Summer tugged at the hem of her dress to keep from flashing anyone. She was never going to let Anne-Marie dress her again. The French girl had laughed and joked her into a bodycon dress bought on an impulse at a thrift store months ago. Summer had never dared to wear it, considering it far too tight and too short, but Anne-Marie had clapped and said things like "YAS QUEEN!" and Summer had gone temporarily insane and dressed like a goth hooker for the first party of her sophomore year at college.
She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror of the turned off television. Her hair was piled high on her head with the occasional strand escaping. She had to admit, the dress was flattering. It was made of a thick black stretchy material that hugged her gamine figure. Summer wasn't over blessed in the boob department, but the dress had a sweetheart neckline edged with black lace that emphasized what she had. The lace wrapped around to the back of the dress where there was a large cut out that showed off Summer's pale skin. Her white face glowed like the moon, set off by her night-black hair.
Summer realized that she had been staring at her reflection in the TV for what was probably a weirdly long time. She looked away and caught the eye of a tall man leaning against the far wall. He was staring at her. Summer looked away quickly, cheeks reddening. Had he been watching her look at herself? Oh god, he probably thought she was completely self centered. Summer tugged at her skirt again. She just knew she was going to accidentally flash someone before the night was done.
Michael West was bored. He'd come to the party because, well, frankly because he lived next door. He barely knew any of these kids. And that's what they looked like to him, kids. He was bitterly ruminating on how much tougher he'd had it when he was nineteen, when two women walked into the room. There was a tall one, hair dyed blonde fading to blue, who squealed in excitement and threw her arms around Teddy, his new neighbor and host of the party.
"Teddy! I haven't seen you in, like, forever! What have you been doing all summer?" The blonde girl wrapped herself around a somewhat startled Teddy and kissed him full on the lips.
Everyone in the room seemed to have perked up when blondie made herself known. She was the center of attention and she knew it. She loved it. She started trading overloud greetings with the others, hugging them all by turn. She wasn't who Michael was really looking at though. His eye was caught by her friend, quiet and still by the door.
She was...unreal. Her skin was creamy white, a startling contrast to the bodies tanned by the summer sun that surrounded her. Her eyes were huge, almond shaped, set so far apart they gave her the look of a china doll. Yes. That was what she looked like. She looked to be made of china. Tiny, slender, fragile. She was gazing off to one side, seemingly lost in thought. Her black hair was pulled up in some kind of complicated bun, just messy enough, with two pieces of hair pulled out to frame her white moon of a face.
Michael's eyes travelled up and down the small, elegant figure. As he watched, she reached down and pulled at the bottom of her dress. Michael allowed his eyes to travel down her arm to the peaches-and-cream of her thighs, slowly exposed more and more as the dress inched its way back up. She reached down to adjust her dress again. It slowly slid up once more. He was hypnotized by this little cycle. He couldn't look away. Then suddenly those huge almond eyes were on him. Their gazes connecting sent a jolt of electricity up Michael's spine. It lasted only an instant before she averted her eyes, a lovely blush blooming on her pale cheeks.
Her sweet embarassment seemed to let loose something in Michael. He jerked himself upright and off the wall he'd been leaning against and in a few quick strides he was at her side. He wanted to wrap his long arm around that delicate waist, run his other hand up her long neck until it tangled in her hair, bend her head back and consume her. Instead he reached out and brushed her gently on the shoulder. Even that small touch thrilled him. Her skin was smooth, soft, and warm.
Summer turned around with a look of surprise. The tall man was at her side. She looked up into his face. It was a good face. Not conventionally handsome, but lean, angular, and somehow careworn. He looked older. Not old, but too old to be in college. It was his eyes. They were an unremarkable shade of blue but their expression was such that Summer found it difficult to look away.
"Hey," he said, "I'm Michael."
"Summer." said Summer, extending out her hand to shake automatically. His eyes crinkled in amusement and he caught up her hand, brought it to his lips, and gently kissed it. Summer stared at him. Had some random guy just kissed her hand? Was she okay with that? She examined her feelings and decided she was. Michael was kind of hot, anyway. Weird, probably, but she could also see the muscles moving under his shirt and something about wearing a short, tight, black dress was pulling her in a direction she'd never been before. No, it wasn't just that, it was the way this tall, well muscled stranger was looking at her. She felt...attractive. She felt hawt.
Michael walked over to the loveseat in the corner, glancing back at Summer for just a moment, clearly expecting her to follow. Summer found herself obeying, sitting down next to him on the faded plaid monstrosity. She sat down neatly, curling her legs up beside her, fitting perfectly on the cushion she perched on. Michael sprawled when he sat, one arm thrown across the back of the loveseat.
"So," he said after a beat, "How do you know Teddy?"
"I don't really." Summer responded, "I'm friends with Anne-Marie. She's got a thing with Teddy."
"A thing?"
Summer shrugged, "Yeah, a thing. On again off again thing."
"And do you have a thing with anyone?"
Summer blinked in surprise. That was straightforward. She decided she liked him for it. "No. I'm doomed to be single forever."
"Why?"
"I've never been in a serious relationship."
"How old are you?"