Valerie P.O.V.

I broke away from the dance as the song ended and told the girls that I was headed for a bathroom break. I declined their offers to come with, letting them continue their fun.

My mind swirled with the image imprinted into my brain of the guy staring at me. He was insanely attractive. Strong, sharp jawline with moderately full lips and captivating, sexy bedroom eyes. Complete with a generous head of wavy brunette hair, that was short on the sides and slightly longer in the front.

Damn. I should have given him a thorough head to toe eye assault too.

He was tall from what I gathered, with broad shoulders. God, a guy like that must be aware of how totally hot he is.

I continued on my search for the bathroom, internally face-palming myself. Why didn't I ask where it was before I left? I walked past a couple doors, none of which were labelled with a bathroom sign, and some of which were locked. I really didn't want to end up walking in and becoming witness to the commitment of nefarious activities, so I promptly avoided those. Like a lightbulb moment, I came around to a long winding staircase leading to the second level. Generally, second floors hold bedrooms, and bedrooms mean bathrooms, right? Hopefully guest ones?

I contemplated whether I should go up or not as this area of the house was quite empty. Ah screw it- I'm busting and getting even more delirious as time passes. I hastily made my way up the stairs and finally found a spare bathroom. Upon exiting, I noticed balcony doors leading out to a large patio area. Glancing around and finding no one lurking in the shadows, I gave in to the temptation and made my way over. I'm already a snooping criminal in this house, I might as well go out and explore this area too. Besides, I could use some air.

Sucking in a big breath, I took in the sight before me. It was a picturesque, cosy lounge area with a small fireplace, a few outdoor plants and strings of twinkly lights strung up across half of the balcony. It looked so magical. I leaned against the edge, feeling the soft breeze tickle and cool my skin. I gazed up at the night sky to see if I could spot a few stars and submit myself to the depths of my mind.

"Hey," I heard a manly voice drawl, startling me from my thoughts. It was like the sexiest morning voice I had ever heard- a moderately deep timbre with a slight rasp.

I whipped my head around to face the person.

Shit. Staring hot guy from before. I subtly drew in a full view of his body head to toe. Yep. Definitely tall. I'm guessing 6 feet, probably more. Lean too. He was built like he worked out frequently, but wasn't overly bulky standing in a pair of dark skinny jeans outlining strong legs. He had a plain t-shirt on and a blazer thrown on top, with the sleeves rolled up to reveal a few raised veins trailing down sculpted forearms and large hands.

"You can take a picture if you want," he smirked.

Okay... NOT subtle at all. Great going Valerie. Did I stare for that long?!

Wait, what? Take a picture?! What a cocky ass. It's not like he wasn't totally doing the same thing like, 15 minutes ago!

"You're not really supposed to be up here," he mused as he began walking over towards me.

"Oh right, yeah," I laughed nervously, "I was looking for the bathroom... umm, I'll get going now." I finished, awkwardly stumbling away towards the doors leading inside.

"Wait!" he called, reaching out to touch my arm gently, stopping me in my tracks.

I shot my head up to look at him and got a closer look at his eyes- they were deep golden hazel pools with hints of green. Warm and alluring like fall spice.

"You don't have to go. I won't tell anyone if you won't," he bit his lip with a small smile.

Wow, this guy is smooth. How can someone be that cool?! Are you serious God?! You couldn't give me a little bit of coolness?! Ugh and cute too with that little lip bite smile! How can you be hot and cute at the same time? That's just not allowed!

I should probably walk away now. I couldn't get caught up with someone like this. He'd probably break me until there's nothing left but the shell of the girl I once was.

"So... I haven't seen you around before."

Was this a pick-up line?

"I'm Carter," he stuck out his hand to shake mine with a small grin.

I placed my hand in his, not wanting to be rude and replied. "Valerie."

Withdrawing my hand from the avalanche of tingles his warm touch was shooting up my arm, I added in a rush; "It was nice to meet you, but I really should get back to my friends."

"You can't stay a little longer and keep the birthday boy company?"

"Wait this is your party?!" I exclaimed with wide eyes.

He nodded and let out a small laugh. "Well technically no, my friends threw it for me, I'm just the guest of honour."

"I, uh, well happy birthday..." I mumbled sending him a small embarrassed smile.

"Thanks," he smiled back.

"So, you gonna stay with me Valerie? It's my birthday today after all." He pointed to his phone screen as the time showed a little past midnight.

Boy oh boy. He was as smooth as butter. Charming and kind of arrogant in a way that he most definitely knows he looks like a whole damn snack and he could get whatever he wants. Whoever he wants. Whenever. But not me. I refused to fall under his trap. No, no, no. I'd get eaten up alive.

And with all the courage I could muster up (80% of that was liquid courage probably) and a sort of proud little smirk at my attempt at coolness, I made my way back inside confidently with an ending statement;

"Maybe next time."

Practically sprinting downstairs, I found Ellana again as we continued to enjoy the party until about 1am. I decided I had used up all my energy socialising, after being in retirement for a year. Baby steps. We said our farewells and took an Uber back to our apartment. I couldn't wait to kick off my shoes, wipe the makeup clean from my skin, and continue the love affair with my bed.

~

I woke up mid-Sunday morning, feeling a little sore from all the dancing, but mostly elated cause I genuinely had a blast the night before... perhaps even a little giddy over meeting a certain someone with floppy brown hair and glowing hazel eyes. I made my way over to my ensuite bathroom to have a shower and brush my teeth. Feeling light and refreshed, I strolled over to the kitchen to start up breakfast- scrambled eggs with avocado on grain toast sounded delightful.

Just as I was finishing up, Ell stepped out dressed in a pair of tie wrap-around sandals, belted high waisted denim shorts and a cute crop top, letting her hair down in natural waves.

"Where are you headed?" I asked amusedly, eyeing the extra cute outfit and the hint of gloss tracing her lips.

"Off to late brunch with Kean... y'know the main actor from The Chase?" she looked at me a little bashfully.

"Uh huh..." I smirked evilly as hit it me. "The guy you were cosying up to last night?"

She nodded with a faint dusting of pink colouring her cheeks. "He's coming to pick me up soon."

I narrowed my eyes slightly at her, psychoanalysing this entire situation, before I broke out into a huge grin. Ellana was always outgoing, the only time she ever got shy and embarrassed was when she began seeing a new guy she's really, really into. This was kind of a big deal.

"So, as your best friend..." I cleared my throat, "... I need you to start spilling ALL the damn tea RIGHT now!" I gushed excitedly.

"Okay okay, we have like 10 minutes so I'll start with the basics, but I promise to give you full details when I come back home," she blushed with a small chuckle.

Kean Sterling. 22. Turning 23 in about a month, so he was about a year older than Ell. He's an actor with a few small roles in large-scale blockbuster movies. He's currently also portraying the leading male role on The Chase. Obviously, which is where they met. She'd only seen him a few times being on set for about a month now, as their characters hadn't really interacted in the same scenes yet. They hit it off well last night, so he invited her out to brunch today. He's also the one that invited her to the party last night. His best friend's 22nd birthday. Which I now know, was Carter's birthday.

Carter Bryson.