“Ok,” I said, feeling slightly tired from everything that had happened today. “Would you like to see my ball gown?”
“Sure.” She smiled, and I went to get the bag, which was still standing near the door where I had left it. Well, I guess it was my lucky day after all. I had bought the perfect dress, my parents didn’t mind Michael being my boyfriend as long as we didn’t get married and Paula would never find out about me betraying her. Things were looking up for me.
Chapter 09
I shared my happiness with Michael and Paula the next day. Paula was curious enough to leave Adrian for a moment and join us for lunch. I told them only that my parents didn’t want me to marry Michael but that they were okay with us dating for now. Paula was happy for me, but Michael looked suspicious. I just hoped he wouldn’t try to find out the truth.
“So, did you and Adrian have a fight or you just wanted to hear what had happened with my parents?” I looked at Paula.
“Nope, Alan is having a conversation with him,” she said gloomily. “And yeah, I was curious too.”
“A conversation? Will they kick him out of the university?” I grinned.
“Hey! Don’t say that!” She shot me an angry glare.
“A girl can hope,” I said.
“Is he still failing every subject?” Michael asked.
“Yeah,” Paula said. “He says there’s no point in studying for nothing. I wish he realized there is still hope.”
“You could find a real guy, you know. Someone who will truly love you and give you what you deserve,” Michael said. I was actually glad that someone else besides me had noticed it, but Paula was probably thinking he said it because I had told him to.
“Adrian is a real guy and he gives me all I deserve,” she said, lifting her head up and trying to look indignant.
“Don’t think you can change him,” Michael said. “I lost a friend because of him. I don’t want to lose you too.”
“Lost?” I looked at Michael in surprise.
“Well, it’s not what you think. She moved away, and I have had no contact with her since then,” he said. Relief flashed across Paula’s face. I must have looked disappointed.
“What happened?” I asked when I realized Paula wasn’t really interested and wouldn’t ask any questions.
“Her name is Amaya,” he said, his voice full of sadness. “We were good friends since high school and she came to study here. She fell in love with Adrian as soon as she saw him. They dated for a while and then he left her for another girl. She suffered from depression and her parents decided to take her far away from here.”
“And she hasn’t called you or anything?” Paula asked.
“No, and she didn’t answer any of my calls,” he said. “I just hope she is fine now.”
“Who was this other girl?” Paula said, more interested in the girl who could be her competition here than some poor girl far away.
“Tanya.”
“Tanya?” we both said at the same time. Tanya was a girl who usually gave Paula angry looks, but we'd had no idea why. Now we did.
“Yeah. Adrian has a huge list of girls he dated. And girls are still waiting in rows for him,” Michael said disapprovingly.
“Well, they don’t have to wait anymore.” Paula smiled. “He’s just mine now.”
I wanted to tell her that she should reconsider that, but I kept my mouth shut, which was a surprise. I didn’t want to risk losing her again and I really hoped that the temptation wouldn’t get unbearable.
“Do you really think you changed him, Paula?” Michael looked deep into her eyes, and she actually flinched and dropped her gaze. I had a feeling that even she doubted it sometimes. Good. Maybe she would finally see what was right in front of her eyes.
“Everyone can change,” she said, smiled, got up and left us alone.
“Yeah, everyone except Adrian,” I said, playing with my glass, when I was sure she couldn’t hear me anymore.
“She loves him, Ria,” Michael said. “There’s nothing you can do about it. Only he can.”
“I expected him to leave her already,” I said.
“Why?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Did she…?”
“Yeah, she did.”
“Oh.” He couldn’t hide his surprise.
“Don’t tell anyone,” I said. “And especially don’t tell Paula I told you.”
“Sure.” He smiled again, and we kissed. Maybe Adrian was just waiting for a perfect victim before he broke up with Paula, but I didn’t want to worry about it. I had a new mission in my life; I was going to make that ball night the best night in my whole life.
The long expected night came faster than we all had thought it would. The whole university had been talking about it this week and everyone wanted to be well prepared for the ball, especially girls. There would probably be some unofficial beauty contest.
I was standing in front of the mirror, trying to make my hair perfect. I’d been doing that for the past two hours and still didn’t know what to do. My hair just didn’t want to stay in the position no matter how much hairspray I used. I was getting more annoyed by each second that passed. Someone knocked on my door and completely startled me. I opened it carefully, hoping it wasn’t Michael. It was Paula. And she looked gorgeous.
“Are you done?” she asked as I let her inside. Her beautiful curly hair was lifted up, but a few curls were left to fall down her face. Damn, I’d kill to have that kind of hair.
“I don’t know what to do with my stupid hair.” I sighed. “Anything I do is useless!”
“Why don’t you just leave it down like it is?”
“No! That’s too ordinary.” I scowled.
“But you need something simple with this dress,” she said. “Maybe I can braid it for you.”
I looked at her and shrugged. I was so desperate that I would take almost anything. Almost. I actually closed my eyes while she did something with my hair.
“Ok, I think you’re done,” she said, and I opened my eyes.
“Wow,” I said, looking at the two tiny braids she made for me on each side. It looked good against the rest of my straight hair, like waves. Or maybe I was just seeing waves everywhere now. Oh whatever, it looked good because my hair still looked simple but not plain… if that made any sense.
“Do you like it?” she asked uncertainly.
“Sure, thanks!” I went to hug her, then realized that wasn’t such a good idea, so I just took hold of her hands.
We hurried down the hall, hoping that no one would see us before we got to the ballroom. Guys were already supposed to be there, waiting for us. I couldn’t wait to see Michael and the look on his face when I appeared in front of him.
The ballroom looked absolutely amazing, completely bathed in a golden glow of hundreds of crystal lamps. The dance floor was on my left and the tables were opposite from it, mostly occupied by those who were waiting for someone or didn’t like to dance. I realized we were among the last people to come because I was overwhelmed by the amount of faces I could see in front of me.
All the girls looked gorgeous in their dresses, and I suddenly felt the urge to find Michael before some other girl set her eyes upon him. But it was hard to find a familiar face among all those guys in their tuxedos. Paula seemed equally lost next to me, and we slowly slipped into the crowd. People were mostly standing between the dance floor and the tables, chatting and drinking.
Of course, Adrian reached us first, which wasn’t a surprise considering his annoying ability to sense Paula’s element. Her face lit up when she saw him, but she didn’t go all over him. It wasn’t for my benefit, but because people still weren’t drunk enough not to notice any make-up or dress imperfections caused by getting too close to someone.
“You look amazing, darling.” Adrian smiled at Paula, and she couldn’t have looked prouder or happier. I really hated the effect he had on her. But hell, even the Monster looked decent tonight.
“Ria.” I heard Michael’s voice
behind my back and I spun around a little too fast. His mouth opened, his eyes widened and he was speechless for a moment. His reaction made me smile. I got what I wanted.
“You look…,” he was struggling to find the right word, “beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I said, “you too.”
And really, he did look gorgeous in his black tuxedo. His usually wavy brown hair had been carefully combed, and his green eyes were more noticeable that way. I wanted to kiss him, but just like Paula, I didn’t want anything to ruin my looks for the first hour or two.
“Michael!” Paula said. “You look great.”
“Thanks,” he said. “You and Ria are truly gorgeous tonight.”
“They always are, aren’t they?” Adrian smiled, obviously trying to unnerve Michael. When no one said anything for a minute or so, I believe we all started to feel uncomfortable. I wanted a drink, but the waiter was passing on the wrong side, next to Michael and not me.
“Michael…,” I started to say and knew I wouldn’t be fast enough to explain what I wanted, especially not with all that noise around us. Adrian glanced at me and took two glasses of champagne from the tray. He offered the glass to me.
“You wanted this, I believe,” he said, and I took the glass.
“Thanks,” I said and took a sip of it, hoping that this awkward moment would pass. It seemed weird that he would take a glass for himself and me and not for his girlfriend. Paula, however, seemed pleased because in her eyes Adrian was trying to get along with me. How nice. Michael obviously found it rude that Adrian hadn’t given the other glass to Paula, because he frowned.
“Don’t you think your girlfriend would want a drink too?” Michael said.
“She doesn’t drink champagne,” he said, taking a sip. That wasn’t good enough for Michael.
“Paula, can I get you something? I’m going to get myself a drink, so…” He tried to make it sound casual, but Paula blushed slightly. She wasn’t quite sure what to do, and she glanced at Adrian, who just smiled at her and made no movement.
“Ok,” she finally said. “Could you bring me some water?”
“Water?” Adrian and I said at the same time. Great. We definitely had to get away from each other, like, yesterday.
“Get her some wine,” Adrian said, and Michael seemed to be getting angrier. He definitely didn’t like Adrian’s attitude.
“I didn’t ask you anything,” Michael said through his teeth and then smiled at Paula, who was looking at them slightly frightened. “Paula?”
“Wine is just fine,” she said, trying hard to look calm and cheerful. “It’s a party anyway. I guess we can’t drink water, can we?”
Michael seemed undecided for a moment, but then he left. I tried my best to ignore Adrian and turned to Paula.
“So, what do you think? Is it going to be a great party?” I said.
“Probably,” she said. “Look at all these people. When the music becomes louder and everyone gets drunk… Yeah, it will be great.”
“We don’t have to wait for that,” Adrian suddenly said, pulling something out of his pocket. His cold gray-blue eyes met mine for a moment, and then I looked at what he was holding in his hand. It was a small black box, and when he opened it…
I nearly dropped my drink as I saw round white pills. Drugs? I stood there, unable to move or say anything. Hundreds of thoughts were passing through my head. Was Adrian a drug addict? Had he made Paula take it too? Oh, shit.
“Adrian!” Paula said in a hushed voice. “Don’t take it out here!”
“Why? Are you afraid someone is going to try to take them for himself?” He smiled. “Don’t worry. I have plenty.”
Michael returned just as I was about to drag Paula out of there, and I stopped dead in my tracks. The little black box disappeared, and Adrian was acting like nothing had happened. His nonchalant posture almost made me believe I had imagined it. My mind was in overdrive and, when I got back to reality, Michael was asking me for a dance. I realized Adrian and Paula had gone to dance too.
I left my glass on an empty table and let Michael lead me to the dance floor. I had no idea what to do. I definitely didn’t want to make a scandal here or ruin the party for Paula, but this wasn’t some silly thing. Michael looked at my worried face and reached out to touch my cheek with his soft fingers.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. We were still dancing, and I was really pissed off at my dress because it prevented me from getting close to Michael and burrowing my face into his chest. I wanted to tell him what bothered me, but I couldn’t. I was sure he’d immediately go find Adrian, and I didn’t want to know what would happen in that case.
“Nothing,” I said. “I think I saw a girl in a similar dress to mine.”
That was such a lame lie, and I wished I had come up with something else, but I guess I wasn’t creative enough for that. Besides, that was something I could be upset about after all I’d gone through to get the damn dress.
“That’s impossible,” Michael said. “And even if it is similar, you look ten times better than her.”
“Just ten?” I faked indignation, but then burst out laughing.
“Okay, billion then,” he said, the warmth of his eyes reaching all the way to me and making me feel better. Suddenly there was nothing but us on that dance floor, and I was grinning at Michael like I had just won the lottery.
“I love you,” I said and meant it. Michael stopped moving and looked deep into my eyes. I guess he was trying to see was it me or the champagne talking.
“I love you too,” he finally said and bent down to kiss me. I didn’t move away this time because the dress was the last thing that mattered at the moment and Michael tried to be as careful as possible. His warm soft lips touched mine gently in the sweetest kiss ever, and I was afraid I was going to melt.
The party finally started in its true form when the press and cameras were gone, and then the lights dimmed, making the atmosphere even better than it was. Even the music got much louder. People could now relax and worry a little less about how they looked. It was hard to recognize anyone around us, but I did recognize Paula when she approached us. I had no idea how long Michael and I had been dancing and even less idea how many glasses of champagne I’d had.
“Hey, there you are!” Paula said, nearly crashing into us. She looked a bit drunk… or high. Oh crap, I’d totally forgotten about the pills. Had she taken one? I wasn’t sure as I stared into her glassy eyes. My eyes could have looked the same for all I knew.
“You promised,” she yelled so I could hear her over the music. I had a hard time understanding what she was talking about.
“What?” I yelled back.
“I want you two to get along,” she said. “Dance with him, please. For me.”
I was staring at her for a full minute until her words sank in. Did she want me to dance with… Adrian? Just as I was about to tell her that I couldn’t do it, she grabbed Michael’s hand and pulled him with her to dance with him. Michael looked as confused and nervous as I was, but let her take him away. I turned around and ended up face to face with Adrian.
“Come, my Ice Queen.” He extended his hand towards me. I looked around and saw Paula watching me while she rested her head on Michael’s shoulder. She smiled at me. I had no choice but to take Adrian’s hand.
He pressed me close to him, closer than necessary, and his hand ended up low on my back. At that moment I cursed the dress with a low back cut because he was touching my bare skin, making this truly uncomfortable.
“I’m not an ice queen,” I said, hoping that talking would distract me from the fact that his body was pressed against mine.
“Then why are you wearing her dress?” he said, and I frowned.
“What?”
“The dress,” he said. “It looks like ice.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I complained. “It’s…”
I thought about it for a moment. Maybe it was ice… pale blue shining crystals… Oh, never mind. It depended
on your point of view. But what the hell, you got ice out of water anyway. Maybe I should…. no, this wasn’t it; I was supposed to say something else… Then somehow in my hazy mind I managed to remember it.
“You drugged Paula!” I glared at him angrily. He didn’t react at that at all.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” he said. “Sometimes she needs a little boost, you know. To help her relax.”
I really, truly wanted to kick him in the face.
“I’m going to tell her parents,” I said. “You can’t blackmail me anymore. This is serious.”
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “Do you want me to break her heart? Trust me, I’d enjoy doing that. You can get her away from me, but what will that do to her?”
I stood there, frozen. I hadn’t thought about that. Michael’s story about his friend Amaya came back to me. What if Paula’s parents got her away from here? Away from Adrian, but away from me too. I wouldn’t be able to stand that. Surely, Paula wasn’t some easily depressed girl, but who knew?
“Let’s make a deal,” he said, taking my hand and twirling me around. I ended up with my back pressed against his chest and his arms around me.
“What kind of a deal?” I said, hating the way he was pressing himself against me and making me move in the rhythm of the music. He moved my hair aside and it made me feel vulnerable.
“Walk with me to the restroom,” he said, his lips nearly touching my ear.
“What?” I wanted to turn around, but his grip on me was too tight.
“I will never ever give a pill to Paula if you take one now in the restroom,” he said. What kind of a twisted game was he playing?
“So, what do you say?” he said. “Will you risk Paula becoming an addict, depressed little girl or will you save her?”
“I don’t trust you,” I said.
“I’ll swear on anything you want,” he said, and this time he licked my earlobe. I shivered, suddenly feeling so cold from inside. I wasn’t sure what to do. I should have kicked him and run, but I guess I wasn’t smart enough.
Dangerous (Element Preservers Series, Book 1) Page 8
