Chapter 41: The man’s unsatisfied want.

André stood in his customary fashion, towering over Sandra with brooding, glazed eyes. The night had been tiring and no one had slept. On top of that, Sandra was moody herself; something that had never happened after one of their marathon nights. She would never admit to herself or anyone else that she was getting older, that she had to calm down. It never even occurred to her.

The group was larger than on most nights, and it took her a while to attend to everyone. During any of her parties, she never left a person untouched, or unexplored. She’d had too much to drink, she realized that; her head felt heavy and her eyes burned from the smoke.

The hot, sea breeze filtered through the spacious living room when someone had opened the windows earlier that morning. It was New Year’s Day.