“24.”

"Okay, Princess" I said with a mocking tone. “How did you get into medicine?”

I was about to raise my glass to my lips again when I remembered that it was empty. A pity. I thought about going to get a new one but didn't want to leave the conversation with pool guy. Where was Spencer?

"Similar to yours, or...well, more personal reasons."

I waited a moment, but he didn't add anything else. Then I nodded slowly.

"Would you like something else to drink?"

He looked relieved for some reason and agreed.

We went to one of the tables standing on the sides.

“Do you happen to know how to mix a Strawberry Colada?” I asked him and he laughed. “By chance, yes.”

He mixed a few ingredients together but I didn’t really pay attention. Little careless but I didn't mind.

Then he handed it to me and had even put a small cherry on the top.

“A sweet cherry,” he said.

“For a sweet girl,” I said, then slapped my hand over my mouth. “Sorry, alcohol makes me cheeky.”

He grinned. “There's nothing wrong with that.”

He looked at me for a moment, then quickly mixed something himself and then turned back to me.

“What do you want to do now?”

I thought about it. “I would like to try your drink, just a sip. And then....go dancing. May I?”

He smiled. "Yes you can. But only if I can try yours too.”

We swapped and I took a sip.

It was spicy and strangely sweet at the same time. It tasted really good though.

“Wow, interesting,” I said.

“Cheers to me,” he laughed at himself.

“Let’s go dancing,” I said.

He grimaced. “I don’t really dance.”

“But you agreed. Do you just want to stand here and do nothing?” I asked, slightly enthusiastic.

He nodded. “Sounds like a very good plan, I think.”

I shrugged. "As you wish. But I will go dancing now. You okay with staying here alone?"

He nodded and I waved at him without paying any attention to what he was doing.

I drank another sip of my cocktail, which tasted wonderfully sweet and intoxicating, and looked up. There was no real dance floor, but the people still danced, some more extensively than in others.

I spotted Selma and Ariana further away, dancing together. I made my way through the crowd to them and they hugged me enthusiastically when they saw me.

“You here, finally. I've been looking for you for ages girl, where have you been?" Ariana shouted to me.

The music had really gotten louder now.

“I played beer pong,” I said out loud.

She laughed. “And you’re drunk? Don’t worry, we are too.” Her laugh was more piercing now.

“Where is Val?,” I asked.

“With some guy, they were talking, and at some point I just walked away. They were caught up in their own world", she grinned at me meaningfully.

Then she put one arm around me and one around Selma and then we danced.

I didn't pay attention to how long we danced like that, song after song, sometimes as a group of three, sometimes each individually. It was so much fun.

My cocktail was long empty and I just let myself go, swinging my arms, my hips, my hair. The music was so good, I did't know who had chosen the songs but the vibe was amazing.

I at some point asked Ariana where Yuma was and she said he was “with the boys.” But she seemed to be having her own fun with us.

“You should find someone too. Selma and I have made it our mission to set you and Val up for tonight. Since Val has found someone herself already that leaves only you.”

Arianas voice in my ear was only loud enough for me to understand most of the words, but I knew what she meant.

“I...no, come on, I can just chill with you guys.”

She shook her head wildly and then took a long sip of her beer.

“No, no you need a rebound from Reese. Come on, it will be good for you,” she then added when I wanted to protest some more.

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Then she put both arms around my neck, pulled me closer to her and said in my ear: “Come on, it’s just for one evening. I saw you with this guy earlier, he's really hot. Take that one. It's just about having a little fun. Let yourself go, enjoy the evening and reality can come back tomorrow.”

I felt a distant ringing somewhere in my head, but it was a rushing feeling and not unpleasant. Her words were somehow intoxicating.

The feeling filled my veins, controlled my pulse, and rushed through my head to my hair.

It was like a vibration or a hum, but I couldn't quite pin it down.

Ariana didn't seem to notice, even though she was still holding me close.

“Besides, he did look at you the whole time. If he wasn't so hot, it would be pretty creepy."

Then she laughed, gave me a kiss on the cheek, let me go and took Selma by the arm. She winked at me and then pulled Selma to a spot further back.

I knew that she wanted me to stay here all alone so that I would be forced at some point to find someone.

I actually wanted to explain to her that good looks weren't an explanation or excuse for creepy behavior, but they were already gone. And to be completely honest, I liked that he looked at me.

I looked around and then I spotted him.

He was standing maybe ten metres away, leaning against a wall and seemingly talking to a guy.

He spoke to him and the guy nodded, however at the same time he looked at me.

Julien. What a beautiful name. And yes, he was right about the French origins.

I stood there still a little undecided, hesitant and unsure. But then I thought of Ariana and heard her voice in my ears. “You go get it, girl.”

I pulled myself together and walked towards him.

As I moved, we didn't break eye contact for a second and I got goosebumps, but I tried to not pay attention to it.

He said something briefly to the guy he talked with, then slowly walked towards me.

We were only a few steps apart, he smiled slightly and then there he was. Right in front of me.

While he hesitated for a moment and waited to see what I would do, I clasped my hands in his neck and pulled him slightly towards me, moving in rhythm with the music and forcing him to move slightly with me.

He slowly placed his hands on my waist.

He seemed unsure, which surprised me a bit. Did he think I had something else in mind?

"You see? You are dancing?” I said smiling, my mouth close to his ear.

To play with him a little, I deliberately let my breath travel over his earlobe and then his neck as I pulled back a little and noticed, to my full satisfaction, that he too had gotten goosebumps.

We danced like that for a little while, the songs were a bit more relaxed and slower.

I had no idea what time it was. My thoughts began to wander a bit around.

But then something happened. The lights were dimmed and the music changed.

It didn't slow down or speed up, but the tones changed, the singer's voice became more melancholic.

The whole dancing vibe changed suddenly and it became more fiery.

I thought for just a moment and then pulled him closer to me. Where before we were a reasonable distance of half a meter when dancing, now we were only separated by a few centimetres. There were now hardly any people who weren't dancing; some were already making out or had retreated into a corner. A few were still playing in one of the back corners. But most of them enjoyed the music, little Meneg was regrouped and I felt the other people close around us. But at that moment my attention was completely captivated by the guy, who slowly moved closer and closer to me until our bodies were pressed closer to each other than you would have thought during normal dancing. My arms were still wrapped around his neck, our faces were only ten centimeters away. I felt his breath on my skin, felt the warmth that emanated from him. And what else, excitement? But I was probably wrong. He didn't seem like someone who would be excited in such a situation. Our eyes were locked and neither of us wanted to break contact.

I felt him on me, around me and in front of me. His presence captivated me, made my heart skip a beat and my blood boil. Although we had been dancing like this for what seemed like an eternity, something suddenly changed between us. I didn't know what it was, maybe a certain movement from him or me. A flicker in his eyes. But both of our breaths were quick, then he pulled me even closer and then he kissed me.

His warm, full lips were on mine. My head was spinning, the intoxication from the alcohol mixed with the intoxication from him. I could smell his fragrant scent, his body pressed against me, and when his lips opened slightly and his tongue pressed against my lips, I lost control slightly. I moaned, pressed myself even harder if possible, ran my hands through his hair and opened my lips too. A quiet, throaty moan also escaped from his throat. But I heard - or felt - it very clearly. It fired me up and I couldn't get enough of him. I didn't know how long we kissed like that, but at some point he pulled away from me. His face was flushed, his hair was disheveled, and his eyes were burning brightly. When I had collected myself for a moment, I looked around briefly, embarrassed. I had thought we had put on a show for the others, but no one was paying attention to us. Some of the couples were no less inhibited themselves. I looked at him again, his hands still on my waist. Then he leaned forward and whispered so loudly that I could barely hear him, in my ear: "If we carry on like this, I'll lose my control here on the dance floor," he grinned suggestively. I smoothed my hair. He only lost his control then? I had the feeling that I had lost mine a long time ago.

I wanted to pull away from him to give him space, but I had misunderstood him. He shook his head briefly, then turned me around by the hips and before I could react in shock, he was behind me, dancing lightly with his hands on my hips. I might have found it uncomfortable, but on this dance floor, to this song, with him, it was intoxicating. I put my hands on his on my hips and closed my eyes. I let the rhythm wash over mine - our bodies. It was as if we were one with the music. I felt his head again as he was on my neck, first with his breath and then with his cigarettes. I moaned again slightly, but no one seemed to notice. First he sucked my earlobe very lightly between his lips, then he slowly moved them over the side of my neck, exactly where my pulse was pounding. "You smell intoxicating," he whispered in my ear. We danced to this song until the song ended. Then he took my arm, pulled me off the dance floor with him and headed purposefully towards something. I noticed that it was a couch covered with cushions when he motioned for me to sit down on it. We were now back in one of the back corners where the beer pong table had been before, which was now folded up and put to the side. "Would you like something to drink?" he asked. I shook my head, slightly dazed. "Good, me neither," he said. Then he sat down next to me. I looked at him. Where he had just been so sure of himself, he now seemed slightly unsure again. "Would you like to?" I interrupted him by pulling him back to me and pressing my lips to his again. It wasn't enough. He sighed softly, put his arms around my head and leaned towards me. I absentmindedly put my legs over his so that we were half sitting and half lying on the couch. I ran my fingers through his hair again. His lips were greedily on my mouth at first, his tongue running lightly over my lower lip. Then he slowly moved over my chin and neck. He sucked lightly on my earlobe again, and then let his lips glide over the delicate skin of my neck. He carefully smoothed the fabric back over my cheekbones, kissed me there too, and then moved back again. Back at my mouth, this time I pushed my tongue forward, ran it over his lower lip, lightly brushed against his tongue and wrapped my lips around it. He moaned against my mouth and held me tighter. After a short while I pulled back. "I'm sorry," I gasped. "But if we carry on like this, I'll slowly lose control of myself. And I think there are better places and times than here on a couch at the party. I don't think we should do this." He pulled back slightly, ran his hand through his hair and cleared his throat. "You're absolutely right. We shouldn't do this."