Nice to meet you

As Nadia was reeling from the bomb the man had just dropped on her, he was studying her with interest.

'Why did she look like she saw a ghost?'

He was confused at her reaction, not sure why her face was white as a sheet of paper. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her right hand was clenching her left arm very tightly. For whatever reason she was completely shaken by his name.

"Ahem. Is there a problem?" he asked gingerly.

Nadia's mind was clouded in confusion and a little bit of fear. Her eyes stared at him intensely, her brain trying to fully process what she heard. Quite frankly she had no idea what to say. The more she looked at him that spark of fear she felt in the beginning began to spread through her body. She took in his features trying to compare the boy she watched die and the man sitting in front of her. She couldn't help but tremble a little because she knew, she just knew if he really was Gabriel from back then him being alive only meant their days of peace were in jeopardy. Even she wouldn't be able to escape the calamity it would ensue.

"No, I'm just wondering why you made it seem like your name was a big secret!" She gave a bitter laugh.

"Suspense mostly. So can I meet her now?" he smiled showing his straight white teeth. His eyes shown in anticipation.

"Well Gabriel I do like to keep my word. Let's go" Nadia replies. Standing up dusting off the non-existent dust on her dress she flashed him a small smile and gestured with her head to follow her.

Each step she took felt like she was carrying a boulder on her shoulders. As much as she wanted to just pretend it was a coincidence deep down in her heart something told her there was something more to him. Hoping Anai'ya or Brie would be able to find out what it was, she chose to bring him to them.

She'd been out of the game for a long time having stepped out from the shadows to live a simple life doing something she liked but her skills had dulled out a little. Which was within her expectations as she wanted to leave the world of shadows behind her.

Arriving at their table Nadia discreetly sent Anai'ya and Brie a signal letting them know to be cautious and weary she then smiled stepping aside to give Gabriel space to face them.

"Brie, Anai'ya this is Gabriel" she said as they looked at the man.

Both women looked up and saw the man standing next to Nadia and they exchanged knowing looks while taking note of Nadia's signal.

"Gabriel I'm Brie, nice to meet you." Brie said, extending her hand and Gabriel shook it.

"Nice to meet you Brie" he smiled replying in his sexy deep voice.

Brie returned his smile and patted the seat next to her for him to sit.

"Have a seat! Whiskey okay?" She asked, placing a glass in front of him.

Gabriel nodded as he took a seat and faced Anai'ya. Stretching out his large hand his eyes gleamed as his smile grew on his face.

"Then that means you must be Anai'ya." he said.

Anai'ya raised her eyes to meet his, taking his hand, shaking it briefly as she nodded.

"Nice to meet you" she said in her emotionless voice. Her eyes moved away from him and back to her drink.

Anai'ya had caught Nadia's signal earlier and she quickly took stock of the man's appearance and voice. She had lit up a cigarette while they had waited for Nadia. She began to secretly watch his every move very closely and she could feel him doing the same to her.

Brie was more amicable and talkative when it came to social functions so naturally she began to chat with the man as Nadia joined in. Serving him a drink she began to ask him seemingly harmless questions.

"You're very popular tonight Gabriel." Brie said, clinking her glass with the man. She raked her eyes up and down very much satisfied with what she saw. Her grey eyes were framed by dark curly lashes that fluttered giving her a drowsy sexy vibe.

"Haha what do you mean?" Gabriel asked chuckling as he took a sip of the whiskey. When he did his eyes lit up and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. This was Yamazaki whiskey, his favorite.

'These women have good taste' he said to himself.

"Half the women in this place including our Nadia here are smitten with you." she said, winking at him.

"Well that just means they have good taste." he said chuckling. He liked Brie. She was friendly, she gave him a relaxed feeling.

"Aha! Narcissistic I see! I like it, cheers!" Brie laughed, raising her glass to him.

They continued to talk. No one brought up if Gabriel and Nadia were hooking up or not they just drank and had light conversation.

Anai'ya did not join in as she was mostly drinking on her own watching them smiling from time to time as they joked around. It was normal for her to be more reserved out of the three women. Plus the man gave her an odd feeling so she was less inclined to talk to him.

There was something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. His face felt somewhat familiar to her now that she could see it up close. The way his eyes slanted into crescents when he would laugh, the way his lips curled up when he smiled. He looked familiar but unfamiliar at the same time. It was nagging at her.

Eventually she became completely lost in her thoughts and observation she was no longer listening to them chit chat. Her golden eyes shifted between her friends and Gabriel.

"So you're a Taurus then?" Nadia asked Gabriel.

"I mean yeah whatever that means." He said, shrugging his broad shoulders. He leaned against the backing of the seat with his leg crossed over the other.

Brie whistled as she gave him a thumbs up and then winked at Nadia. She knew Nadia really believed all that zodiac nonsense as she had always told them their zodiac and the best signs to date. Nadia's was Taurus since she was a Virgo. Whatever that meant.

"Is that a good thing?" Gabriel asked, obviously unaware of what astrology was.

"It's a great thing actually!" Nadia exclaimed, she then immediately told him what his sun sign was asking him his date of birth to give him a brief summary.

Gabriel blinked, as he listened to her explain what it meant. She was grinning and looked very excited. He could tell she was really into this stuff. As he listened he stole glances at Anai'ya who hadn't spoken since she shook his hand.

Now that he was closer and the light above them was brighter than in the hallway her face was even more beautiful up close. Her face looked soft and moisturized. Her eyebrows were perfect, her straight small nose was very cute and her full lips looked soft like jello. When she spoke earlier her beautiful smooth voice was so intoxicating he nearly forgot how to speak.

He would catch her eyes looking at him from time to time during the conversations between them. Her amber eyes were so light her eyes looked like pure gold. Although she had no expression on her face she didn't look mean or cold it was just part of her charm. He couldn't wait to see her smile up close.

Although he came here with the intentions of getting closer to her he realized it was better to first build a rapport with her friends and then gradually approach her. He also kept in mind what Nadia had mentioned to him earlier about her being engaged with a jealous man. He didn't wish to cause her any problems right off the bat.

His instincts as a man wanted him to forcibly insert himself into her world and possibly steal her from her fiancé but logic shut down those feelings. For the first time in his life he wanted to genuinely be friends with her first before making a move if it was appropriate.

In all honesty this surprised him as he usually did what he wanted, he was used to having women throw themselves at him and any woman who didn't he would make them change their minds. He had stolen a few women from other men before and it gave him a lot of confidence and made his ego bigger than it already was. However he suddenly had the urge to do things differently this time around.

Something about her made him feel different, he had only seen her for the first time tonight but his heart was already beating for her.

He wanted her. Genuinely wanted her. Not just her body. He wanted all of her.

It was going to drive him mad in the future he could already feel it.