The Gala Dinner

"Bianca, I have nothing to wear!" I complained.

"Oh hush! Let me look at your clothes." She ransacked my entire wardrobe and concluded, "You're right! You do have nothing to wear!"

I nervously started pacing around the room.

"Here, try this!" She suggested. It was one of her favorite outfits. An ivory deep V ladder cutout bodycon dress.

"Absolutely not! My mother will disown me if she ever finds out! Plus you know I am bustier than you, my breasts will spill out of this one!"

"Oh come on! Don't be such a baby! I actually wear push-up bra pads underneath to get the effect. You wouldn't even need that. You will look gorgeous! Ian will not be able to keep his eyes off you!"

"Bianca you know I am not very comfortable with this."

"Sexy outfits do not mean that you are going to walk around naked. Of course, something will be shown but so much is still hidden!"

I gave it a thought.

"On one condition!"

"Shoot!"

"I wear a stole on top."

"Over my dead body!"

"Bianca, please!"

"Rachel, you are not wearing a muffler over my favorite dress!"

"It's like a scarf, but longer."

"It's a muffler!"

"Look Rachel, you know this dress looks really good on you and you know you want to wear it! There is no harm in showing off what Mother Nature has so lovingly given you. Wear it."

"Can I see what you are going to wear first? Maybe we can trade."

"My silver micro-mini."

"Ivory it is!!"

We changed into our outfits. I was almost too afraid to look into the mirror. I am a shy person. I try to dress modestly. So this was a big change for me. Plus I had convinced myself that I can never pull off an outfit like this. But when I did look, what the mirror reflected was absolutely stunning! I couldn't believe my eyes! The dress fit me like a second skin. Yes, the cleavage was deeper than in my other dresses but the overall look was amazing.

"Wow, Rach! You look hot!"

"You think so? Isn't it a bit much?"

Bianca gave me a look and I instantly shut up.

"That takes care of your body, now let's take care of your face!" Bianca said as she busied herself with the makeup. She did mine first. She knows the natural look that I absolutely love and did a perfect job on my face. On the other hand, she added a smoky look to her eyes and accompanied it with glossy lipstick and silver hoop earrings. She looked fantastic!

Bianca either had heels or sandals. Since sandals didn't go with her outfit, she had to wear her heels and promised to sit as much as possible.

We quickly donned our footwear and left.

We reached the place 10 minutes after the scheduled meeting time. It took Bianca some time to walk in those heels. Mark was already waiting for us when we reached.

"Wow! You girls look amazing! It almost made me forget how late you two are!"

We snickered. "You can blame Bianca's heels!"

"Hey, if you want to blame anything, blame the sprain. My heels are amazing!"

I rolled my eyes and said "Whatever!"

We walked up to the entrance and gave the invitation card to the maître d' standing at the entrance.

Within minutes, we were seated at a beautiful round table. There was a bouquet of fresh roses in the middle of the table. The décor was a fantastic mixture of white, blue, and purple.

I looked around to study the crowd. Most of the faces were unknown. But I did recognize some actors, directors, and producers. There were even some artists from the music industry. This event was certainly a big deal.

There was a projector screen with the logo of the production house displayed in the center. There were two screens on the top which displayed the movie's poster. Ian was in the center of the poster with the female actors posing on either side of him. Even from down here, I was captivated by his seductive glare.

There was a small stage in front of the projector screen with a microphone on a stand, a spotlight, and two speakers on either side of it. I was not really sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that we were seated right at the front.

A moment later, the main doors of the hall opened behind us, the movie theme song played and a spotlight came on. Ian entered with two of his co-stars beside him. The crowd cheered and the three celebrities waved.

They walked to the front and climbed the stage. Ian was the first to stand behind the microphone. A waiter offered him a glass of red wine on a tray and Ian smoothly lifted the glass and thanked the waiter. The waiter gave a bow and exited. Ian beamed at the crowd. His eyes landed on me and he gave me a little wink. I smiled back at him.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure to welcome everyone to this beautiful venue tonight.

We'd like to extend a special welcome to our guest of honor, the executive producer of The Eternals, Mr. Arthur McHenry, who will be speaking later tonight.

We are so excited to have you all here to be a part of the promotion of this movie.

We couldn't have pulled off this event without the hard work and dedication of Grace and Sally, who worked tirelessly from day one to make today a reality.

We hope you enjoy the rest of the evening in our company. Let's wine and dine the night away!" Ian tilted his glass at the crowd and everyone gave a round of applause.

The female actors welcomed everyone in their speeches and after the final round of applause, the trio got off stage and started greeting everyone around the hall.

I looked at Ian smooth talk his way through his guests. He was a natural at pleasing people. Well, it does help if you look the way you look, I thought.

After about 15 minutes, the two female actors went to sit at the table with the producers and the directors. Once Ian escorted them to their seats, he excused himself and walked over in our direction. The emcee announced that Mr. Arthur McHenry would like to speak now and the lights in the hall dimmed. A spotlight appeared on a man in a tuxedo and followed him as he made his way to the stage. A moment later, I felt the familiar warm figure occupy a seat to my left. "Hi." He said in a husky voice. That made my heart turn into jelly. I looked at him and he gave me his million-dollar smirk. He waved at Mark and Bianca and nodded to the rest of the people sitting at our table and shifted his attention to the individual on the stage.

A waiter came over and poured some wine into all our glasses.

As Mr. McHenry engrossed the entire crowd with his humor, all I could think was how the heat from his thigh is seeping into mine. I wanted to touch him but I could think of no innocent reason as to why I should do it or how to go about it.

As his proximity made my brain turn to mush, I reached for his wine glass instead of mine. Instead of the glass, I felt my hand wrap around something else. Ian turned towards me as he looked at my hand gripping his. I quickly let go of his hand and whispered "I'm sorry!" In his ear. He put the glass back on the table and held my hand under the tablecloth. "I'm not." he whispered back to me.

He said WHAT?! My brain screamed! I was suddenly thankful for the fact that it was dark, the blush on my cheek would have been visible from all the way across the room! I prayed that my palms don't sweat. They usually don't, but I didn't know what would happen in this situation. I'm sure my heart must have skipped multiple beats after hearing what Ian just said.

He noticed that my hand was shaking. He wrapped his fingers around mine and drew circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. This seemed to have a calming effect on me and I felt my body relax. All this while, neither Ian nor I shifted my eyes from Mr. McHenry.

"By the way," Ian whispered, "you look hot!"

"You're not too bad yourself Mr. Salvatore." I replied.

He looked at me, squeezed my palm, gave me a quick smile, and turned his head back to the stage.

After Mr. McHenry had finished with his oration, the crowd burst into an applause. Ian gave my hand a final squeeze and let go. The emcee announced that it was finally time for dinner.

I was famished! Ian was engrossed in a conversation with a senior actor sitting at our table when the appetizers were served. A group of waiters surrounded our table and served the plate to all of us at the same time.

The Head Waiter announced the name of the dish "Flower Salad with Wild Strawberries and Cherry Tomatoes" bowed and left with his team of waiters.

Bianca and I exchanged worried looks. In all the commotion of dressing up and attending this event, we had forgotten about our 'love' for fine dining.

"Did he just say flower salad? Are we really going to eat rabbit food?" Bianca whispered in my ear.

"Just try it, you may like it." I whispered back.

I picked up the fork next to me and poked a yellow flower with it. I looked at Ian, he was still deep in conversation. He had hardly touched his plate as well. So we are not the only ones. I thought.

Within a few minutes, the waiters put the metal can back on these plates and replaced them with a smaller dish.

They set them in front of us and the Head Waiter announced yet again "Goong Sarong, Deep Fried Prawns Wrapped in Vermicelli" and they left as abruptly as they came.

There was just one piece of prawn on the plate. Just one!

"This is pretty good!" Mark said as he swallowed it up in one go.

"Great! They are finally serving something good and this is how much they serve us?" Bianca whispered a tad bit loudly.

I immediately shushed her! And smiled at a couple who was curiously looking at us from across the table.

Within moments the plates were replaced once again.

"Citrus Cured Salmon, Chioggia Beetroots Pickled, Lemon Honey Espuma and Avruga Caviar in Lemon Gel"

"I honestly didn't understand a word of what he just said" I whispered to Bianca.

"Let's just get through this." Bianca mumbled.

"Spinach Linguini with Bisque Sauce and Lobster"

"Chilli Lime Octopus with Sweet Tomarillo and Pickled Beetroot"

"Blackberry and Chocolate Dessert"

I was finally relieved when I heard this! As expected, the quantity was minuscule. Well not really minuscule, it just felt like that because that's just how hungry I was!

Once the last of the plates was scooped off, the emcee requested the actors of the movie to come to the dance floor for a slow dance. He requested all the other couples to join in.

Just as Ian turned towards me, a woman popped in between our chairs. "Come on Ian, just like my dress, let's paint the dance floor red!" Claire said as she boldly requested Ian to give her his hand.

Ian looked up at her then down at me, I looked away. "Sure, let's go." Ian said as he took Claire's hand and led her to the dance floor.

I won't lie, it hurt. Claire had wrapped her hands around Ian's neck and she flushed her breasts on his chest. Ian had his hands on her waist. He looked at me from the corner of his eye and I immediately averted my attention elsewhere.

Mark asked Bianca to the dance floor and she agreed.

There were about ten couples on the dance floor now which included Ian and two of his co-stars.

There was a harp player and a piano player who was playing live music for the audience.

The only other couple left on my table got up and made their way to the dance floor. I completely felt left out as I was the only one sitting at the table now.

I looked up at Ian, I saw Claire taking a glass of champagne from a waiter passing by and gulping it all down in one go. She placed the now empty glass on the nearest table and turned to face Ian once again. He tried to excuse himself but she kept pulling him back. She even tried to shift Ian's hands to her rear but he didn't let her.

Bianca and Mark were having a good time, laughing at each other's jokes. But when they looked in my direction, then in Ian's, they let go of each other and approached me. I got up as they reached the table and the three of us left.

We decided to go back to our cabin and change into comfortable outfits.

On our way, we came across the cruise reception. Mark instantly grabbed the onboard activities schedule. He went through the pamphlet and suggested that we go to the screening of an old movie tonight. They were offering a free drink and a free tub of flavored popcorn. They even had nachos and all the movie snacks, at a price of course.

The three of us decided to stuff ourselves with it.

We reached the cabin and Bianca instantly kicked off her heels. She hobbled to the bed and started massaging her paining ankle. Mark removed an ice pack from the fridge and handed it to her.

Bianca asked Mark while I was rummaging through my belongings to find a comfortable outfit, "Mark, did you like the food?" "I didn't care much for the flowers, but it was seafood! What's not to like?"

Bianca and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Room service!" A voice called out.

Confused, we looked at each other. I went ahead and opened the door.

There was a waiter with a food trolley standing behind the door. The moment the door opened, he plastered a smile on his face. "Good evening Ms. Thompson, I have a delivery prepared especially by Chef Gustav for you. May I please come in?"

"Yes, please." I replied, still confused.

He wheeled the trolley in and placed the large tray on the table, took a bow, and left.

I closed the door behind the waiter. "Why would Gustav send me food? Not that I am complaining!"

Bianca replied, "Ian must have asked him to. He must have noticed how little you had eaten tonight. That's so nice of hi.."

"Please can we not speak about him?" I cut in.

"Tell me you are not going to take your anger out on food. It smells too good!" Mark exclaimed.

We all shifted our attention toward the food tray. I had a faint idea what it was, thanks to its delicious aroma. But I had to see it to believe it!

"Never in a million years!" I replied.

Mark opened the metal cover to find the best dish in the world hiding under it!

A large bowl of Pav Bhaji was sitting right in the center. Three plates of pav bread toasted in butter were surrounding it. There was also a cut lemon, some green chilies, cut coriander, cut onion, extra butter, mixed pickle, fried papad, and a small bowl of mozzarella cheese present along with the dish. The smell was divine and the bhaji was sizzling hot! We all dug in hungrily. It had to be eaten before the pav bread became soggy. The food was so good that none of us uttered a single word while we ate.

Twenty minutes later, there was not a morsel of food left on the tray.

"It must have taken him double the amount of time to make this dish and we finished it in half the time." Mark remarked.

I had a smile on my face. I needed this! My mood instantly improved.

I turned around and grabbed a pen and a notepad kept on the study table. I wrote:

Dear Gustav,

You truly are a magician!

The dish was perfect!

Thank you very much!

You made my day!

Ton Amie,

Rachel

I put it in an envelope. I turned the envelope and scribbled To Gustav, From Rachel on the top.

I went back inside to brush my teeth and change my clothes. I wore a simple burnt orange off-shoulder sweater with black cutout jeans and brown shoes. Bianca changed into a grey crop top sweater with black skinny jeans.

Mark didn't bother going back to his cabin to change his clothes.

Just as Bianca emerged from the washroom, there was another knock on the door followed by a familiar voice that said "Room service".

Mark opened the door. The same waiter was standing with a wide smile on his face. "So Miss, did you all enjoy the meal?"

"You have no idea! This was the best meal I have had on this ship so far! Could you please pass this envelope to Chef Gustav?" I handed him the envelope.

"I most certainly will." The waiter replied.

He politely refused the tip Mark was trying to give him and left.

***

Within minutes, we had reached the open-air movie theatre. They had made a cozy little area for screening movies. The floor was covered with artificial grass, there were strings of lights hanging on the top, and a large projector screen towered over all of us. We grabbed our complimentary snacks and blankets and headed to the center of the grassy area. There weren't too many people present, which made this outing quite relaxing. The movie they chose to show us was Baby's Day Out. Not exactly a classic but definitely a fun flick to watch.

An hour and a half later, once the closing credits started playing, we decided to call it a day.

Mark decided to drop us at our cabin first and then go back to his own.

The three of us were heading back to our cabin. Mark was trying to imitate the bad guy Eddie Mauser in the movie and we burst out laughing at his mimicry. Our laughter was cut short when we saw Claire and Ian in front of us. She was clearly tipsy and hardly able to hold herself up. Ian put an arm around her waist and was helping her walk. She turned to face him, grabbed him by his collar, and pressed her body onto his. He tried to push her away but before he could succeed, Claire pushed her tongue down his throat instead. A few seconds later, Ian finally managed to free himself. He looked up to find me staring at him. I felt instant tears brewing in my eyes. My heart become ten times heavier and my throat started to choke. I slowly turned around and left. An instant later, I felt Bianca and Mark's presence beside me. They were fuming.

***

I couldn't sleep that night. The picture of Ian kissing Claire never left my mind. I tossed and turned for over an hour after we closed our lights. I finally gave up trying to sleep and decided to go for a quick dip.

My costume was still wet so I went for one of Bianca's skimpy swimsuits instead. Anyways, there shouldn't be anyone swimming at this time of the night. I packed a dress in a small backpack.

I wrapped a bathrobe around myself, flung the backpack on my shoulder, wrote a quick note for Bianca, and left.

Within minutes, I found myself standing in front of the deep end of the lower deck pool. I dived and started freestyling through the pool. As expected, there wasn't anyone around.

After what seemed like a million laps, I stopped to take a breath. I looked around to find a lone figure sitting on one of the loungers. His beautiful piercing blue eyes looking at me.

I quickly looked away and headed for the stairs. I was suddenly aware of Bianca's skimpy bikini on me. Ian walked over with a large towel in his hand.

I reached the top quickly and started walking away from him. "Rachel" he whispered. I instantly froze on the spot. He stood behind me and wrapped the towel around my body. I felt the warmth of his hands around my shoulders. His hard chest brushed against my back. His breath fanned my nape. His body heat radiated into mine. My heart started beating at top speed.

Ian felt me shiver. He immediately started rubbing my arms and held me close to him. I gasped when my body touched his. A few seconds later, I turned around to face him. "Thanks" I said.

"We need to warm you up! Why didn't you use the heated pool upstairs?" He peered at me and enquired.

"You can't do laps there. I wasn't able to sleep. Just thought that swimming for a bit would tire me out." I replied and tossed my backpack over my shoulder.

Ian sighed. "Let me get this for you." He said as he took the backpack from me, put an arm around my waist, and guided me to the changing room. Before I went in, he handed me my backpack and a fresh dry towel from the rack nearby.

He waited outside while I took a quick hot shower and blow-dried my hair. I smoothened the dress I was wearing, stuffed my wet costume in the backpack, looked at my reflection one last time, and exited the changing room.

By the time I emerged, it was almost time for the sun to rise. Ian was standing near the deck, watching the horizon. I joined him and we both waited together. After about half a minute, we saw a glimpse of the rising sun. The sight was absolutely spectacular.

After the magic wore off, I was suddenly aware of how tired I was. Ian looked at my tired face and said "I think it's best if I take you back to your cabin now. You look like you need some rest." "Yes, please." I replied.

He escorted me to my cabin. Before I opened my door, I turned around to thank him. Ian held both my hands and looked down at the floor. I looked at our hands and waited for him to speak.

"She kissed me." He whispered, addressing the elephant in the room.

I looked up at him. He was still looking down, waiting to hear my response.

I gently pulled my hands out of his and cupped his face with my palms. I raised his face to meet my eyes. He looked at me with regret and I looked at him with understanding.

"I know. I am sorry I reacted the way I did. I know it's not my place to say this, but it really did hurt."

He put his hands over mine and gently pulled me into a hug. "I know baby!" I melted into his arms. It felt so good. He took a deep breath and I released a breath that I didn't even know I was holding. Our hearts were literally battling with each other. We stood there in each other's arms in the middle of the corridor for what felt like an eternity.

Ian gave me a soft kiss on my forehead and released me.

"By the way, I saw this intriguing picture of both of us on your Instagram. I would like to try that out for real sometime." Ian teased.

When he saw my cheeks turn red, he laughed.

"Goodnight Rachel, sleep well." he said as he stroked my cheek.

I went up on my toes, and kissed him on his cheek "Goodnight Ian"

I went to the door and swiped it open with my key card. I turned around to say bye. Ian combed his hair with his fingers and as he said bye to me, he shoved both his hands in his pockets.

Once I closed the door, I turned around, closed my eyes, and leaned on the door for a bit, reliving the sweet moment we just shared in my head.

I removed my sandals, tucked myself into bed, and finally got the sleep I was craving. A beautifully deep and restful sleep.