The List

chapter 15

 Stepping into the glittering house, I felt my nerves tug at me again.

What was I doing here?

I was surrounded by elegantly dressed people, each adorned with expensive jewels and brilliant white smiles and a snobbish air of superiority, their eyes following me and the navy dress trailing behind me.

The dress Mrs. Thompson lent to me made me seem like one of them, but I was, so far from being like them. I wasn't eloquent like them, I didn't have their natural manners, heck, I could barely distinguish between the right utensils to use at the dinner table.

"Alice."

I breathed a sigh as I turned in the house I knew so well, facing the well-dressed Mrs. Thompson.

"Hi," I smiled shyly as she pulled me into a tight hug, smoothing down my hair in a motherly manner, in which I melted in, reveling in the gentle touch I rarely received.

"Thank you for coming dear, we heard that you were tutoring Ryder, and of course we had to have you come," she pulled away and her eyes drifted up and down my appearance, her polite smile growing into a genuine grin, "and I see that the dress fits you perfectly!"

I flushed, "Thank you for sending the dress, it's lovely."

She nodded and pointed in a vague direction to the kitchen, "I think Ryder is in the kitchen if you're looking for him."

I returned her smile politely, excusing myself from her presence, walking to the kitchen, feeling out of place, which was ridiculous, I knew this place like the back of my hand, why was I so uncomfortable here now?

This was different from Ryder's parties- this was his parents, this was their party. These were important people, I couldn't be embarrassing, I couldn't be anything less than the expectations set by Ryder's parents.

I swallowed nervously and stepped into the crowded kitchen.

The kitchen was full of wonderfully dressed young women and men, all beautiful and radiant with youth. They seemed flushed with the consumption of the alcohol, apparent with the few opened liquor bottles around the room.

These red-faced teenagers did not compare to Eros.

He stood away from everyone, but somehow still surrounded by people, fingers encapsulated in silver, grasping a crystal glass with a dark liquid sloshing in it. He leaned against the marble countertop, lifting the glass to his lips, pulling on the dark fabric of his completely black suit that fitted him perfectly, making his tall figure seem even more prominent.

Eros lazily caught my eye and the frown that was etched temporarily on his face curled up into a small, almost non-existent smile, his eyes widening ever so slightly at the sight of me. "I was waiting for someone tolerable to show up," he mentioned, his voice carrying across the room, long strides reaching me quickly.

I shyly looked up at him, "And here I was looking for a familiar face."

He rolled his eyes at my statement, his hand firmly pushing me to the exit of the kitchen, "C'mon, let's find Ryder."

I sunk into Eros' warm touch, almost sad when his hand would briefly leave the small of my back to shake hands with people that he introduced me to, people he had met last year, people that swooned over him just as the kids at school did too.

A tan-skinned boy approached Eros and I after I had been introduced to the girl that was hopelessly in love with Ryder. He dipped his head in acknowledgment to Eros before asking for my hand, lifting it to his lips, placing a overly-puckered kiss on it.