Are You The One?

“Maybe they’re in love,” Brit suggested hopefully.

“Or maybe he wants to get his hand on her two hundred-million-dollar bank account,” Cliff said angrily.

“Whoa two hundred million?” Brit asked incredulously.

“Yes. And she doesn’t know a thing about him. I haven’t been able to find any information on him other than he was a foster kid from Arizona. He came from nothing, set his sights on my sister and is now living a life of luxury.”

“Well that’s not fair,” Brit said quietly.

“I know it’s not. And that’s why I have to do everything in my power to protect my little sister.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Brie stated.

“I don’t understand,” Cliff said with a frown.

“You said they met at school, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, Stanford isn’t easy to get into. He had to have a good head on his shoulders to be accepted. And even if he ‘comes from nothing’ as you say he has to be pretty damn smart too. And your sister is not a little girl anymore.”

“You’re right he is smart. He’s brilliant. He probably found out who she was, knew about her trust and zoned in for the kill.”

“Why couldn’t they have just fallen in love?” Brittany asked again.

“Because he’s not her type. She’s used to dating men in her social circle.”

“And what about you?” Brit said looking him in the eyes.

“You misunderstand me. I’m not saying it’s impossible but I want to meet this guy to make up my own mind. Something must be shady if she won’t even let me meet him.”

“Maybe she’s afraid you’ll scare him off with…”

“There you guys are,” Eric said interrupting. “We wondered where you two had gotten off to. Hope we didn’t um interrupt anything”

Behind him Tara giggled. She was obviously tipsy.

“We were just talking,” Cliff said.

“We wanted to tell you that we were leaving,” Eric said. “It’s not really our scene and Tara has maybe had a little bit too much to drink. We’re going to call a taxi service and head to my place.” 

Tara walked over to Brit and the women walked away a bit to speak privately.

“Why don’t you to just take the limo. Then send him back for us. Shouldn’t take more than an hour and a half. Then I’ll make sure Brit gets home safely,” Cliff replied. 

“That sounds great. Thanks Cliff. You two have fun,” Eric replied.

“You’re sure this is okay?” Tara asked.

“Yes. I’m fine,” Brit replied.

After they left it was hard to get back into the intimacy of the conversation. There was an awkward silence before Cliff spoke.

“Would you like to dance some more?” he asked.

“Sure that would be lovely,” she said.

 Brit took Cliff’s arm once more and let him lead her back to the dance floor. The music was a mix of old standbys and contemporary pop which was surprising given the formality of the evening but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Brit was an excellent dancer. Surprisingly Cliff was a great dancer as well. Is there anything he does badly, she thought to herself. They danced and sat and talked though not wanting to ruin the evening Brit steered all the conversation away from Holly.

As they sipped champagne and nibbled on some finger foods a Coldplay song, a favorite of hers came on. She grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor. The next song was a slow song. She inhaled nervously as Cliff took her waist and pulled her close. She was very aware of his body during their dance. She inhaled his scent which made her melt against him even more. She felt a buzzing. It was Cliff’s phone. The driver has returned and was just letting them know.

“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked huskily.

“Yes,” she replied quickly.

“Do you want me to take you home?” he asked.

There was no mistaking his question with the hunger in his eyes. She looked up at him, her heart beating faster.

“No,” she whispered.