Is this destiny?

The evening trickled away, and people were happily chatting at the tables or dancing. The band took requests from the audience and played a variety of classic and newer songs. Overall, the mood was good.

Noah was dreamily looking at Sarah. His Mistress is gorgeous in a long red gown with a high slit on the right side which allowed her legs to move freely over the dancefloor. And those are beautiful legs...

Noah was hoping for a chance to invite Sarah to dance (he practiced his moves), but Aiden hogged her for himself and they didn\'t leave the dancefloor since dinner ended. Noah wants to dance with Sarah, but he has no intention of cutting in when Aiden is by her side. That will be suicidal. Well, at least he gets to feast his eyes.

Other than the jade, Sarah gifted Noah a custom wristwatch which he will cherish. How he sees it, this evening was already a huge success.

Imani was throwing glances toward Jamari who was two tables away. Jamari was sitting alone at the table and looking at his glass of juice with an unreadable expression. It didn\'t seem that he is having fun, and that is a total opposite from the Jamari she used to know. He was always in a good mood and smiling, ready to jump into the next adventure or to tell another joke, and now he is dispirited.

"Why don\'t you talk to him?" Masika asked Imani.

Imani pressed her lips into a line. "What should I talk about? Whatever I tried, he pushed me away."

"You don\'t need to talk." Masika advised. "Why don\'t you invite him to dance? Let your body do the talking. You know that he learned dancing in order to impress you, he will not reject it..."

Imani thought about it for some time before getting up and walking to Jamari.

"Would you like to dance?" Zack asked Masika.

Masika looked at him and blinked. Since they returned to the party, after she talked with Imani about Jamari, Zack is sitting by her side quietly and she almost forgot that he is there. Almost.

"If you don\'t feel like dancing, feel free to reject." Zack said after some time.

"No, no. It\'s not that…" Masika stuttered.

Zack\'s mood fell. "So, you don\'t want to dance with me. I didn\'t think about that as an option, but I guess I should have seen it coming. Our difference in status is too big."

That is the only thing that Zack could think of. Masika lives here with a status of Sarah\'s and Aiden\'s daughter, the general of the Army of Chaos, and he is attending this event as someone Noah brought over. Going on missions and training together is OK, but dancing is too much. Why else would she reject him? Zack might not be the prettiest guy in town, but objectively, he is not bad looking so the appearance is not a factor behind her rejection.

Zack scolded himself internally for thinking too much of himself. After that day in Disneyland, he started hoping that maybe one day she will see him as a man.

"Uhm… no, it\'s just…" Masika was not sure what to say. Should she tell Zack that Imani thinks that he is interested in Masika, in a romantic way, not like a big brother? What if he confirms? That would be awkward. And what if he denies? Would she be happy, relieved, or… disappointed? Masika was not sure. But she saw that Zack\'s expectant gaze dimmed and he thinks that she is rejecting him because of some status nonsense, and she decided to leave all those other thoughts for later. "Sure, I would love to dance…"

Zack\'s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Somehow, he thought that she will reject him, especially after that uncomfortable delay. But this… is not bad. He will not ask for explanations.

Zack stood up and extended his hand, palm up, toward Masika. He even bowed a little.

Masika smiled and put her hand into his.

Masika will not deny that she is having fun with Zack and for anything more than that… she will think about it later. After all, he is so much older than she is, and he probably does not see her as a woman. Masika is confident that Zack would look at women who are in their twenties, who are grownup and plump with curves and everything, and she definitely does not compare to them.

On the dancefloor…

"You have grown." Zack said when Masika stood straight in front of him.

Masika lifted her head to see him and frowned. She wondered if he can read thoughts. Does he know that she was thinking about how he would be interested in women who are older than she is? There is no way that she will say that at loud, but she needs clarification... "What do you mean?"

"You used to be this tall…" Zack pointed at his chest. "And now you are here…" Zack moved his hand a bit higher.

Masika hid her embarrassment behind rolling her eyes. Ah, he was talking about her height and not about how curvy she is! Masika knew that she is overthinking it.

"No, no… I am at least up to here…" Masika lifted his hand until it reached his chin.

Zack laughed. "Sure, sure… with those heels maybe."

Masika pouted. "Did you invite me to dance or to take my measurements?"

Her eyes widened when he took her right hand into his and his right hand landed on her back. Like this, they were only two inches apart. She didn\'t expect that they will be this close and that there will be so much touching, and she can smell his perfume. Luckily, Zack is tall so he can\'t see Masika\'s expression when she lowers her head, because she is sure that she is blushing. There is no other explanation for the heat which invaded her cheeks.

Masika wondered, why is she so flustered? She danced with many boys during their dance lessons, but she never felt anything like this. It must be because Imani filled her head with crazy thoughts about Zack! If she didn\'t listen to Imani, she would be fine. But, is this only her imagination? There is one way to confirm it…

Masika lifted her head and met Zack\'s gaze.

Zack noticed that Masika\'s mood is off. "Are you alright?"

Masika was not sure how to answer this, and she had to say something. "I didn\'t expect that you are such a good dancer."

Zack smiled smugly. "I practiced."

And then he made her twirl before pulling her closer to him.

Masika held her breath and lowered her head because there is no way that she can maintain eye contact and stay in control of her feet. She almost stepped on him!

…

"Hi, Jamari…" Imani called when she was one step away from him.

Jamari lifted his gaze and looked at her questionably.

"I was wondering… would you like to dance?" Imani said after some time.

Jamari opened his mouth and then closed it without saying anything and his face showed that he is having an internal struggle. If she asked him this before their Disneyland trip, he would be jumping from joy, but now… there is only pain. Jamari knows that she has no romantic feelings toward him, she said so clearly. Her coming to him now is not even a sentiment between siblings. This is pity. And he does not need her pity.

For the last two months, he practiced and studied hard and did anything to keep busy and not to think about that wretched night when Imani told him how she can\'t see him as more than a brother. Jamari was confident that in time his wounds will heal, but now that he is looking at her, so close... he can see that she is beautiful with her hair styled up, and delicate makeup, and in a well-fitting tan gown with crystal embellishments along the neckline and his heart is aching to the point of screaming because the wound he tried to ignore so far reopened and he is confident that he is bleeding profusely.

"I\'m sorry. I\'m not feeling well." Jamari stood up and walked away.

Imani looked after him and her heart ached.

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