𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄

** FORTY-FIVE **

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”
– Robert A. Heinlein

*****

DESPITE JARED'S INSISTENCE, Yasmine continued to dance, unaware of the surrounding gazes. Her intoxicated state fuels her.

With each beat, she moved with a fluidity that captivated those around her.

As the music reached a crescendo and the crowd pulsated with energy, a sudden, unexpected mishap occurred.

A gasp rippled through the crowd around them and Yasmine stopped dancing, her eyes doubling their size, mouth agape in utter shock.

Without warning, the strap of her gown had cut off her shoulder, exposing more than intended.

Her eyes widened in shock and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as the realization of the humiliating accident washed over her.

Time seemed to slow down as she desperately tried to adjust and cover-up, but the damage had already been done. Whispers rippled through the nearby crowd as people glanced in her direction, some reacting with concern while others stifled their laughter.

She felt a wave of self-consciousness wash over her, her body language shifting to a more guarded stance.

Hastily, Jared pulled her into a hug and she covered her face on his shoulder,  embarrassed.

"What are you looking at?" Jared barked at the guys next to them, who had their gazes fixed on Yasmine's chest.

A tiny smirk appeared on one of the guys' faces, while the other just raised both his hands in apology and turned away. He pulled the other guy with him and they both disappeared into the hormonal crowd.

****

"... I told you that the cloth was too low cut, Yasmine," Jared complained as he paced the room.

He had managed to get Yasmine out of the dancing floor, after giving her his jacket. So they decided to stay out of the prying eyes on them for a while in one of the lounges on the upper floor of the club.

Though still lighthearted, Yasmine looked flush with a little embarrassment as she kept pulling her clothes up to cover more area of her breast. Though the attempt was quite futile.

Jared almost finds it funny with the way she repeatedly pulls her dress up higher than it originally was.

"Geez, this is embarrassing," she muttered to herself, sighing after her repeated attempts to pull the cloth higher to cover her breast.

"It can't go higher than that," Jared informed her. She simply threw a glare at him and continued with her futile attempt. "You should know that. I told you before we left the house that the dress was too low cut."

She stopped what she was doing looked back up at Jared and said, "The nip slip is embarrassing enough, Jared. I don't need you to keep reminding me about it."

She could still remember all the eyes on her body as the mishap happened. It was very embarrassing to her. Fortunately, it was in a club with colored lights, so they couldn't see her chest properly. It would have been more embarrassing if the room had been brightly lit.

And also there was Jared who had helped her save face and quickly came to her rescue.

If it was Jesse, he would laugh at her even after saving her.

"It wouldn't have happened if you had listened to me," Jared insisted.

She threw him a glare. His insistence on the matter caused a surge of irritation to her. Jared seemed to notice because his gaze morphed into an apologetic one.