed me my plate, and accidentally brushed his hand against mine.
"Sorry."
He mumbled, but the way he said it told me he wasn't sorry at all.
While everybody was eating the dessert, it was mostly silent, and every time I stole a glance at Phillip, I would catch him looking at me. We would turn away, blushing, but sooner or later I would feel his gaze on me again.
_______________
After dinner, Jenny suggested that she play the grand piano that stood in our entertainment room, and we danced.
Phillip offered me his hand, and all chivalrous, asked me to dance. His tone was serious, but his eyes were laughing. I smiled and agreed.
He moved very carefully, as if any sudden moves would scare me off. His hand slid to rest on my waist, and I felt my whole being tingle.
Jenny began playing a very beautiful and intricate piece. Any other time I would have questioned where she learned it, but I was too busy dancing. Phillip and I moved in perfect synchronization, and we lost ourselves to the music... Actually we didn't. We were dancing, yes, but we kept stepping on each other's feet, and kept forgetting the dance moves. We laughed, and talked, and laughed some more, and the evening was over too soon.
As he was leaving with his parents, he pressed a small piece of paper into my hand.
"Read it later" he whispered, and kissed my hand before following Scarlett and Damion to their car.
I helped Jenny clean everything away, and started to make my way up the stairs.
"Jenny?"
I called.
"Yeah?"
"Are they coming back?"
Jenny smiled with a glint of amusement in her eye.
"Probably."
Then she smiled and turned away before continuing.
"Especially now that you have an admirer..."
A smiled and rolled my eyes.
"Goodnight"
"Night"
As I lay down in bed, I remembered the paper Phillip had given me.
I opened it.
His phone number.
How cliché, I thought before drifting off to sleep.
