Bob gave a desultory look around the packed ballroom from his spot against the wall. Glittering jewels, some real, most paste, vied with party store tiaras emblazoned with "2010" for gaudiness. Freely flowing liquor loosened inhibitions as society matrons and their equally stuffy dates danced feverishly to the swing music the band was playing. Bob sipped his Sambuca, his second of the night, savoring the sweet bite as it trickled down his throat. Catching his brother's eye, he raised his glass in a silent, sardonic toast, inwardly vowing never to do this again. A glance at his watch showed that he only had ten minutes until midnight, ten minutes to endure this interminable party and escape to his suite of rooms upstairs. Ten minutes and the new year would roll in while his fiancΓ©e Sara was a continent away at a business function she couldn't escape.
So caught up was Bob in his own misery that he didn't really notice that the dancers had stopped dancing, though the band played on. He didn't see how every eye suddenly turned to the woman walking across the ballroom, her deep red dress shimmering under the lights of the hundreds of candles in the room. Although every other man in the room took notice of the shapely length of leg showing through the thigh-high slit in the skirt, Bob was oblivious. Brilliant diamonds -- real ones -- cascaded down into the deep V of the bodice, ice cold against the woman's warm cleavage. Every man -- and not a few of the women -- stared as this vision in red approached Bob.
The band segued into a slow song, and Bob heard a familiar voice singing the lyrics. "Ring out the old, ring in the new, a midnight wish to share with you." He turned and a slow smile split his face as he gazed deep into Sara's warm brown eyes. Taking her hand, he led her onto the dance floor, where she slipped into his arms as the music flowed through the room. His hand slid down her back to rest possessively on her butt, gently pulling her closer to him. Sara could feel his turgid length through the thin material of her dress and through Bob's trousers. One of her hands caressed the back of his neck while the other found its way inside his tuxedo jacket to tease the tiny black studs on the front.