The moment we arrived, my date and I were ushered into a setting that looked very much like a Valentine heaven.
Red and white streamers along with heart-shaped balloons danced to the tunes of a soft breeze. An archway of roses paved the way up to a round luminescent dance floor. Surrounding that, were tables filled with drinks and all the chocolatey goodies you could imagine, including a large five-tier chocolate fountain. And alas, adding up to the beauty of the scenery, was a glowing horizon soaking up the gentle hues of twilight; a vibrant orange mixed with a fading shade of sea blue.
"Wow." my eyes flitted over in awe. "This place looks amazing."
"Yep," Princess agreed, linking our arms together. "The SRC truly went all out for this thing. C'mon, let's go take a picture." She marched us to the Cupid photoshoot setup, where three girls were already giving the camera their best poses.
Though several couples waited around for their turn, Princess didn't let us join the queue. She walked boldly to the photographer, whispered something in his ear, and slipped him two crispy fifty-cedi notes.
My mouth dropped open as she returned to me. "You bribed him?"
"Sshh!" She tried hiding the already evident smirk on her face.
Once the girls were done with their shots, the photographer called for us which sent a few glares our way.
"You shouldn't have done that!" I sniped in a low tone. "Now everyone's going to-"
"Oh take a chill pill, would you?" Princess rolled her eyes. "It's just swift customer service. If you want things done fast, you have to pay extra." She turned to the camera, placing an arm on my shoulder, the other on her hip, and struck a dramatic pose.
Shaking my head, I adjusted my jacket and synced myself to photoshoot mode, throwing the camera a confident smile. After a series of clicks and flashes, Princess and I headed over to the celebration grounds. The dance floor was already occupied with couples, slow dancing to a Westlife song.
My phone suddenly buzzed in my jacket pocket and I pulled it out. My mother had seen the few pictures I sent her and was fangirling over how good Princess and I looked.
Ma: Oh you two look so great together! Is she your girlfriend?
My eyebrows furrowed as my fingers flew to the keyboard.
Oh no, no.
She's just a friend, that's all.
Part of me wished I'd taken the pictures with someone else but... after I'd turned her down on Friday, I highly doubted if she would show up tonight.
"Hey, should we get some drinks?" Princess asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Ah, sure." I followed her to the buffet table. The chocolate fountain caught my eye and I moved over to help myself by dipping a single doughnut in the chocolatey pool. Biting into it, my taste buds immediately came to life, ravishing the taste of the warm cocoa treat. I made a move to call Princess, but she soon appeared at my side and quickly scooped some of the liquid chocolate into a champagne glass.
"What are you doing?" I arched up an eyebrow.
With a smug smile, she seductively licked off the excess chocolate on the glass. Just when I thought things couldn't get any weirder, she pulled a champagne bottle out of its ice bucket and poured a hefty amount of the sparkling beverage into her chocolate glass.
"Eww!" My face morphed into an expression of disgust.
"Why are you so grossed out?" She giggled. "It's just two party faves in a glass."
YOU ARE READING
Penfield's Greatest Swimmer
General Fiction*Completed* 19-year-old Akwasi Appiah has spent his entire life struggling in a small fishing town on the coast of Ghana. But all that comes to a surprising end when he's offered a scholarship to study in one of the best private universities in the...
