HOOKED

❝ The chilled air collided against my body and danced over my defenceless, vulnerable skin. My head was down in a way of sulking, eyes darted to the drink that I'd been stirring with my straw for a long while now; a considerable extent of time that the ice in it had thus far melted, turning the drink less concentrated. I hesitated to pick my eyes up to look around as I shifted in my seat out of uneasiness. "I suggest you relax. I, as your best friend, would not lie to make you smile if you truly were not looking as beautiful as you are tonight." Talia placed her reassuring hand on top of mine, which had been trembling without my consent for a long point in time. Her statement was consolatory but they couldn't get me to feel any better or put me at ease. My mind seemed to drift away in a boat of anxiety and distress, deep into my thoughts, as I continued to suffer from exposure. I pulled the hem of my dress to hide as much of my chest as possible to the extent that I could, to prevent revealing way too much of my cleavage, which could be enough to gain me an audience. But let alone my body, it felt like my simple existence had everyone's attention as my ears collected the mutters about my late father even though it had been two years since he had passed away and no one other than a few of his business friends spoke to us about it ever since. I moved my hips to make myself comfortable on the stool at the drink bar. My mouth found its way to my untouched drink and I sipped in, only to be surprised by its bitter taste which I hadn't expected. "That's a cocktail." Talia spoke with an overexcited giggle. "Yeah but-" "With vodka in it." she corrected, a grin sneaking onto her face before rolling her eyes at my expression which lacked enthusiasm.. Although being the strong drinker she generally was, it was visible that she had turned into a victim of the lusty alcohol tonight; it was proof that she had had a good day. A smile cracked on my face at the sight of the fact that she was happy, because that's what I wished for her even if I failed to for myself. "Ah, here is my lady." A voice sounded out next to us which was husky with a deeper tone than most men on an attractive level, as he took the seat next to Talia and picked up a conversation with her. By the look on her face, I realised she might be acquainted with him. More than that, from the way he addressed her, he must be the very man Talia was expecting, in fact excited, to introduce me to. "I see you brought someone here with you." he spoke and it seemed that he must have referred to me, brushing his stray bangs behind to join his gelled hair that was nicely styled behind like a polite man with courtesy; enough for me to approve him for my best friend to begin with. I happened to be a little picky about the men Talia would be on terms that were more than friends with. Solely because I would hate to know she had settled for a man below the standard she deserved.  He was wearing one of the finest suits in black, with a burgundy blouse underneath, along with a tie which matched the colour in contrast to his coat, bringing a very posh vibe to him. His look perfectly suited his dirty blonde hair that was set to stay in place, exposing his forehead. When I turned to look at him with a smile of greeting on my face despite the anxiousness of interacting with someone new growing in me, I noticed how his eyes were of a darker shade than hazel but comparatively lighter than black. I knew that must've been alone the whole reason my best friend was hooked.  It was his strong cologne which was intimidating. But no, I was not dazed because he was not my type. In fact, nobody there was. Because according to my beliefs, I was convinced that I was not worthy of having the right to choose a type and that was because nobody should deserve someone as low as me; someone who failed to stay by the side of their lover when they needed the most, but neither could they let go of them to move on. I shifted again out of uneaseness in my dress that fitted my body in ways that it felt like my naked body structure was exposed to the eyes of the guests with only a thin wrapping of green velvet over it to cover my skin, yet revealing enough to lure anyone under the bed sheets. I wondered when I had changed from being as confident as I used to be. Not wanting to deal with my mind anymore, I shooed away the futile thoughts out of my head and then stared back at the blank face of two gorgeous eyes. "I apologize, I was thinking. What were you saying again?" I apologized and received a smile in return. "Timothy Hilton. I'm an acquaintance of Ms.Cassidy. Nice to meet you." His response to me was polite but his eyes then met with Talia's ones next to him with a look of mischief which brought out a giggle from her. They must've had an inside joke about this and counted me a fool. "Oh hello, I am Siena Dallarosa and it is a pleasure to meet you too." I spoke with confidence, trying my best to not embarrass myself by stuttering under his deep gaze.  Though the gentleman's name seemed familiar, I failed to recall how or why, as I felt tipsy and realised that I had sipped my entire drink. I had already taken three shots of tequila in my system earlier, which must've caused me to further become a victim of alcohol. I was not someone who consumes alcohol often, which is why I had poor control of my tolerance. Talia smiled at my firm reply and I couldn't help but let my smile grow wider. It would bring me pleasure whenever I would see her being proud of me. As cliche as it may sound, but as special as it was, she was more to me than a sister would be. And ever since I began to recognize her as one of the few most important people in my life, I couldn't imagine one without her. I heard a clap as Talia snapped me out of my daze again. "I am sorry, I was thinking again." I looked at them apologetically, this time embarrassed about my behaviour. I was afraid to appear rude because of my social anxiety. I got up from my seat as I saw Timothy and Talia standing. For a split moment, an odd sudden thought had appeared in my head and I could not help but realize it was cute how similar their names were or was it too a coincidence? I could not hold back but chuckle as it clicked in my head. "Your getting too driven away by your thoughts, is everything alr-" Talia spoke with concern in her eyes but cut herself off mid-speech when she noticed the tear that had strained down my eyes. "Oh my, why are you crying?" She asked, concerned, as she cupped my face and stared deep into my soul with her soulful eyes. I took her hands in mine as I wiped the tears away, plastering a smile on my face and shrugging off. "It's nothing." I smiled. Juan approached us and I felt myself calm down with a breath of relief at finally seeing someone I knew and liked amongst the many around us, other than Talia and somewhat perhaps this new guy who joined us a while back.  Juan Gilberto was Talia Cassidy's fiance and they were contemplating marriage. He was someone who was worthy of Talia well, according to my knowledge. But it was also only understandable that Talia didn't partially seem to have mutual feelings for him. Both had no option but to grant the wishes of their parents and get married for the benefit of their households. But what I must say is that they appeared lovely together, a fact that the two were perhaps too shy or in denial to ever agree on. They had mutual understanding and views of the world and I have rarely seen conflicts, although that could also only be because they had not grown close enough.  "May I have a dance with you?" Timothy asked politely, distracting me out of thoughts again as he forwarded his hand for me to take. It had taken me aback at first in confusion, but realisation struck me as I noticed that Talia was already in Juan's arms on the dance floor, be it by choice or not. And so, I took Timothy's hand because of feeling sorry for him and neither wanting to embarrass the guy by refusing his decent proposal. "Surely," I said as I took his hand, approaching the dance floor with him. He brought my hands close to him and gently rested them on his shoulder before placing his on my waist, bringing me closer while maintaining a comfortable distance. Our chests barely touched while I could sense he was making sure not to make any awkward contact at all, as we danced in sync. It was evident on his face that he was not happy. Not because he was dancing with me, but because he was not dancing with Talia. I could notice that he was secretly trying to steal glances at her in the midst of our dance. Part of me wanted to ask him the question but the other half refrained.  We swayed along to the slow music. This man seemed to be very skilled at dancing but appeared very subtle about it which I found a decent feature. Timothy put a bit more interspace between us as he twirled me and then pulled me back. He limited himself from making contact with the skin of my waist that was not covered by any cloth as that was the design of my dress. His whole focus seemed to be on trying not to make me uncomfortable in any way and that was very polite of him. I was wearing a vintage gown of the color sacramento green which hugged my body till my waist and flowed downwards freely, ending up on the floor to be dragged along like it was wiping the floor for free. Our shoes tapped on the floor in sync with the music smoothly and I felt more comfortable with him by the second. "May I have this dance?" sounded out a certain voice that had its own melody, from behind me. I looked up to see Timothy sharing a casual wink of approval at whoever was behind me and then serving me a look of assurance before giving away my hand to the stranger who scooped me in his embrace with a smooth swirl without my consent on it, in accordance to the music. His hands landed on the exposed skin of my waist as my hands danced their way up to his shoulders on their own accord. A hiss left my lips under my breath as his cold palms made contact with my skin like the sensation of a burn which sent tingles down my spine.  I raised my face as my eyes met his eyes, but his rather met my body first as they wandered all over to check me out like a little explorer, awakening the butterflies inside me I knew were long dead. Indeed, the night was full of wonders. I was still unaware of why his presence was embracing me with so much fascination, despite the fact that he was a stranger. A sudden moment of dazzlement fell on us although our bodies never stopped dancing with each other, be it with half or our consent or none, let alone full. A smile crept up on his face as his eyes finally locked with mine, so politely that I almost could not recognize the mischief I noticed at first. It was not until I too was caught in a light trance by the sight of bourbon brown eyes gazing deeply into mine like I was something not odd but unique. His cologne of strong vanilla whiskey with hints of cinnamon had a further hold on consuming me, making me fall into a half-conscious state of mind. But my conscience soon returned, triggering me to be cautious because of how threatening it felt to be this flustered around a man who was also looking at me like he was ready to devour me in the same manner I would have him be. Once again, I chose to blame alcohol for the night and reminded myself to keep my guards high. "You're interesting." he spoke casually but with a hint of remaining formal. His tone was soft but firm and that voice only felt like a melody to the ears. Only in general though, I mean- I was not sure if he tried to mean that I was attractive because I was not sure if I had shown him any action that could gain his interest yet. "It's Seina." I smiled with a hint of sarcasm, to correct him. "A beautiful one, Siena Dallarosa." He smiled brighter, kissing the top of my hand whilst slightly kneeling like a polished man. I will not deny that I was not flustered at first, but I managed to hold up a straight face at noticing that all the couples on the dance floor around me had just now faced the same course of action as part of the dance.  I had never before heard my name being called out so pleasingly that I wanted him to repeat it. My name sounded delightful to my ears as it slipped out of his mouth that I felt the urge to find an excuse to justify and disregard how I was feeling, seeking to extinguish the flare he was making my heart blaze in. But it was then that it hit me that he had called out my full name in response, which I do not recall mentioning to him. "You know me." I chuckled hesitantly with suspicion arising in me as we swayed along with the music, trying not to let my confidence slip away. But blood had rushed up to my face because of the fast rhythm of my throbbing heart. "I would like to." He responded to correct me in the same manner as I did earlier. He leaned closer, making my breath hitch. "You're annoying." I gulped, failing to process the heat of the moment. His lips rather reached out to my ears. "It's Jeremy Peterson." he smiled with full pleasure like the joy was all his.