Unforseen Situations

She moved with the seductive sway of a feline. Silently searching through crowded rooms for potential prey. All the while James stalked her. He watched as she positioned herself close to her subjects, but always outside the group they were integrated in. She would entice them with smiles and shy glances. Urging them to leave their groups and start-up a conversation with her.

Each and every time, the men performed just as she wished them to. They would leave their groups to chat up what seemed to be an innocent and lonely looking girl. The men she chose were typically the lions of the group. The ones who controlled the conversations and were used to commanding a position of dominance. They spoke loudly and drank more than most, after all they were the alpha males and could not be shown up in front of their group. She had different plans for them.

The unknowing victims of seduction would interest her for a few moments, but she soon grew uninterested and excused herself from the conversation. If the subject was excruciatingly boring, she would just walk away without so much as a word, leaving her prey mentally wounded and completely distraught.

After a particularly interesting and heated engagement, which left the man drenched in beer, James couldn’t help but to chuckle out loud. He must not have been as quite as he thought because a female voice spoke next to him, startling him. It wasn’t the volume which caught him off guard but the vicinity. It seemed to come from right beside him, but when he looked around he couldn’t see a soul.

“Up here.”

James looked up and in between the white wooden railings was a figure hooded in the darkness of the stair well.

“How long have you been up there?” James felt a bit uncomfortable knowing she had watched him. Then again, it was exactly what he had done all night.

“Long enough to see things many people think can’t be seen but not long enough to figure out why you are just watching and not participating. I have a few theories though.” She leaned over the edge a little further and looked straight down at him. The curls of her brunette hair fell around her face, covering her features in darkness.

James shifted his weight and pretended to cough to give himself a second to think before he spoke. “How about you tell me a few of your theories and I will tell you if you are right?”

The girl above him swished her head from side to side, causing her hair to dance above him. Then in a very reserved tone said, “Sure. Do you know how to get up here?” James shook his head. “Go to the kitchen and next to the pantry is a door. Knock softly twice when the fewest amount of people are looking. I will unlock it and let you in. Try not to let anyone see you.”

James nodded. He moved his way through the crowd who just moments before didn’t know he existed, now their undivided attention was focused on him as if he were a star walking on the red carpet. Of course in all reality, no one paid him more than a seconds glance, or a generic “excuse me”.

Once in the kitchen he looked around, a small group of five people gathered around the charcoal granite island pouring whiskey into shot glasses. He tried to walk as casually as he could to the pantry. The two doors looked exactly the same. He turned the knob off one and the door opened to display a walk in pantry. He quickly shut it. James spared a glance at the small group, who were in the middle of toasting, and decided it was as clear as it as going to get. He knocked twice on the adjacent door and waited.

He barely heard the click of the lock before the door opened out and a small hand pulled him inside a dark stairwell. James stumbled on the steps as she closed the door the instant he was through the threshold. It was black. He could barely make out the sound of her breathing over the techno music playing throughout the house.

“Follow me.” Her soft hand found his shoulder and slid down to his palm. He held it firmly and allowed her to lead him up the stairs. They turned a corner and climbed a few more steps which placed them on a hidden landing looking out over the spacious living room. From the outside, most of the landing was hidden by drapes and banners which were hung for the party. All except for the small corner she had looked out from a few minutes earlier.

They watched the oblivious people below them for a few moments when James realized her hand was still resting comfortably in his.

“So these theories?” he whispered. She turned toward and in the dim lighting he could see her lips part and form into a smile. He could have sworn he also saw her cheeks blush in the same instant.

“Well if I were to be honest, I only thought of one while we were walking up the stairs. I was actually hoping you would forget about that after I showed you my hidden perch.”

“It almost worked.” James paused and spared a glance out at the crowd. The hustle and bustle of the party seemed distant now like a movie playing in the background. “But it didn’t.” His focus returned to the brunette girl whose hand was still nestled inside of his.

“I figured you were watching Alice because you can relate to her. She is searching for all the right things, but in all the wrong places. I mean everyone here is searching for something; sex, alcohol, release, fun, drama. We are all people, and no matter how different we may all seem, our desires and ambitions are the same.”

James listened intently and when she stopped he was disappointed. He wanted her to continue just so he could listen to her voice. Then he realized that he needed to respond, but words alluded him. They floated away as if the truth she spoke unlocked their cages and they could finally roam around freely. Instead of trying to find the perfect words for this unforeseen situation, he did something far less intelligent. He leaned in and kissed her.