After Effects

Chapter 53 • After Effects

My tongue had been caught up until this moment and it wasn't until the music started that my ability to speak returned.

The song “Give me love” by Ed Sheeran started playing as Riddian's arm clamped around my waist and his free hand clasped mine. He pulled me closer until the space between us was almost nonexistent and I gulped.

Slowly, we began dancing to the song, moving round and round the dance floor along with many other pairs of people. I tried to keep my distance though, as much of a distance I could keep with the dance requiring us to be close. I never looked up into Riddian's face as we moved however, and I couldn't even keep track of all the thoughts that were swirling around inside my head.

A few  that came and went though were: keep your distance Kat, keep your distance; one, two, three, four, don't you dare step on his shoes!

Riddian groaned as I stepped on his shoes and immediately I started apologising. Believe it or not, it was actually an accident, but throughout my series of sorry-s,  I never once looked back up into his face.

Suddenly, I felt his hands tighten around my waist as he pulled me closer in one swift movement. Now I could feel his body against mine and it was almost as if we were one and not two. I looked up at him, shocked, but everything slipped away as soon as my eyes caught his. It was almost as if I had become lost in all their magnificence.

My steps faltered for a second, but my feet regained consciousness as soon as Riddian pulled us to a stop in the middle of the dance and just stared at me!

I stared back at him, not knowing what to do as we were only standing there while everyone else was either dancing or watching those who were.

"Riddian, what are you-"

I was cut off when he lowered his face so that his lips were hovering near my ear, and I trembled as he whispered,

"Wait for it."

I didn't even get the chance to ask what he meant when the song reached the chorus for the second time and we were moving again. Our eyes never left each other as we swirled round and round again. Then when the song reached its bridge where a whole series of “my-my”s were being sung, Riddian started twirling me in his arms, over and over again before he pushed me out and then pulled me back in on multiple occasions.

I couldn't help the grin that stretched across my lips. Then although I couldn't believe it myself, I saw him smirk more than once throughout it as well, but whether he would admit this later or not did not bother me as all I could do was focus on the present. Even a giggle slipped once from my mouth when he twirled me again, and I was not at all embarrassed.

Riddian slowed the pace of our dancing as the song came to an end, but even when we were only standing still in the middle of the dance floor, I couldn't help the smile that remained on my lips. Riddian could however since he had gotten rid of his own and only stared at me intensely now.

My breath hitched for a second but then applause was heard.

I looked around in surprise and a bit of embarrassment when I realized that all eyes were on us and we had been there, ignorant. Pulling away from Riddian as best as I could with his hands still around me firmly, I tried to make things less awkward. Riddian surprised me by taking my hand in his and pulling me off the dance floor and into the crowd.

"Where are we going?" I asked, still a bit dazed.

"I want you to meet a few people."

We made our way over to a group that had been at the edge of the crowd watching us. Out of all the faces there, I recognised only six, the remaining eight I had never seen. There was the familiar Whitney and Dominic Remora, Jalessa, and the newly met Kaelon Kingston. The other two were just some business magnates I recognised among the group, men by the names of Matt McCallister and Bradford O'Connor who I hadn't personally met.