Chapter 156 – Drinks

[2009 – October]

I had always been a rather patient person, though maybe rational was a better way to put it.

Things that had driven my father crazy in my last life, like being stuck in a traffic jam or having to wait in a long line in front of the cashier, didn't bother me. My father had been a good man and an even better father, even though he had his own tribulations to face in life, but those things had never failed to annoy him to no end.

I was different. I had never seen any reason to get upset in such situations as I had an easy time internalizing that my anger would not change the situation one bit.

Most people naturally knew this but only a rare few could really accept this calmly and stay unaffected. In a way, this was a talent mine.

The only thing that I would probably never be able to just shrug off was the eternal shortage of parking space in a big city. Driving around endlessly to search for a parking lot only to still be forced to walk two blocks home, this very much annoyed me.

It was also through this though, that I could really enjoy the status and wealth brought about by my family name in this life, as the moment we reached Cordelia's apartment building and I saw the dozen cars in front of it, I was just relieved that I wasn't driving myself.

Wealth had never been something that I found worth pursuing but that didn't mean that I was blind or ignorant to the many conveniences that being wealthy came with.

With Jean's left hand in my right one, I didn't hesitate to offer Emma my free elbow which she took hold of with a smile, a gentle light flashing in her eyes briefly.

The building Cordelia lived in was a rather large glass tower and as we approached it, I saw a few other guests that seemed to have also just gotten there, throwing us looks of surprise, curiosity, and a bit of reverence.

The last bit though was most certainly owed to Emma's presence, which was only natural as her identity as one of the most successful businesswomen in the whole world was not just for show, which was made even more impressive if one considered her young age.

Her success just demanded respect and admiration from those around her, and her demeanor matched this perfectly.

The moment we entered the lobby of the large building, we were greeted by an attendant who asked us to leave our coats with him before using one of the two elevators to move to the right floor.

The lobby had seemingly been turned into a temporary coat check with several attendants greeting the arriving party guests. It was a smart arrangement and the chosen personnel seemed friendly and professional.

Whoever Cordelia had hired to plan her party obviously knew what they were doing.

There were two separate high-speed elevators so we, fortunately, didn't have to wait long before one of them took us to the second-highest floor, along with two other guests.

And even before the elevator doors opened, music resounded in our ears. Stepping out of the elevator the noise level instantly increased, though not uncomfortably so, while a wide hallway greeted our sights, at the end of which people could be seen.

On the right side of the hallway, only a few meters from the elevator was a room with a small desk in front of the door, and an attendant standing behind it. Emma took the lead as she pulled me and Jean along while approaching the small desk and just placed the small bag with her 'present' on the desk.

Jean did the same with our present for Cordelia and the man just calmly took the two bags and took them into the room.

It was obvious that

Cordelia could not open all her presents during the party considering the number of people that she had invited, so they were temporarily stored away.

Walking to the end of the corridor, the space in front of us opened up to a large open area with a spiral staircase in the middle of the room that seemed to lead to the smaller floor right above.

There were some leather sofas and padded stools with small tables for those who wanted to rest and eat placed around the area, as well as two bars with several people giving out drinks. There were also a few tables with some finger foods.

The most eye-catching though was naturally the large infinity pool on the oversized terrace, as well as the setup of several large speakers and the DJ table right next to it.

The music played was the same that Jean liked to listen to though most of it was probably remixes that would invite people to dance even more eagerly. Thankfully though the volume was kept at a nice level so that people could still talk with each other while inside.

On the terrace though was where the real party was taking place with many people already dancing, even though guests were still arriving.

"Elijah, Jean! You came!", a sudden shout reached my ears over the music as Cordelia ran over from the bar, her arms wide open as she hugged us both with a happy smile, Christian following behind.

She was wearing a very short silver dress that was loosely fitted and obviously no bra, which was rather daring though I wasn't too surprised by this as that was just how Cordelia was, constantly pushing the limits without really crossing them.

Still, it was undeniable that she looked very attractive with her short black hair and lively baby blues, her figure slim but not without curves.

Christian on the other hand wore a stark red suit with a black shirt, making for a handsome sight with his short blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Of course, we came. And happy birthday!", Jean replied, already familiar with Cordelia's boisterous attitude.

"Happy Birthday.", I congratulated her with a light smile after she let go of us.

"Thank you!", Cordelia replied with a bright smile, an excited glimmer appearing in her eyes as she looked over our outfits, "Ahh, you two look just fantastic! You have to make sure that Pierre takes a picture of you!"

Shaking my head with a light laugh, I could only guess that she was speaking of a photographer that she had hired for her party.

Cordelia though didn't add anything or wait for a reply before she just pounced on Emma, wrapping her arms around the icy queen as she hugged our older sister tightly while laughing.

"Emma, I am so happy that you are here!", Cordelia voiced out excitedly while kissing the older blonde's cheek. I saw Emma's eye twitch minutely as she accepted Cordelia's greeting without putting up any resistance, though I imagined that she wanted to.

"Yes, I am happy too.", she stated with a sigh, though the flicker of gentleness in her eyes didn't escape my senses.

I knew that while part of Cordelia's exuberance was to tease Emma but most of it was just genuine affection.

Cordelia admired and respected Emma greatly, and I knew that she wanted to be closer to her older sister, but even though family meant everything to Emma, she wasn't one to open up so easily to others.

Naturally, Cordelia also couldn't just outright state what she wanted, which didn't really help, but at this time she was taking advantage of this being her birthday party and counted on the fact that Emma wouldn't resist too much.

Their relationship wasn't an easy one but I knew that beyond the teasing and scolding was a well of deep affection and dependence.

Letting go and taking the older blonde's hand, Cordelia started to drag her away while exclaiming, "Come on, there are so many people that I want to introduce you to!"

At this Emma turned towards us, or more specifically to Christian as she mouthed a few words that could either mean 'help me' or 'kill me'. I wasn't sure which but judging by her expression, I had the suspicion that she would be fine with either outcome.

Christian though didn't even bother replying, as if he had seen nothing, and just turned towards us after grabbing two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter.

"I am glad the both of you came.", he greeted with a smile while offering us the glasses before he continued with a laugh, "Cordelia was excited to party with you all week!"

"Well, I am not really one for parties but this wasn't an invitation that I could ignore. I knew how much this meant to her, after all.", I replied as I took both of the glasses.

My left index finger lightly tapped the glass in my left hand as a small black vortex appeared in the glass, replacing the alcoholic beverage with some non-alcoholic sparkly cider from the fridge in our home.

Jean took the glass of cider from my hand as she leaned with her back against my chest, her other hand taking my now free hand and pulling it around her waist.

Christian noticed this and raised a brow in question as he looked from Jean to me, and back, a curious light in his eyes.

"She doesn't drink.", I replied simply, my fingers brushing lightly over Jean's abdomen.

Smiling, he nodded in understanding as it wasn't uncommon for mutants whose powers had their origin in their mind to not drink to avoid losing control, so Christian didn't ask further and we just made some casual conversation as he asked if I had finally made a decision about my first car.

We had met during the week as Emma asked me to, and he had been interested in what kind of car I wanted to buy for myself as my first ride. I hadn't given this much thought though and so Christian had taken it upon himself to send me a few pictures with different cars over the last few days as suggestions.

He was a car enthusiast and owned more than a hundred cars himself, so this was definitely a topic that he enjoyed talking about. We didn't talk long though as he eventually excused himself to go and greet a few other guests.

At this point, Jean took the half-empty glass from my hand and placed it on the tablet of a waiter that was just passing by us. Turning back to me as I looked at her curiously, Jean tiptoed while her hands rested on my chest.

"Let's go and dance, my love.", she whispered softly in my ear.