Million Dollar Maid ✔

Chapter 23

With one last look at Sébastien, who was still busy enjoying herself, she decided to close her eyes and go for it. After a large breath, she took a sizeable gulp and swallowed.

At first, the taste wasn't all that bad. The cherry flavor dominated the drink but there were hints of strawberry and melon as well. The trouble started with the afterburn, which threw her into a coughing fit.

"Oh, dear," Elena laughed. "Take it easy, we have the whole night in front of us."

"I'm sorry," Ava coughed while trying to survive the burning sensation. "It looked easier when you did it."

"That's talent baby," she laughed in reply as some people approached. "Oh, hey girls, what's up? This is Ava," she said while gesturing at Ava who smiled at them awkwardly.

"Ava, this is Chloe," she said while waving her hand at the tall blonde woman, "and this is Tina," she finished while pointing out the somewhat shorter woman with platinum blonde hair.

Both wore so much makeup it was hard to make out what they actually looked like and Ava wished she had the means and talent to shape her face the way she wanted to.

The taller one, Chloe, swept her eyes up her body and stared at her face a little too long before answering, "Hi Ava, aren't you a sweet one?" Her lips were so large and puffy they hardly moved as she spoke and it made her pronounce some vowels in a funny way.

She didn't really know what she meant by that, but luckily the shorter one talked before it could get awkward. "Hi Ava, nice to meet you," she said with a small smile, making Ava feel a little more relaxed.

More people had arrived while she hadn't noticed but it suddenly dawned at her that it was getting a little crowded. She'd never done well with crowds and nerves started running through her body, causing her to quickly take another sip while the women around her talked to each other.

"Chloe, baby, come sit with me," a man she didn't know yelled from the sofa. A few people were sitting around them but there was still plenty of space left for their little group.

"In your dreams," Chloe called back while moving towards the couch but sitting on the other side as far away from him as possible. While the other ones chose a spot Ava watched and took the last one, which was between Elena and a blonde guy she also hadn't met yet.

"Hi pretty, I don't think we have met yet," he said, trying to grab her attention. Successfully, too, because she immediately looked back at him to reply, "Hi, I'm Ava."

The music was louder from their new spot so she had to speak up to be heard, but it was surprisingly easy to do so. That might have had something to do with the now empty cup in her hand.

"Ava," he said as if testing the name in his mouth. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. I'm Olly."

"Hi Olly," she replied, not really knowing what the right thing to say in these situations was. "That cup looks terribly empty, I would hate for you to dehydrate," he smiled while taking the cup from her.

"Oh no, I don't--" she tried to plead but he was already gone. With a sigh, she looked back at the girls, now deep in their conversation about a mutual acquaintance she didn't know.

She lamely looked around the party which was now absolutely crowding the apartment. The amount of people meant there was plenty to see. There was already a pair kissing heatedly in the hallway, making her quickly turn her gaze the other way. She found a guy from the first group eating fistfuls of M&M's while dropping half of them.

Great, she thought. Guess that'll be fun to clean up in the morning.

The next thing she saw was Sébastien talking to a girl. They were too far away for her to hear what they were talking about but they stood unnaturally close to each other, making her fear she was someone he liked.