After Naia finally left, Luna decided to go out to the children's center and volunteer her time. She changed into something comfortable: a pair of black jeans and a loose baby pink t-shirt; Luna's wardrobe consists of jeans and t-shirts and the occasional dress for events.
Sean drove Luna to the children's center and parked outside to wait for her return. When Luna got inside, the children were just about to have supper. She put on a pair of gloves and began helping prepare the food for the children.
After the children ate, Luna was helping clean up when the supervisor of the children's center walked over to her. "Luna, would you like to look over our list of donations?"
Luna has previously asked to look over the donators list so she knows who to be grateful to. She is sincerely appreciative of all the donators because she loves the children here and they all deserve the best.
"Yes, I would love to!" Luna followed behind her supervisor into the office where she was handed a packet of papers. "Thank you." She took the packet of papers and looked through the list of organization names and personal names of the donators. As she was going down the list, a name caught her eye, "Diamond."
"Oh yes," Luna's supervisor said when he heard her murmur the name. "The Diamond's have been donating to the children's center for a couple years now. They are very generous."
"Oh."
After another hour with the children, Luna decided to head back home to get ready for the work party with her parents. She put on a black laced, short sleeved bodice with a long chiffon dress; she was feeling 'simple' today. When she made her way downstairs, she saw her parents by the front door.
"We will be taking you with us tonight," Mr. Rose said.
"Okay." Luna hadn't been in the same car with her parents in a while.
The car ride was quiet. Luna decided to break the awkward silence. "So, what is the party for again?"
"It is for the presidents and CEO's of the top enterprises to meet up and converse about business," Mrs. Rose answered.
"Oh," Luna sighed. "Sounds boring," she whispered.
"There will be others there who you can mingle and converse with," Mrs. Rose said. "Like I mentioned earlier today, you can use this time to find a potential partner. You can't be single forever."
"What your mother is trying to say is," Mr. Rose interjected. He made a left turn into the gates of a beautiful mansion. "You should get acquainted with the people in the business because sooner or later, you will have to take some part in it too."
Mr. Rose parked in front of the stairs to the front door of the mansion. The valet opened the doors for the Rose family. They got out of the car and went up the stairs. "Your father is right, but I meant what I said: find someone," Mrs. Rose said sternly.
When they entered the ballroom, Luna saw that it was quite filled. She looked around, hoping to see a familiar face, but she didn't see anyone. Her parents left her to fend for herself in a foreign place as they went to greet the other guests. Luna stood there alone, not really knowing what to do with herself. She tends to start feeling so awkward when she is at a new place with strangers.
"Luna?" A voice called for her. Luna looked around and saw Noah walking up to her. "Hey, Luna!"
Luna felt relieved; a familiar face. "Hi Noah!"
"What are you doing here?" Noah gave Luna a hug.
"My parents asked me to come."
"Oh! If I had known you were coming, I would have brought you myself."
"Oh no. I don't want to inconvenience you."
"No trouble at all. I would have loved to bring you along. How are you liking the party?"
"I just got here. I haven't had the chance to look around yet, but honestly, it seems a bit boring." Luna and Noah chuckled. "Why are you here?"
"My parents wanted me to meet all the important people because I will be taking over the business soon. I need to be well-rounded with the business."
"I see," Luna said. "Same here; my parents want me to know the business, even though I will not be taking part of it."
"Oh? What are you doing instead?"
"I'm working at a children's center right now, but eventually, I want to build my own center. I want to continue working with children."
"That's so admirable."
"Thank you." Luna could feel herself blush a little.
"Oh! Grayson and Sera are here too. Let's go say hello," Noah said. Luna didn't want to, but Noah guided Luna over to the other side of the room.
"Look who's here," Noah said as he and Luna approached Grayson and Sera at a table. They were each holding a glass of red wine.
"Luna!" Sera said excitedly.
"Hi," Luna said smiling. She wasn't exactly thrilled to be seeing Grayson; she is still confused about her feelings towards him.
"Good evening, Luna." Grayson's deep voice brought goosebumps to Luna's body. The way Grayson said her name, Luna couldn't help but feel something.
"Hi, Grayson."
"Are you enjoying the party?" Sera asked Luna.
"It's alright. I don't really know anyone here."
"Reminds me!" Sera said excitedly. "Noah! You said you were going to introduce me to your friends and business partners."
"Oh."
"Let's go." Sera wrapped her arm around his tightly. She tugged at his arm to go towards the crowd. "Brother, go introduce Luna to your business acquaintances."
"I'll see you two later," Noah said as Sera dragged him away from Luna and Grayson.
Again, Luna was left alone with Grayson. She didn't know what to do. When a server came by with a plate of wine glasses, Luna stopped him and picked up a glass. "Thank you." She noticed Grayson's eyes on her.
"Are you sure you want to drink that?" Grayson asked, his eyes on Luna and then the wine glass in her hand.
"Oh this?" Luna didn't know why she took the wine glass. She just felt uncomfortable standing there not doing anything so her body reacted without thinking first. "It's just wine."
"It's still alcohol."
Luna was reminded of the night she drank the vodka shot at the party and blacked out. "I think I'll be fine," she said. She brought the wine glass up to her lips and took a small sip. She tried so hard, but was unable to control her facial expressions; she made a sour face as she swallowed the wine. She heard Grayson chuckle.
"You don't drink, huh?" He took a sip from his wine glass.
"Not really," Luna admitted. Her heart started to beat faster and her face suddenly became warm. She started to fan herself with her left hand.
"Would you like to go outside for some air?"
Luna looked up at Grayson. She quickly pondered on his question. She did need some air. "Yeah."
Grayson led Luna out the ballroom and down a hallway to a large door. He pushed the door open and held it for Luna.
"Thank you."
On the other side of the door was a stone walkway through a green grassed field. There were rose bushes along both sides of the walkway. Luna looked up at the sky. The moon was out and shone brightly. The stars sparkled like diamonds in the dark night sky. The air was cool and fresh.
Grayson gestured for Luna to the pathway. Luna stepped onto the stone pathway, her heels clinked on the ground. Luna and Grayson walked side by side down the pathway; Luna stared up at the beautiful night sky and smiled.
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***Hi all! It's been a while since I posted and update. I have been busy with a convention and babysitting my nephew and have not been able to sit down and type. I finally found some time to update my story tonight! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the upcoming ones.
I will try to update as much as I can before I go on a 2-week vacation. I will let you all know when I leave so you know that I will not be updating for a while. Thank you for sticking with the story and giving it so much love! You are awesome!!!***