Ravenwolf's Rose

Charity Ball

"Nathan told me to help you..." he cleared his throat and I stood up quickly. He passed me the clipboard.

"Thanks..." I said and we both stared at one another. "Shouldn't you... be handling the venue?"

"It's all done... our guests will arrive soon..."

"Then... the part-timers helping me hand out name tags...?"

"At last minute it was decided that the acting President would be greeting clients upfront rather than on the floor..." I could only guess to myself who was the mastermind behind all of that... Nathan.

There was a moment of awkward silence between us. He already saw me in my dress, but not with the makeup and hair-styling.

"They... did a decent job."

"What?" I looked at him confused.

"Your hair and face."

"You really know how to offend people."

"I think we both do..." I exhaled. It was awkward between us again. But then I thought about this rare chance. Although it was bothersome that Nathan forced us to stand beside one another until all the guests arrived... it was an opportunity to talk to him face to face.

"Look... I wanted to... I want to..." I turned to look at him sincerely and he stared back at me a little taken aback by my change in tone. 

"I want to apologize for what happened. You're right... I did overstep... and I'm sorry... I shouldn't have done that..."

He seemed to be processing what I said. I wanted to brace myself for what he would say next. Maybe an 'I told you so,' or 'don't let it happen again.' Or something curt, straight to the point.

"Apology accepted..." I looked over at him shocked. He was staring ahead... looking majestic in his all-black suit. "I also... want to apologize for the way I reacted... it was... unfair to you."

We both stood in silence for a bit and before I knew it I sighed. It felt like there was a relief lifting off of my shoulder. I simply nodded. That was less painful than I thought it would be. Soon after a lot of people started coming in.

I don't know how long I had been standing there making small talk from time to time, but Kai and I managed to keep the energy booming for a good 20 minutes while people were escorted to the hall. There were probably about 75 people in attendance today...

By the time we were finishing up everyone was going inside meeting and greeting each other. 

I felt drained. I leaned against the tall host stand and waved my hand towards my face. Kai asked another part-timer to hand out the remaining few cards before he excused himself. I would have to go and meet people on the inside of the venue before their speeches and dinner but I needed to freshen up in the bathroom.

Maybe my makeup was running down my face...? Well, that was unlikely. God knows what chemicals were cemented on my face to keep my face looking like this for 24 hours...they promised me I would look the same for the remainder of the night even if a tsunami whipped by... makeup was a little scary...

After my trip to the bathroom, I felt refreshed. When I left, I stretched my arms over my head. I yawned a little and then dropped my arms down. However, one of my bracelets snagged on the top part of my dress near my cleavage. 

"How did..." I mumbled to myself. I slowed down to a turtle's pace and tried to unravel the tiny clasp on my bracelet.

While I was walking I was somewhat aware of the people around me.

When it felt like there was a person walking towards me, I slowed down even more and tried moving out of their way. I went left, but they did too. So then I stepped right, but they did too. I tried stepping further right but they did as well.

I tried once more by going left and they followed.

"What are you--" I looked up and I was facing someone's neck. I then glanced up further and saw a charming young man looking down at me. He then leaned forward while looking directly into my eyes. I wasn't shaken by the lack of space between us. I just wanted to know why he was in my way.

"You look like you could use a little assistance..." I raised my eyebrow. He stepped back a little and I could see his tall, model-like legs... he could definitely compare to looks with Kai. I shook my head... why was I always comparing men to Kai?

"Thanks but I'll be fine..." I tried walking by him but he caught my attention again.

"For a $15,000 gown I'm sure it would be waste to ruin it..." I turned around with dollar signs popping up around my vision. How much was this dress? I know I hadn't looked at the tag because I was in love with the fit. I nearly stumbled but he went forward and held me up.

"I promise it will only take a quick second..." I nodded. Whoever it was at this point. I needed to get this bracelet safely off of this dress...

He leaned forward a little too close to my body but I didn't want to start complaining over the closeness between us... his eyes peered down at the bracelet and he started unraveling it delicately. He eventually unfastened the bracelet but it fell to the ground. We both reached for it. When he grabbed hold of it I was already crouching down as well. He turned to face me and our lips touched each other.

My eyes widened. I couldn't believe this was happening.

I stood up suddenly embarrassed. He did as well. I could see his arm reaching out towards me.

I was trying to process what had happened and before I knew it, an arm was reaching out from behind me to grab the collar of this mystery man's suit. It was Kai. He aggressively pushed the guy onto the floor and looked like he wanted to punch him in the face.

The mystery guy chuckled while straightening out his shirt again. He slowly stood up while staring at Kai, who was now standing in front of me.

"Well, it's nice to see you again... I mean, I didn't think this is how we would meet again after 10 years..."