DINNER PARTY 3

      He took a glass of cocktail from the tray of a waiter passing by and handed it to her. She took it, thankful that he gave her the glass. It would make him not notice how nervous she had become. He took one for himself and raised his glass. She brought hers forward and they clinked. He drank from the glass, his eyes never leaving hers. She held her cocktail glass with both hands, staring at him. 

       "I have to come for a dinner party I was invited to." His eyes were penetrating her soul. 

       She had the strength to take her glass to her mouth and took a long gulp. She didn't even have anything to say. She just knew she was going to skin Nora alive for not warning her before time. 

      He moved closer to her and she drank in his musky scent and was scared that he was going to hear her beating heart if he comes a little closer. His eyes never left hers and she looked down, but even then, she still felt his eyes on her. 

       "Look around you." His deep voice sounded so close to her. "Everyone is paired, we seem to be the only singles here." 

        She raised her head, avoided his gaze and looked around. They were not the only ones single but every other person was talking to someone. They were either in groups or in twos. Group of ladies or men or a pair of men and a woman or two men or two women. But everyone had someone they were discussing with. 

      She was glad that he was there, that he had come to take out the eyes of those hawk men away from her. She was relieved to share wine with someone. They stood by the bar. She leaned on the slab and looked at him. She could try getting to know him today. She could just know what stuff he was made of, but she wasn't going to get anything from him if she didn't open up her chapter. So she asked the first thing that came to mind. 

       "So...have you talked to Charlotte yet?" 

      He sipped from his glass, shrugged and kept it on the slab. "She is thinking over it." 

      It's been up to a week now that Charlotte left the house and Faith had managed to stay out of Ethan's way. She had succeeded in dodging Ethan at home. 

        "I'm sorry that she left," she said. 

       His green eyes stared into hers for a while then he dragged them away from her and sipped another drink. 

       "Charlotte's...Charlotte's just a free girl, she thinks commitment would tie her down." The wine was too soft for him, he needed something stronger. 

        "What if she's scared?" she asked. 

  He looked at her again. "Are you scared then?" 

          "I thought we were talking about Charlotte?" she asked tilting her face. 

          "You started saying what you feel..." 

          "Faith?" someone called beside them. 

   They both turned to look at who it was. Faith's eyes grew wide and colour drained from her face as she stood there frozen.