In considering that fact, the last of my tension began leaving my body, because I could feel it again – her warmth – radiating off her body and reaching into mine as if nothing in the world could stop it.
She noticed my change in demeanor, prompting me to answer her earlier comment. “You’re welcome,” I replied sincerely. “And thank you, for the same reasons.”
The warmth coming off her body only increased, along with her smile.
Chapter 16: Developments
When we arrived at the wedding reception, I couldn’t help but gawk. I supposed it was a good thing the windows were so tinted, because I probably looked ridiculous. The event was being held on a massive estate that put Weaver’s mansion to shame.
At the front gate, we had to show them our IDs to confirm we were invited guests, and then they had us wait for a moment longer while they checked their computer’s screen. At first, I wasn’t sure what they were looking at, but Ava explained once they gave us the green light and we were on our way again.
Apparently, they were x-raying the car just like they did when people left the country, which could have been very bad if my partner was anyone other than Ava. Because she had one of her knives strapped to her inner thigh, which she shifted solely into a shadow so it wouldn’t be detected.
I was really impressed that she could be so selective. She really was the perfect assassin, though I knew that wasn’t the life she wanted to lead despite her circumstances.
We drove for another ten minutes through the compound to get to the location of the wedding reception. The road – hard to call it a long driveway – split several times, with signs directing which path led to which set of buildings.
We knew we were getting close once we passed a massive fountain where the road split to go around the gurgling structure. And then the reception hall finally came into view beyond some trees. It looked like a mansion all on its own, with large pillars supporting a hotel like entrance for cars to drive right up to the door and drop off their vehicles to be valeted away.
However, the valet was of course an optional free courtesy, so Ava drove the vehicle on into a parking garage some distance away on the left side of the building. Honestly, it felt like this estate was its own small town instead of someone’s personal property.
“Any reason why we aren’t dropping the car off up front?” I wondered curiously. I figured mimicking everyone else was ideal, but maybe not.
She nodded, focusing on a guy who was directing vehicles. “Yeah, so I know where the car is in the event we need to leave in a hurry. Worst case is we just abandon it and leave on foot.”
“Oh, okay.” I recalled that Ava was able to move more than double her fastest running pace when transformed into her shadow form – largely because she floated, instead of actually running. I kind of wondered if that meant she could fly, but I figured now wasn’t the best time to ask – it wasn’t relevant at the moment, and I needed to focus on my sixth sense to detect if there were any other metahumans.
There already were a ton of people in the building next to us, which had several massive rooms, as well as many people scattered around outside. I did an initial sweep inside, knowing that threats would stick out easily in my perception, followed by scanning the area in general before focusing more intently as my attention slowly shifted back inside.
As I homed in on my ability, I was able to pick up the minor details wherever I focused, sensing that there was an elaborate system of stairs and balconies in the back of the building that overlooked a large pool. The individual rooms within had extremely tall ceilings with two massive staircases that led from the foyer up to the walkways on the upper level. It was possible to overlook each room from the walkways above.
The majority of the people were in the central space, which was full of tables for dining. There was a small area that appeared to be available for dancing, if the DJ setup was any indication, but there were also massive ballrooms on either side that could be used for dancing as well.
Ava had just parked the car and turned in her seat towards me expectantly.
“Well, I only sense regular people,” I commented. “Nothing out of the ordinary to be honest. I hope this doesn’t just end up as a waste of time.”
Ava pouted then. “Well that wasn’t very nice, Jake.”
“Err,” I delayed, realizing what it sounded like I was saying. “Our date won’t be a waste of time,” I clarified. “It would just suck to come back empty handed is all.”
She grinned then. “Oh, so this is a date now?”
I started feeling hot again. I wasn’t sure what my expression was like, but she laughed.
“I’m just teasing you,” she added. “Although I wouldn’t mind you opening the door for me.”
I immediately felt embarrassed that I hadn’t thought of that myself. I realized I should probably start thinking about this like a date after all, so that I remembered to do all the courteous things a guy was supposed to do. I climbed out of the vehicle without hesitation, careful not to scratch the fancy car next to us, and then made my way around to her side.
However, the moment I opened the door for her, I became hyperaware that I hadn’t anticipated the proximity it would cause when she slipped by me between the vehicles. Suddenly it was like she was an inferno as her silk covered body brushed past my front. I thought for sure I would burst into flames if I had Zayden’s ability, just another reason to stay as far away from his blood as possible.
And then I was even more embarrassed when Ava shot me a concerned look when I didn’t follow after her right away.
Dammit, I felt like an idiot for reacting to her this way. Of course I had been friend-zoned – her confused expression said it all – and rightfully so. We both knew I had a thing for Trinity, not to mention the age difference. In her eyes I was probably still a kid.
I needed to clear my thoughts and focus on the reason for us being here. A short date to give Ava a break from everything, and then focusing on the mission to discover any information on the terrorists we could.
Ava spoke up again before I could respond to her confused expression. “Everything alright, Noah?” she wondered evenly, though her tone still had a touch of sincere concern.
I found myself smirking slightly when she called me by my fake name. It was like a little reminder of the roles we had to play. I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m fine Madison.” I moved closer to her side and offered my arm. “Just looking forward to dinner is all. I’m starving.” I then lowered my voice a little, but kept my tone lighthearted. “And your red dress has given me an appetite.”
She giggled at that, rapidly shifting to a sincere unrestrained chuckle.
“Was it really that funny?” I wondered with a wide grin as we began walking. I knew why it was funny – I didn’t eat normal food. But I didn’t think it was that amusing.
Ava finally calmed down. “Well, I’m sure I look especially tasty, but I’m afraid I’m off the menu tonight,” she said under her breath with a wink.
I gulped and focused straight ahead. While I admitted my comment wasn’t completely innocent, I assumed she’d have taken it literally like I partially intended it. But her response played right along, and in a way that I couldn’t help but take it sexually.
I felt her arm tighten around mine, pressing me firmer against her chest.
She spoke up without waiting for a verbal response from me. “You know, knowing how strong you are, it’s nice to think that if I were to trip in heels, you’d be able to keep me upright.”
I cleared my throat. “Are you regretting not trying them out?” I wondered.
She smiled warmly at me. “A little,” she admitted. “We may never get to do something like this ever again.”
I rested my free hand on her arm holding onto me, rubbing her skin briefly. “Then we’ll just have to make this night count,” I replied seriously.
She nodded once, still smiling.
After we made it out of the parking
garage, we followed the walkway towards the large mansion-like reception hall. We hadn’t met many people yet, other than the guy directing traffic and a few valets returning from parking vehicles. I suspected the reason why was because the majority of guests were dropping off their fancy cars at the door.
I felt a little out of place when we walked up to the entrance from the side of the building, the door being held open by another attendant, but I knew once we got inside no one would know whether we had followed the norm or not.
I tried not to gawk again once we entered the lobby. Perceiving this place was entirely different than seeing it with my own eyes. Everything had a gold hue, largely due to the bright yellow lighting in the ceiling and the mood-lighting on the walls. The floors were a pink marble while the walls were like a backsplash of thick yellow chunks of rock. The ceiling was definitely yellow, a crisscross pattern created from the lowered portions, along with a massive crystal chandelier sparkling in the yellow glow of the room.
Two sets of staircases on either side led up to the second floor, while there was a third stairway in the middle that went down just a few steps to the slightly lower level of the ground-level ballrooms. The railings were a combination of black metal bars molded into intricate patterns, along with a shiny wooden handrail. There was also a rail in the middle of the wider set of steps that went down half a level.
The moment we entered the building, a burst of noisy chatter hit my ears all at once, with the conversation of hundreds of guests who had already arrived echoing through the open doors on the other side of the room.
Unlike the mood-lighting of the entrance, just beyond the steps that went down half a level, it was lit up brightly with white lights, which is why I knew the marble flooring was actually light pink. There was an elaborate pattern designed into the floor in the middle, resembling a fancy rug with red and gold highlights.
Ava and I followed another couple down the half-steps, moving at a steady pace through the lower lobby, before entering the main ballroom that was even more elaborately decorated. The primary colors of the room were definitely red and gold. Ironically, it almost seemed as if Ava and I had known the theme beforehand, with me wearing a red silk tie to match her dress.
Everyone else was dressed in a wide variety of colors, although few were adorned in an overly bright pallet – those who were, appeared to be either in their early twenties or past the age of fifty, with everyone in between wearing darker colors. The room was filled with tables, each one with a massive centerpiece full of over fifty roses. I couldn’t even imagine what all the flowers cost, never mind the rest of the decorations in the room. There was more mood lighting laid into the walls near the floor, though the ceiling lights and numerous crystal chandeliers illuminated the room enough to barely notice them.
Many of the guests were already seated, while others were mingling around, speaking to those they may have known from work or because of their relation to the newlyweds. With a crowd this large, it was easy to get lost in it – I felt like a complete stranger could be here and no one would notice so long as they were dressed appropriately. It made sense now why the security had been so tight at the entrance. It was assumed that if you were here then you had a right to be.
Ava and I mingled around a little ourselves, just discretely scoping out the place, before making our way slowly back towards the front to sit down at one of the tables at the edge of the room. There appeared to be assigned seating near the back for important guests, but otherwise people were just expected to find a seat wherever they could. The left back corner of the room was where the wedding party was expected to sit, while the opposite rear corner was where the DJ and small dancefloor were located.
Ava and I talked amongst ourselves for a few minutes, using our backstories as the topic of conversation. She was telling me a story of some fake drama that happened at ‘work’ when a family of five asked if the other seats at our table were reserved. We smiled brightly at them and invited them to sit with us. We were both ready to make small talk with them, but the couple was so focused on their needy three kids that they paid us little attention after the initial greeting.
Thus, while I regularly kept a lookout with my sixth sense for any threats, I kept my physical eyes on Ava’s chocolate gaze for a good thirty minutes before the wedding party showed up. The wedding had been a smaller, more private event in comparison to the reception, so this would be the first time seeing the crew for many of the guests here.
Just before they arrived, a series of waiters and waitresses went from table to table, asking for dinner orders as if we were at a restaurant. Ava and I both ordered something different, though I was leaving it up to her to pick at both our plates to make it look like I had eaten too.
Unsurprisingly, we saw that the theme for the wedding party had been red and gold. Each of the groomsmen had red tux vests and black ties, while all the bridesmaids were dressed in shiny gold dresses with rose corsages on their left wrists. In contrast, the bride was wearing a standard white dress, along with red roses pinned in her hair, while the groom had both a white vest and red tie like myself.
Everyone stood up and clapped for them as they walked in. Then, once they were seated at the other end of the room, we sat through a handful of speeches. After listening to everyone talk, and gauging the reaction of the bride, I could definitely sense that they were rich snobs. Part of me wondered if they would stay married long, because they both seemed too selfish to last long in a serious relationship. Granted, I didn’t have much foundation for feeling that way other than their facial expressions and seemingly haughty attitudes.
The bride especially, while both she and her gold covered bridesmaids were all very pretty, gave me the impression of a selfish brat.
I started wondering if it was just me, so I leaned in close and whispered my thoughts to Ava.
She grinned widely at me, and pressed her warm lips right up to my ear to respond. “Oh, most definitely. They seem like the classic definition of spoiled brats. Did you notice the glare the bride shot her father when he was giving his speech? He probably was starting to say something off script that she didn’t approve of.”
I nodded, wondering if the aforementioned father was involved with the terrorist attack. If it was true, then I had a hard time believing he would be such a pushover with his daughter. Then again, it wouldn’t be the first time I’d heard of a wealthy and strong-willed man bending over backwards to please his kids, especially daughters.
Our dinner plates were served shortly afterwards, the ambient music in the background increasing in volume slightly. The family sitting with us didn’t pay us any mind, not even noticing that I hadn’t taken a bite for myself. I fed Ava a few bites off my plate to make it look like I was doing something, which she seemed to enjoy more than I was expecting. She made a few sly remarks, one of them regarding her feeling like a queen being fed grapes by one of her servants. I just grinned at her, already having fully committed to letting her enjoy this date as much as possible.
Almost forty-five minutes later, the wedding party finally got up from their seats, so the newlyweds could have their first dance. Once that was checked off their list, the group then exited the room through a side doorway after the groom invited everyone to come socialize and dance in the adjacent ballroom. I could detect in my sixth sense that there were tall tables without seating set up in one half, where people could stand around and talk, while the other half was open for dancing.
I was a little surprised when so many people got up to follow after. There were two groups – one heading to the adjacent ballroom via the doorway the wedding party had used, while the other group left from the main entrance to make their way down the hallway. Seeing my confused expression, Ava leaned in and mentioned that they probably had an open bar in the other room as well, since wine and beer hadn’t been menu options – nothing like alcohol to entice people.
We got up as well, leaving our half-eaten plates behind, and blended into th
e crowd that was heading to the ballroom via the main entrance. The family that had been sitting with us didn’t make any motion to come along, nor did many of the other guests. Likely, they didn’t intend to do any partying with three kids in tow.
Sure enough, there was an open bar handing out free drinks, complimentary of the bride’s family – I knew because there was literally a sign advertising it, like a banner of pride displaying their wealth. There was already a decent crowd of people clustered there waiting to put in their orders.
A second DJ on the other side of the room had an impressive display, including multicolored lights that oscillated with the beat of the music, like we were at a rave party. It was a completely different environment than the ballroom we had just come from. And it was difficult to believe this wasn’t some kind of major event center, instead of someone’s personal property. I was really beginning to wonder what their mansion looked like.
When I noticed Ava looking longingly towards the dancefloor, I brought my hand up to her arm still holding onto me, and made a beeline in that direction.
She gave me a confused look when we got to the edge of the slowly forming group of people and I turned to face her.
“I thought you could only slow dance?” she asked in surprise, referring to the upbeat music.
I shrugged. “Doesn’t mean you can’t show off your moves,” I replied with a grin. “I want to see what you can do.”
She gawked at me, before her eyes narrowed in a playful expression. “Alright, but don’t laugh. It’s been awhile, and this dress is pretty long.”
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