While on the dance floor, Sarah and Aiden blended in with the crowd. But now that they are sitting at the table in an area which is more illuminated, two of them attracted curious gazes of other guests. Almost everyone knows who Sarah is, but they don’t know who the young man by her side is.

“They look great together”, someone commented.

“Like they are from a picture in a magazine that was Photoshop-ed.”, another person said.

“They are looking at each other like they are in love.”

“Oh, it’s nice to be young!”

“Do you know who he is? I didn’t see him coming with youngest Miss Hill.”

“Shh, don’t talk about young Miss. It’s not appropriate.”

After Sarah and Aiden finished with snacks and beverages, they headed back to the dance floor unaware of whispers and curious gazes of people around them. They were in a world of their own, focused on each other. Again, they blended with other people dancing on the dimly lit dance floor.

Sarah gazed into his dark eyes which smiled at her and she found it impossible to look away. Like her whole world is inside those eyes, and there is no reason to look anywhere else. She felt the urge to reach for more, she wanted to get closer to him, to touch him more. She bit her lower lip trying to get herself out of the daze.

Aiden noticed that Sarah’s intense gaze is locked on him, and he hoped that their thoughts are similar. He wanted to pull her closer and to feel her body next to his. She is enchanting, and her lips are attracting him more than he wants to admit.

Aiden hesitated. ‘What if she is not ready? I don’t want to make her go faster than she wants to. I know she likes me, but I can also see that she is struggling with something.’ He decided long time ago to let her set the pace. He will follow.

Aiden’s deep voice rang in her ears: “I told you before, with me you don’t need to think much. Just do what you feel is right.”

Sarah felt his breath on her face and inhaled her now favorite woody-flowery fragrance. She felt like she is under a spell. A strong spell that took over command of her body. Without thinking, she moved closer to him slowly, inch by inch, distance between them was closing while her eyes darted between his lips and his eyes.

He looked at her intently. ‘Is she…? … YES!!!‘ Aiden’s mind exploded.

His arms wrapped around Sarah, and his lips landed on hers.

And the world stopped. There was no music, no people, everything faded in an instant, like it never existed. The only two people in the universe were two of them. Holding each other, their bodies pressing onto one another as their lips connected.

Sarah felt his lips teasing hers, and she responded while mimicking his actions clumsily at first. It took her few seconds to get the hang of it and to match his actions with confidence. And then his tongue brushed against her lips and she was glad that he is holding her tightly because her legs became jelly.

It seems that he noticed that her legs are giving up on her, because he held her closer, letting her almost lean on him. Refusing to part his lips from hers.

Neither of them knew how long that kiss lasted before Aiden reluctantly broke the kiss and looked into her eyes which burned with desire for more.

“It’s not enough”, Sarah was out of breath and her heart was beating loudly in her ears. Her eyes were shifting from his eyes to his lips, and she licked her lips wanting to savor the lingering flavor he left behind. She never felt anything like that, it was like her brain went numb! And she wanted more.

Aiden smiled and placed his forehead on hers, their noses touching. “Not here”, he whispered, trying hard to hold back and not enjoy her lips again. He regretted that they are not in a place that would provide more privacy.

It took them some time before they pulled themselves back at a respectable distance for someone who is standing on a dance floor. Their eyes still showed desire for more.

Sarah took few deep breaths with an attempt to calm her raging emotions, but added oxygen only made her fire flare even more.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?”, she asked.

He nodded, and she pulled him toward the elevator.

They went up to the top floor, and she led him to the CEO office. “Give me a minute to change, and then we can go”.

Aiden watched her disappear into the side room. He wondered what is on her mind because on his mind was the kiss they shared few minutes ago. Aiden ran his fingers over his lips and smiled. He kissed many girls before, but Sarah is the first one who made him crave for more to the point that his body trembled from anticipation of the next time.

He heard voices from outside, getting closer.

“Stop running away”, male voice said.

“There is nothing to talk about”, female voice said before Sophia entered the office.

“You can’t run away forever”, male sounded desperate. He was right behind Sophia.

“I already…”, Sophia paused when she noticed Aiden. “And you are…?”

Aiden was about to speak, when Sarah came out of the side room. She was pulling her hair into a ponytail. “Hi Sophia! Hi Mark!”

She changed from her gown and high heels into blue jeans, black turtleneck, and knee length boots.

Sophia looked at Sarah. “And this is…?”, she gestured towards Aiden.

“Aiden”, Sarah responded with a smile.

Sophia raised her eyebrows, expressing that she needs more details.

Sarah hesitated. “He is my classmate at University. Funny thing to meet him here. We are going out.”

Sophia relaxed, and turned towards Aiden, “Nice to meet you. I’m Sophia, Sarah is my baby sister.”

With a charming smile, Aiden walked towards Sophia and extended his hand. “Aiden White, Sarah’s… classmate”, his mouth twitched when he said ‘classmate’.

“Oh, White? Jeffrey’s brother?”, Sophia shook Aiden’s hand.

“Yes”, he responded politely.

“Small world”, Sophia said and turned to Sarah. “Where are you going?”

“We will start with Black Rose, and see where we end up after that”, Sarah responded. “I will be out late, tell mom and dad not to wait for me.”

Sophia nodded. “Stay safe! Snow is picking up!” she watched Sarah and Aiden leave her office.

As they left the office, Sophia’s face became stern, and she faced Mark, “Let’s not go through this again. It’s hopeless.”

Mark approached her, and stopped right in front of her, “I can’t accept that!”.

He pulled her in his embrace, one hand behind her head while planting a kiss on her lips. Sophia struggled, but he was much stronger. His tongue breached Sophia’s mouth and started twirling around hers. Sophia stopped struggling and responded to his kiss. After few seconds she snapped out of it and managed to push him away.

She gave him a hard slap on the face.

“Get out!”, she yelled.

Mark had a mix of emotions, desperation showing in his eyes. After few seconds he walked out of Sophia’s office without a word.

As the doors closed, Sophia plopped on the sofa with a sigh. She looked like she is remembering a painful memory while tears ran down her cheeks silently.

…

Sarah and Aiden are in the cab, driving to the Black Rose night club. The car moved slowly since it’s snowing heavily.

Sarah can tell that Aiden is upset and feels awkward. He is quiet since they left Sophia’s office.

He was looking at her for some time with a sour expression before breaking the silence, “Classmate?”

Sarah realized why he is upset, ‘He probably expected to be introduced as my boyfriend, right? But if I just throw that out of the blue, it would not turn out well. I need to prepare them first so that there are no problems.‘ She tried to avoid explaining, “We are classmates, aren’t we?”

He frowned, “Yes. So are Gabriel and Philip. Do you put us in the same category?”

“Of course not!”, Sarah sighed. She needs to explain in order to avoid misunderstandings. “Look… my family is very nosy. And I need to talk to them first, to get them prepared before I introduce you as someone who is important to me. Is that OK? I will definitely talk with them in next few days. I just need to find the right timing to bring it up.”

Hearing her explanation, his mood improved. “You will tell them that I’m important? How much?”

“Very”, she said with a serious expression.

“And you will introduce me as…?”, he persisted.

Sarah blushed, “As my boyfriend.”

He was happy with this response and pulled her to sit closer to him.