The duo strolled forward to his home as Eva looked on gob smacked by the glass windows illuminated by the low light windows and the whole interior design of Paul’s house that clearly displayed his wealth.

Paul saw her look of astonishment as they made their way into his home and chuckled quietly to himself.

“is this the first time you’ve seen such a place Eva?” Paul inquired.

“yes this place is so beautiful! I have never seen such a huge house in all my life. This must have cost a fortune” Eva responded.

“well my dear wait till you see inside my home. It might be grand but it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be” Paul replied with a tight smile.

Before Eva had a chance to respond to his strange response they had arrived at the front door where a tall and muscly man stood in a black and white suit. He saw Paul and nodded stiffly before opening the door to allow entry.

The pair strolled into the house and Eva’s senses was assaulted by the smells of strong alcohol mixed with vinegar and sweat lingering in the air. She felt the loud thumping sounds of the music ring in her ears.

Eva used her free hand to cover her nose to prevent inhaling the strong smells.

She was used to smelling spice and sweet smells but what she smelt now in this mist was overwhelming.

“Paul why does this place smell of vinegar?” she spoke in disgust.

“smells like heroin. Hmph people are using drugs in my home. I’ll have to get that sorted” Paul replied sighed as he rubbed his chin.

“Drugs?!” Eva exclaimed in shock at hearing the news of possibly drugs could possibly be on hand.

“Now I won’t allow you get yourself involved in them my dear I’ll take you to---“Paul answered before he was suddenly whisked away by his harem dragging him away to spend time with their charming host.

Sadly, Paul didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence before he looked back leaving distraught Eva alone.

Eva could not believe Paul had left her in the crowd of people she didn’t know. She ignored the stares around her as she walked around trying to find a bathroom to freshen herself up before she went searching for Michael.

She found the nearest bathroom on the first floor after walking up the glistening golden coloured stairs.

She breathed in the welcoming stale air as she approached the toilet door. Gripping the cool door handle she slowly opened the door to reveal the cloudy mist in the air. Looking past the murky air, she saw a couple making out on the counter. The couple paused their kissing once they heard the door open and saw Eva standing there with a tissue over her nose.

“well babe look at we have here! Isn’t she a pretty thing” the ashy blonde haired young man said with a wide grin.

“she’s alright” his girlfriend replied shrilly.

“you want to join us? I have some joints enough to share and we can make it a threesome together” he implied with a wink.

“no thank you I will leave this place for you” Eva replied before she quickly closed the door and quickly walked in the other direction.

why would Paul would allow such behavior and nonetheless drugs in his home! How would his parents feel if they saw their house in this state?

 Eva thought as she tried to make sense of her current situation.

She continued to walk further down the long and empty corridor in hopes she’d find a room to use the toilet without any drug users around. She stopped in front of a door slightly open and pushed the door to see a darkened room. She gripped with one hand on the wall trying to find the light switch. Once her hand tapped the ‘switch’ the light flicked on basking the room in a low light.

Eva stepped inside the spacious bathroom washing her hands before leaving the room closing the door behind her.

She was beginning to regret coming out of the house for a party. She felt completely out of her element. Just as she was deciding to search for a house phone and call a cab. Her ears picked up the sounds of music. Letting curiosity take over Eva began to walk in the direction of the music.

Eva didn’t know if she wanted to walk into the new room seeing more people dancing in ways that she felt disgusted by.

Suddenly she was pushed into the room by the sudden appearance of Paul. She stumbled into the room luckily Paul grabbed her arm before she could fall.

“Are you alright my dear? Sorry I left you earlier I was swept away by my crazy harem” he apologized with a sheepish grin.

“Paul how did you find me? And you shouldn’t have left me. This home of yours is huge! and you need to sort out people who come to your home” she nagged at poor Paul.

“yes I get your point love I did say I’m sorry right? And I see you found one of my dance floor rooms. I have several based on different eras” Paul replied changing the subject.

“eh yes where’s Michael I still haven’t seen him since I arrived” Eva mentioned slightly worried over Michael.

“well that’s unfortunate I bet he is around here somewhere” Paul responded with slight grin as he looked over to see his pal grabbing a drink from the bar.

“well why not ask that strapping fella over there?” Paul said pointing at the man standing at the bar drinking alone.

“him? Why?” Eva asked confused.

“you might learn something and well I’m off to watch and make sure people don’t do any more foolish business, it is my party after all” he replied as he adjusted his mask on his face before walking away.

Eva watched his back as he left once more heading to the dancefloor and she sighed knowing she couldn’t avoid standing near the entrance and blend into the shadow. She decided to get a drink feeling thirsty.

She strolled to the small bar and saw a female bartender wearing a black and gold outfit with a matching mask.

“what can I get you?” the bartender asked politely.

“iced tea please” Eva responded.

Wordlessly the bartender started preparing her drink while Eva sat on the provided stools waiting. As she waited she felt slightly warm from the sizzling temperature in the room. She removed her coat and fanned herself with her hand. Not realizing a pair of eyes had been watching her since she sat down and now revealed what she wore under the coat.

Michael almost choked on his iced vodka when he saw Eva reveal what she was wearing under the dress. He didn’t expect her to wear such a revealing dress since he was used to her more causally covered up dresses.

Eva sitting with her drink in hand sipped slowly from the cool beverage, felt the gaze of someone watching her.

She turned her head to see the mysterious man wearing a white suite with a pink shirt tucked underneath the blazer and a pink mask covering most of his features while his hair was cornrowed.

Michael feeling courageous due to the vodka, stepped towards her.

He wasn’t a huge drinker but the task of watching over people’s crazy antics and trying to make sure the police were not about bust into the house to cancel the party was a tiring job. All he wanted to do now was unwind.

Just as Michael approached her. The funky disco music was abruptly cut off and replaced by the soul R’n’B classic ‘Lady Soul’ by the legendary group The Temptations.

As the song’s intro played Paul stood by the DJ booth with one arm on the DJ’s shoulder and microphone in hand.

“now will all the lovers on the dancefloor it’s time for some ole R’n’B. yes, including the two of you at the bar! Come on down to the dancefloor” Paul drawled with a cheeky smile knowing inwardly his words would piss Michael off.

“would you like to dance?” Michael asked Eva. His usually mellow voice deepened drastically by the influence of alcohol.

Eva thought quietly observing by the bar would help drag the time faster so she could leave. since the high expectations she hoped to gain from this party was sadly a disappointment. She didn’t dwell in her thoughts too long to look back at the man in front of her.

Something told her inwardly she knew this white clothed stranger, trusting her inner instincts Eva decided to give this chance ago and dance.

But why does he feel so similar? Eva thought in wonder.

“yes let’s dance” she responded with a small smile.

Michael was relieved that she hadn’t responded with a sound ‘no’. He stretched his hand out and she placed her hand in his large hand. He tugged her away from her seat to the dancefloor.

Once they were on the floor the couple faced each other before Michael decided bravely to draw her closer to him. Now closer to his face Eva smelt the light mix of cologne and sweat. She recognized the strong yet subtle cologne that Michael wore when they were together.

Could this be Michael dancing with me? Eva wondered.

“Michael is that you?” she asked loudly over the sounds of the blaring music.

“how did you know?” Michael sighed.

“I smelt the cologne you love wearing a strong hint of mint” she responded with a cheeky smile.

“maybe you should be a smell tester since you can smell my scent from a distance” Michael teased her as they swayed following the music.

“you are very funny Michael” Eva responded with a sarcastic tone.

“I try” he responded with a chuckle as he spun her around before they continued to sway and being careful not to bump into anyone else.

“your hair is under the cornrow styles, right?” Eva questioned looking up briefly to see his afro wasn’t above his head and focused her gaze back on Michael.

“I did say I’d get it cornrowed eventually besides the heat in this room would shrink my afro so I just chose to give myself a three-week break” he replied.

The conversation between them continued as the duo continued to dance on the dancefloor enjoying the great selection from the Dj. Eva was surprised to find out that Michael could dance and keep up with her styles of Indian dancing.

She even tried teaching him some of the male dancing which he quickly picked up on. They danced freely as the pair laughed and continued to enjoy each other’s company for another hour.

10.45pm

The brothers had their fair share of a fun with their pal David before Aadesh’s girlfriend Sofia walked into the scene. Sofia had heard about the party from a cousin from the campus and was able to tag along with her.

Adil stood not too far away from his brother and girlfriend ignoring their words of adoration for each other. He grimaced but chose to ignore their words and listen to David rambling over the latest gadget. Adil’s eyes drifted noticing his cousin and Michael walking together towards the front entrance.

Adil knew it was time to go. He quickly yelled at his brother that it was time to go. Aadesh reluctantly let go of his girlfriend, but didn’t leave without a sweet kiss on his lips before he quickly followed his brother and friend back to the car to hopefully get home in time before Michael dropped her off.

.

Michael and Eva stayed on the dancefloor for little longer till they couldn’t dance any further sat on the stools near the bar drinking glasses of iced water.

“you wouldn’t mind if I dropped you home? Or would your cousins kill me if I dared help you out?” Michael asked jokingly but inwardly held his breath in ready for disappointment.

“I would love a ride home Michael and no they wouldn’t kill you!” Eva answered with a roll of her blue-green eyes.

“perfect! It’ll take us an hour to get home so let’s get going now” Michael replied with a grin.

The duo quickly gulped down their individual glasses before getting off the stools heading towards the door. They didn’t waste any time as they shuffled and bumped though different people till they were outside inhaling the fresh air. Feeling the goosebumps rising on her flesh immediately put her coat on.

“don’t worry Eva the car isn’t parked too far” Michael assured as he started walking to the car park. Eva followed behind him as they approached a coal coloured Acura Integra model car. Once Michael unlocked the car with the car key, he went to the passenger seat and opened it for her. Eva stooped downwards and sat on the seat. Once she was sat comfortably he closed the door firmly before he went to his side of the seat.

The engine purred to life as they sat ready for the long drive out of Paul’s car park and on their way back to Eva’s home.