"Woo! Co on now, everyone!" Dani raised the shot glass. "Here’s to you dominating all music charts across the country next week and many weeks after, Kaikai!"
Esko quickly joined her, the liquor almost spilling out of his glass as he clanked it to Dani’s. "To my superstar’s ultra successful debut performance! Thank you God, thank you mommy for giving birth to and making the luckiest manager in this entire label!"
The clear golden liquid in both glasses quickly drained down their throats.
Across from them at the standing table, Antony’s brow drew together. "Lower your voice," he muttered, "or we’ll have to rush out of here like we did in the restaurant if soone notices."
The shot glass remained full in his hand, as it had been for the past thirty minutes since they dropped into this dance lounge venue.
Next to him, unlike her three companions, Kaija was still covered in a black mask and cap. Her glass, like Antony’s, was still full, sitting neatly on the tall table the four of them were standing at.
The scarlet dress from earlier had been returned to the designer house after the performance. She wore only a simple black mini dress now.
"Co on now!" Dani shouted, obviously drunk by now. "Aren’t we supposed to celebrate properly tonight? Why aren’t the two of you drinking at all?"
"Relax, my superstar!" Esko patted Kaija’s shoulders insistently, equally drunk. "Look around. Everyone here is just as drunk as us! And it’s so dark in here, and the music so loud. No one’s gonna recognize you here!"
Frowning, Antony took only a modest sip, putting the glass back down. "That’s it for . I’m sensitive to alcohol," he claid curtly.
"I have an interview with Dazzle magazine tomorrow," Kaija said with a sly tone, leaving her glass untouched.
"Tch, you two are no fun to party with!" Dani complained, snatching Kaija’s glass and downing it for her in one go. "Alright, I’m properly ward up now! To the dance floooooooor, let’s go!" Her feet staggered forward on their own without caring whether anyone was joining her at all.
"Wait up!" Esko shouted, pouring himself another shot before quickly joining Dani and the crowd gathering on the dance floor.
"Wow," dark lines raced down Kaija’s face as she watched her two dear friends go. "They’re actually having a really good ti, huh? I’m relieved."
"The way I see it," Antony said with a concerned look, "they’ve just completely lost it."
It turned out Antony was right.
About fifteen minutes after hitting the dance floor, Dani and Esko were so thoroughly drunk that they basically took over the whole floor. Another fifteen minutes, and they both collapsed from too much dancing.
When Kaija put them each in a cab to go ho, it was barely 9 PM.
"Do you think they noticed that we had our plan without them, Instructor?" Kaija asked as she watched the two cabs drive away.
"While being that wasted?" Antony replied dispassionately. "I highly doubt that."
Then he bent lower, his voice dropping to a cautious tone. "Is it just , or have there been so people following us this whole ti?"
"Oh, it’s the security guys I asked from Charles to make sure we get to enjoy our night out smoothly without being disturbed," Kaija replied in a small whisper.
"Hm, is that so?" Antony replied evenly. "So they’ll just basically follow us all night like that?"
"I’m afraid so," Kaija said. "But don’t worry, I’ve already told them not to get too close, or disturb us."
"They better not," he replied with a slight nod, seemingly satisfied. "I don’t really fancy the idea of being watched while I’m with you, and this place we’re going to, I’d prefer them not going inside like they did in the lounge."
"Oh?" Kaija’s face lit with curiosity. "Where are we going, Instructor?"
Antony’s hand reached for hers, no longer hesitant now that they were finally away from the public’s eyes.
"Have you ever been to a ballroom?" he asked, smiling faintly. "It’s only five minutes walking from here."
The two made their way to the place, their hands tangled in each other’s all the way.
The ballroom Antony spoke of was located on the 13th floor of a small, boutique hotel.
The room itself was vast enough to host a few hundred people, with polished hardwood floors and a high ceiling, adorned with vintage chandeliers and tall, wide windows.
When they walked in, no lights were on; only the warm golden light from outside was filling the room through the windows.
"I decided to keep the lights off, so no one from outside could see us through the windows," Antony said, leading her into the room. "I hope you don’t mind the lack of light."
"Um... I don’t mind," she replied, admiring the vast, royal-core space with her mouth wide open. "But um... why is it just us here? Aren’t ballrooms usually filled with people in movies?"
"They usually are," he confird, watching her amazed face with amusent. "But like I said, I don’t want anyone else in the room when I’m with you, so I booked the whole place."
"Hah?" she uttered, dumbfounded.
The speechlessness written all over her face was definitely worth the price he paid for that booking.
"Would you like so wine then?" he invited, stepping toward the table in the corner of the room. On the table, there was a bottle of red wine along with two glasses neatly set beside it.
As confident as Antony might have sounded, the mont he picked up the bottle and the opener, all composure drained out of his usually calm facade.
"Um, Instructor," Kaija said in a concerned voice, brow twitching faintly at the handso man staring at the tool in his hand like an alien object. "You uh... need so help? You look like you’ve never opened a wine bottle."
"Look, I’ve looked up instructions online. I’ve got this," he muttered, stubbornly stabbing at the cork.
Ten minutes of proving whatever instruction he might’ve watched was useless later, he handed both items to Kaija, who had been watching patiently this whole ti, his voice small with embarrassnt. "Um... help , please."
Kaija thought she might have jumped at the shy man ten years older than her and squeezed the cute, flustered face he made when he said that, instead of opening the bottle herself.
Two glasses were soon poured, the liquid inside shimring ruby red.
"I thought you said you’re sensitive to alcohol," she said, clinking her glass against his.
"I’m not," he said plainly, taking a good sip with little hesitation. "I just wanted to drink with you more."
The tangy sip slid down her throat with great difficulty.
Gosh, why did he keep saying such confessional things with such a straight face and a serious tone?
"Ahem, Instructor," she cleared her throat, covering up her flushed face along the way. "Um, shall we, uh... shall we have that dance you talked about now? The... uh... the Waltz?"
"The Waltz, indeed," Antony replied, enjoying the sight of that shy face over the rim of his glass. "But before we do, shall we get ward up, just a little bit?"
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