"Ah Eloise, my baby, I'm so glad you could come." Aunt Adelia says as both, Elle and I, enter the ball she had made. We were both wearing dresses and adorned in jewelry, according to Aunt Adelia's instructions.
"Some would think Elle is your daughter and I'm the next door neighbor watching you both like a creep." I say with a smile as they both laugh and Aunt Adelia ushers me to give her a hug.
"I'm so happy you both could make it, cherie, i knew you wouldn't say no to your favorite Auntie." My Aunt says as she kisses me lightly on the cheek and I roll my eyes.
"You're my only aunt, quit using this sentence." I say and she mock pouts at me.
"Ah, the infamous Valerie is finally here? Adelia wouldn't stop talking about you. Nice to finally meet you." a man says with a soft smile on his face as he looks at my Aunt lovingly. Elle and I both look at each other with impressed faces.
"Oh, Bryce, stop, I don't even talk about her that much." My Aunt says as she lays her hand om his chest. Elle clears her throat with an amused glitter in her eyes. My Aunt blushes when she sees both of us wink at her and Bryce laughs.
"Valerie, you naughty girl, this is Bryce, he's one of the main people who raised money in this charity ball. He's also the Head Detective in the Police Department." My Aunt says and I look at him again, sizing him up with my eyes.
Oh, well, well, well, look what the cat brought in.
My face expression probably changed, since the smile on his face went down a little. I smile at him felinely and put my hand for him to shake.
"Valerie St. Martin, pleasure to meet you." I say, looking at him as he puts his hand in mine and shakes it firmly.
"Pleasure is mine, dear." He says and then quickly excuses himself to go get a drink for him and my Aunt.
"Why don't you go and discover the place? Elle already started scarfing food down. Maybe you'll find some people you'd like to talk to." My Aunt says and I smirk.
"So now you don't want me? Oh, I get it, you want to sit with your lover boy." I say and she blushes.
"Okay, I'll go but you'll have to tell me all about it, okay?" I say as I look behind her and see Bryce coming towards us. I take it as my mark to move and I waved my hand at her as I went and found my way around the bar.
"Hey, what would you like to drink, belle ?" The bartender says with a wink as soon as I reach the bar and take a seat.
"I'll have a glass of red wine." I say as I look at him through my lashes. He's not that bad, he's french, he's got brown hair and green eyes. His body looks well taken care of, health wise and pleasure wise, if the hickey on his neck is any indication.
He gives me the glass of wine and I notice his eyes dart behind me. I gently move the glass in my hand and watch the delicate liquid slush at the edges, as I wait for the new guest to take a seat.
"Well, this is unexpected." He says with amusement. I try to find what could be amusing about a situation where I'm sitting at a bar, holding a cup of wine. Nothing is.
"Pleasure to see you here, kitten." He says with a wink and a little smile. His mood has been better than the last time I saw him.
"I told you not to call me kitten, we're not high schoolers." I say as I take a sip of my drink and look under my lashes at the detective sitting next to me.
He looked handsome, nothing there to deny. His black suit defined his body structure, and if anything, the black looks good on him. He has a white chemise tucked inside his pants and had the black suit jacket wrap around his upper body nicely, the buttons undone.
The light stubble on his defined jaw can show that he haven't shaved in a hot minute. The blond hair on his head has been a failed attempt and it could be seen, however it has resorted to forming a halo. His hazel eyes glitter under the low lights of the ball, they always have, and they always will, I don't think anything could even dull the light in them.
They said the same thing about you too, but look at you now.
"You look good." I say when I realize I've been staring for longer than I would've liked to, and long enough for him to realize.
He smiles a little and shows his white teeth, and if it was possible, his eyes become more full of light.
"Thank you, you look ravishing too. What are you doing here though? " He says running his hands through his hair. He orders a whiskey from the bartender that has been looking at us for quite a long time .
"My aunt did this whole thing." I say and he raises his eyebrows.
"I never knew Adelia had a sister." He says and I take a sip of my wine.
"Yeah, because she's dead. She's been dead for quite a time now." I say and I feel like slapping myself. I did not just tell him my mom was dead. What the hell is wrong with me?
"Oh, I'm sorry, I never knew." He says as he takes the glass of whiskey from the bartender and lets his hair fall on his forehead.
"It happens, don't worry, she's been dead for so long now." I say bitterly. The burning hate and distaste eats at my heart.
well, technically you have the right to, in the end his father was there.
We sit in silence for a couple of minutes, until a slow song starts playing and he puts his hands forward so they are laid in front of me to take. He winks at me when my eyes trail from his hands to his face to see his reaction. I gently take it and he guides us to the dance floor as we sway to the music.
"Why are you here, Lucas?" I murmur, feeling the afternath of too much wine and the music rumbling through my body.
"What do you mean why I'm here?" He says, when he knows exactly what I mean.
"What are you doing here with me? You've got all these pretty ladies around the room and by the looks of it, they're ready to snatch you at any moment. So why are you dancing with me? You don't even know me." I say and watch him as he looks above my head to check for the facts, and indeed, a good amount of women were looking at him.
He looks at me with his glittery eyes, gives me a twirl until my back rests directly at his chest, his breathe hitting my neck as he lowers his head.
"Well, why would I look at others when I have you to dance with? As I said before, you're pretty ravishing. I wanted to dance with you, that's why I'm dancing with you, and for the knowing part, we've got the whole night to get to know each other, don't we?" He whispers gently and then twirls me back and dips me lightly, looking in my eyes as he does so.
So we did. After a couple of more dances, a few more drinks, our bodies found the way to each other, and for once, only once, I wished that he wasn't the son of the most selfish man on earth and I was the daughter of the woman who had to face his consequences.
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