The music began to play, inviting guests to dance to the tune of its melody. The atmosphere of romance filled the room.

Elena's heart began beating even faster. She was torn between her wish to quickly escape from this embarrassing situation and the desire to fall into these enticing sounds and reach out to the man standing next to her.

"Miss Lee, would you agree to dance with me?" David offered his hand to her and, without stopping, looked into her eyes.

"Why not. Thank you, Mr. Anderson", trying to hide her excitement, Elena placed her hand in his palm, but it was trembling deceitfully anyway.

The man, noticing the embarrassment of the girl, smiled slightly and only tightened his grip on her palm.

How nice that the music played so loud. Otherwise, it seemed the whole hall would hear her heart beating so fast.

God, it was like torture. Not only was she worried anyway, among other things, dancing was clearly not her best talent. Moreover, it was a pair dancing! To crown it all, it was a slow dancing!

Goodness, it all happened too fast. Oh, Corey and her crazy ideas!

Elena turned her head toward her friend, and saw how she was happily dancing with her number one guy from the list of potential husbands. Rick and Corey seemed to talk about something funny, and with each of his phrases, the girl was flashing her blinding smile on him.

'Yeah, this blondie can get her way when she really wants it,' Elena thought to herself and smiled.

She squinted at her dancing partner, feeling afraid to directly face his gaze. David was looking straight and seemed not to notice her constraint.

And why did she think that he looked like a man from her dream? Yes, some features were common, but David's hair was much darker. God, these eyes... These eyes were like the farthest depths of space. They resembled a black hole in the center of the galaxy, which was dragging all the light nearby.

That's right, the black hole from the space. Otherwise, why was she so paralyzed when he just looked at her?

'Gosh, Elena! What kind of fantasy is this? How old are you?' Not expecting such strange comparisons from herself, Elena could not help herself and giggled. 'This is clearly the influence of Jason's birthday party,' she thought to herself.

Seeing that the girl had become less constrained, David turned his head to her, tilting it slightly, and smiled.

"I see Miss Lee is having fun. What is so special that cheered you up?"

"Ehmm, no-nothing so special, Mr. Anderson. I've just remembered something."

"And what is this, if it's not a secret?" asked the man, lowering his head even lower so that Elena could no longer avoid his gaze.

"Umm ... people say that you came from England?"

"Oh, my! I've only been here for two days, and you have already heard about me?" David smiled, but the sparkles in his eyes made it clear that he was teasing her. "You are right; I lived in England before I came here. And when I did my travels, they were exclusively in Europe. This is my first visit to America."

"And what was the reason for your trip?"

"Hmm ... Let's just say, I had to take care of some old things so that they no longer catch my attention. At the same time, I came here to find and study several historical documents."

"Is this somehow related to the thesis you are writing?"

"You could say that," David replied with a cunning smile, and then looked intently at Elena's eyes. "You know, Miss Lee, I was intrigued by your friend's words that you are passionate about history and spend a lot of time in the library. This is very unusual for a girl of your age. I hope my question will not offend you, but how old are you?"

"I am twenty-" at this moment Elena stumbled and lost her balance. The man immediately picked her up and cuddled her. "-One. I'm twenty-one," she repeated faintly.

The aroma of his cologne instantly filled the air around her, and his hot breath on the girl's cheek made her whole body stand still in an unusual languor.

"Hmm... what a nice age," David whispered in response, touching her with his intoxicating breath. Straightening up, he continued, "You will see many interesting things ahead."

Elena's cheeks flushed red; she no longer knew which way to look because of the embarrassment that had enveloped her.

The music stopped, and the couples began to return to their usual places.

"Miss Lee, thank you for the wonderful dance. It was a great pleasure. Unfortunately, I must leave you, as I've got urgent things to do. Enjoy your evening and see you soon." David bowed, kissed her hand, and headed for the exit.

Elena, unable to answer anything, remained standing, trying to understand what had just happened. Only one thought was at that moment in her head.

'Me, going to this kind of party ever again? Never in this life!'