Club Tokyo was packed that night. Its patrons were dressed to impress, hoping to catch the eye of that attractive person by the bar and the music was hot with the DJ controlling the steady tempo of his remixes. The darkness provided the anonymity needed for the dancers to lower their inhibitions, empowering them to do things they never would have in the sunlight. Erina and her friends pushed through the sweaty crowd to the lavish VIP section. An intimidating bouncer immediately unhooked the thick velvet rope as the ladies approached, allowing them passage up the stairway to the ultra-luxurious, private lounge.

The pulsing lights from the dance floor played with the purple neon lights from the VIP section. The space had an unobstructed view of the dancers from up above, along with large U-shaped couches and small sleek tables in the center, each adorned with a modern dimly-lit lamp.

Erina adjusted her sash that read "Birthday Girl!" in big pink letters as she sat on the black velvet couch, turning to face her friends. "It's so loud! I can't even hear myself think!" She screamed over the music. She could feel the bass vibrating through her bones; it was simply impossible to hold a conversation here. Her cousin Alice laughed, yelling back, "That's the point! You're not supposed to think! Just do!"

Alice tucked her a strand of her short white hair back behind her ear as she gratefully accepted the drink the waiter handed her. Hisako, Erina's best friend and former secretary, sipped her drink as well and remained quiet. She agreed with Erina that this wasn't exactly her kind of place but had long since accepted the fact that Alice was the one overseeing the plans for Erina's birthday. Ikumi, a coworker of Erina's, was having a great time. She liked the attention they'd been receiving from the men as they had entered the club. Of course, it wasn't every day these average people saw such strikingly gorgeous girls all grouped together, unless they were models or actresses on TV.

Erina sipped her vodka cranberry, letting the buzz tingle through her body. Drinking always made clubs like these slightly more bearable for her. She really wasn't a fan of loud noises or people touching her, two things clubs were notorious for. Leave it to Alice to plan what SHE wants to do for MY birthday.

Erina was now 21, which meant she would be playing a much greater role in her family's business. Erina Nakiri was a part of the Nakiri Art Foundation, the most prominent art gallery in Japan, and arguably the world. Her wealthy family represented a wide range of the most talented individuals, from established artists to promising up-and-comers in the art scene.

She also happened to possess a gift for critiquing art, which granted her the nickname "God's Eye". She had been an expert at analyzing, interpreting and judging every medium of art from a very young age. When she was 4, she had commented haughtily, "While the use of color is impressive, the artist does not make use of the negative space effectively," after finishing The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the first time. Since then, she had been her family's secret weapon in the discovery of some of the greatest artists from all corners of the earth. Erina loved the foundation and her job. However, there were things she was excited to change about the way it was currently being run by her father.

Another waiter had approached them, leaving a round of shots on the table. "These are from the gentlemen over there," indicating to the other corner of the private lounge. Erina glanced over at the group of rambunctious preppy-looking college boys who were now nodding and smiling over at the girls. They shot back polite perfunctory smiles of thanks as Erina sighed. Well, at least that means I can cross that off the list! She thought satisfactorily as she pulled out the glittery list Alice had prepared as a birthday scavenger hunt. 'Number 4: Get someone to buy you a drink' could be crossed off! The sooner she finished everything on this list, the sooner she could get out of here, change into pajamas, and binge watch This Is Us.

There was literally no way she would be able to finish this whole list alone though! Her cousin had unreasonably high expectations of what Erina could manage to pull off in one night. Thankfully she had begged her to let the girls help, so all of these could be accomplished between the four of them. Her purple eyes scanned the list as a refresher:

# 1: Take a shot

# 2: Collect $21 in singles from strangers

# 3: Dance on a table

# 4: Pop a bottle of champagne

# 5: Get a piggy back ride from a guy

# 6: Get a group picture

# 7: Get someone to buy you a drink

# 8: Kiss a stranger

That last item on the list was going to be a tricky one. Earlier that evening, Erina had told Alice that she couldn't do #8, since she had a boyfriend! Alice had only added that item to the list after said boyfriend had canceled last minute, claiming he had work to do. Alice just groaned, "He is not your boyfriend! I don't care what your father says. It's just another power play for him to join our influential family with another. You guys don't even like each other! Plus, you know there's something fishy going on with him and that girl." She pleaded with Erina to understand for the millionth time.

Erina knew she was right about everything. Her father had set up this arrangement in the hopes that if it worked out between them, there would be another merger besides the wedding. She didn't have the heart to stand up to her father yet, so she was stuck in this loveless "relationship", if you could even call it that. But Erina tried to rationalize with herself-even if she was single, who would she kiss? She wasn't the kind of girl to just kiss a stranger.

"Hey, I'm crossing off #1 as well since they happened to buy us shots!" She yelled across the table delightedly, prompting Alice to stick out her tongue. "Mou, Erina, you're no fun!" The four girls grabbed the shots and yelled, "Cheers!" as they swallowed, grimacing at the strong alcoholic taste.

Heat rose through their bodies as the alcohol kicked in and they were all suddenly in better spirits, laughing a little louder than before. "Let's dance!" Ikumi suggested, standing and straightening out her short emerald green dress which matched the color of her eyes. Her tan exposed legs and ample breasts caught the attention of many, and she was ready to make her way to the center of the dance floor for more.

Alice grabbed Erina and Hisako's hands, pulling them up from the couch with an exaggerated sound of exasperation as they hesitantly rose. Alice followed Ikumi's lead towards the dance floor, her sparkly bandeau top and matching pencil skirt shimmering under the pulsing lights.

Hisako and Erina exchanged small sighs and laughed, feeling tipsy enough to go along with their crazier friends' whims. Hisako smoothed out her black, long sleeved minidress, focusing on the area where Alice had tugged. The best friends strutted past the guys that had bought them drinks, leaving them staring with their jaws on the floor.

The girls made their way back down the stairs and to the center of the floor, dancing and laughing with each other as everyone watched in awe. No one dared approach them, as it was clear they were all out of their leagues.

On the other side of the club, Soma Yukihira and his friends had just finished chugging their Irish Car Bombs. They had gathered together that night to celebrate Soma's great success at his very first art show. The reviews had come in, and his work had been a hit! Finally, the culmination of years of hard work had paid off!

Soma had been holding a paintbrush since he was three. Art was in his blood, as his father was probably the most famous painter in the world. Most artists didn't experience this kind of fame and recognition until years after their deaths. While Soma loved and respected his father, he didn't want to grow up under his shadow and be constantly compared to him. Alternatively, he also didn't want to get any special treatment because of his father. This was why he chose to use his mother's name; he wanted to succeed completely on his own merit.

He looked around at his friends and felt incredibly thankful at that moment. "I love you guys!" He yelled out, as they laughed and told him to shut up. Only Daigo shouted "I love you too, man!" and the group yelled for them to get a room. Akira Hayama, a clay sculptor, asked Soma over the blaring music, "So what's next, Yukihira? Gonna start selling pictures for greeting cards?" Soma grinned and admitted, "I don't know! I guess I'll just see where life takes me!" If he was being honest with himself, Soma had been lacking inspiration as of late. He had put his entire heart and soul into his last collection and without his muse, he was feeling empty.

His last girlfriend had been the one to inspire his collection, and after breaking his heart a few months ago, Soma had struggled to paint anything.

Megumi Tadokoro, a sweet blue-haired watercolorist, smiled and tried her best to be heard over the music. "I'm sure you'll be great, Soma-kun!" She and Soma had trained and practiced together for years in college, and she was confident if anyone could make it, it would be him.

"Thanks, Tadokoro! I know you will too!" Soma smiled cheerfully. "Hey Kurokiba, get off your phone! We're celebrating!" He gestured for his friend Ryo to put his phone away.

"I'm trying to see if Alice is here yet. She said she and her friends were coming for someone's birthday or something." Ryo shouted, pointing to his phone. Ryo was a talented artist as well and had been interning with Alice Nakiri in the hopes of securing his place at her family's foundation. How he had found himself working for a woman his own age, he didn't know. However, as time went on, he had to concede that Alice was a force to be reckoned with. He was also surprised by how close they had become over his internship, as Alice wasn't his usual type. Whenever the joyful red-eyed girl was near him, he couldn't help but absorb some of her cheeriness. This was incredibly unusual for Ryo, as he was usually as cold as the metal he welded into sculptures.

Shoji muttered, "I hope her friends are hot," and fist-bumped Daigo. The rest of the group shook their heads at the two guys' immaturity and chuckled.

Takumi Aldini wrapped his arm around Megumi, thinking about how much it had sucked being single. He felt more blessed every day to have Megumi by his side and felt bad for the guys sitting across from him. Takumi was a different kind of artist: he was a chef. He had met Megumi a year ago at his family's restaurant after she had sold them a few of her paintings, and they had begun dating shortly after.

Takumi was pleasantly surprised at how well he fit into her group of friends. The blonde had initially thought he would feel left out and uncomfortable since his knowledge of the art world was lacking, but when it came down to it, they were all still artists. They may have used different mediums to present their creations, but they all bonded over their shared love of creating something entirely new and beautiful from scratch.

Ryo's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Oh, there's Alice! I'm gonna go say hi!" He seems a little too excited, Soma observed teasingly. His eyes followed Ryo as his tall, muscular friend shoved his way easily through the crowd and hugged a beautiful pale girl in a glimmering two-piece outfit. Damn, she is hot. Go, Kurokiba! Soma thought appreciatively. Ryo made his way back to the table with Alice in tow, along with three girls following her. A sexy, tan blonde was blowing a kiss back towards the dance floor as some guys pretended to catch it behind her. A very pretty girl with cherry-blossom hair had to push the blonde forward to keep her from turning back towards the guys. Soma laughed internally, thinking she was probably the mom of the group. And then, he spotted her. Hands down, the most beautiful girl—no, goddess—he had ever seen. Her long blonde hair was tousled from dancing and cascaded down to her waist. Her form-fitting, shimmering rose gold dress brought out her golden hair and rosy cheeks, and as she got closer, Soma could see the specks of pink in her amethyst eyes. He was star-struck by this woman. He wanted to paint her, but he knew whatever he did could never do her justice.

Ryo began introducing everyone around the table to the models in front of them. Needless to say, all the friends, Megumi included, were stunned. The girls on the other side were just as surprised to find that Alice's assistant had hot friends! Like, really hot. They each took turns saying hi and shaking hands, and Erina finally met Soma's gaze. His golden eyes and wild red hair conjured up images of a solitary flame, growing and spreading until it completely engulfed the darkness in the club around her. He was so handsome, even with the little scar on his eyebrow which she felt added character to his face. She wanted to frame him up in her gallery so she could admire him whenever she felt like it. Erina's stomach fluttered with butterflies when she shook his hand, and they both held on for a fraction of a second longer than necessary, absolutely mesmerized by the other.

The group made room for their new company on their bench and Erina squeezed in next to Soma.

Say something! Soma's brain wracked itself for any coherent words and his eyes fell upon the sash. "Oh, happy birthday!" Nailed it.

Erina smiled nervously, "Thanks. Alice made me wear this," she added, embarrassed.

"Well come on, you can't expect people to just hand over the money without proof," Soma joked, gesturing towards the bills that had been pinned to her thin dress strap.

Erina buried her face in her hands, almost shouting, "Again, ALICE! She has this stupid list of all these things I have to do for my birthday!"

Alice grinned slyly, "You're having fun, admit it! And now that you mention it, you still have quite a few things to finish crossing off. Better get to it," she winked at her cousin. Erina glared, somehow managing to still look just as beautiful, in Soma's opinion. "Ryo, let's dance!" Alice started to pull at her intern's arm, but he stopped her. "No fucking way am I dancing without taking at least 3 shots." The rest of the group agreed it was time to step up their game, and they ordered a few more shots at the bar. As soon as they started to feel the buzz, they stepped out onto the dark dance floor.

The music varied from hip hop to EDM to the occasional crowd-pleasing remixed pop song, and with liquid courage, the young adults danced like there was no tomorrow. Megumi and Takumi were discreetly grinding on each other, very drunk and very in love. Erina had mainly stuck by Alice and Hisako's sides, as she didn't like when random guys approached her and tried to dance with her. Ikumi was sandwiched between Daigo and Shoji, dancing with both of them flirtatiously. Soma was dancing with everyone, friends and strangers, guys and girls. He was honestly just having a good time jumping around and celebrating his great success from earlier. Girls continuously approached him, and he danced with them platonically. Erina couldn't help but watch him from the corner of her eye, surprised that a guy as attractive as him wasn't taking advantage of all the attention.

At this point, they were all very tipsy. Their inhibitions had been severely lowered, not only from the alcohol, but from the darkness of the room, the feeling of warm strangers brushing up beside them, and the steady and deep tempo of the music. Erina, head feeling hazy and euphoric, took a step out from her protective circle and began dancing a little closer to Soma. She saw him come towards her a little and smile, and he grabbed her hand and twirled her playfully. She giggled as she spun unsteadily and reached her hands out to grab his shoulders to regain her footing, not bothering to remove them once she was steady. They kept dancing for what seemed like ages, no longer switching partners between songs. Sometimes another person would try to join in on their fun, but the redhead always kept at least one hand on the blonde and vice versa. Finally, Soma gestured towards the bar and made a drinking motion, indicating he was going to get a drink. Erina was disappointed at the prospect of him leaving her side until he cocked his head inquisitively, signaling that she should come with him.

Soma grabbed her hand and led her away from the dance floor towards the bar. He tried his best to grab the busy bartender's attention, complaining to Erina about how long it always takes to get served at clubs.

Erina looked at him confused, then she burst out laughing as she remembered not everyone had access to the VIP section. She grabbed his arm and said cockily, "Let me show you how it's done." They made their way past the bouncer once more after Erina confirmed the boy was with her. Soma gaped wide-eyed at the beautiful girl as they walked up the stairs and asked, "How did you guys manage to score this?! Alice's family connections?" He knew all about the Nakiri Art Foundation and how wealthy they were since his father's work had been displayed in many of their galleries.

Erina hesitated for a second, wondering if she should correct him by saying 'our family connections'. She didn't though, and just nodded in response. Who cares, I'm never going to see this guy again, she reasoned in her head. She waved over a waiter and ordered two waters and two rum and cokes.

"What, you're still drinking?!" Soma asked incredulously.

"What, you're not?!" Erina mocked openly, her eyes glimmered challengingly. "It's my birthday. You have to comply with my birthday wishes." She pouted flirtatiously, and Soma's heart melted.

"Alright, one more drink and then you're chugging water for the rest of the night. I can't be the reason you don't make it to 22." He grinned at her, tapping his glass with hers.

Erina's whole body was warm and toasty and she felt like sinking into the couch. She turned to face Soma, her body positioned languidly on the couch and her eyelids lowered dreamily. "So, is this a typical Saturday night for you, Soma?"

Something about the way she breathed his name made Soma's nerves stand on edge.

Soma laughed heartily, "No, not at all. We're actually just celebrating my review—"

His mind froze.

She is so goddamn hot. Her clothes and purse are all designer. There is no way a girl like this would give me the time of day if I admitted that I'm just a poor artist. Even though he had just had a great first review, it was still too early to start calling himself an actual artist in his opinion.

"Oh? What kind of review?"

He glanced around and saw Takumi and Megumi making out on the dance floor and just said the first thing that came to mind. "I'm a chef," he lied anxiously. "I got a good review today from a food critic."

What the fuck? I can't even make toast!

"Ooooh, wow, congratulations!" Erina exclaimed tipsily. "You'll have to make something for me sometime!" She laughed, giddy at the thought of this handsome boy cooking for her.

Soma laughed nervously, "Definitely!" Shoot me. "What about you?"

Erina took a long drink of water to buy time. She was far too intoxicated to debate the pros and cons of telling this guy the truth and most likely going on a drunken rant about her family and her obligations. She rationalized once again by thinking she was never going to see this guy ever again and settled on "I'm a recruiter." Not too far from the truth…

Soma nodded, "Nice, any company I know?"

Erina hesitated, "Probably not, I'm kind of freelance." Is that even a thing? Whatever, he seems to buy it. She wanted to change the subject back to him. "So, what's your favorite part about being a chef?"

Soma thought back to all his conversations with Takumi, remembering how similar their jobs were in essence. "I love being able to create something from scratch with my own hands, you know? I think being able to express your emotions through art, er- you know, cooking, is such an incredible thing. Being able to make people feel something when they experience one of your creations is a feeling I'll never get tired of."

Erina smiled at his candidness, liking the way his amber eyes burned with intensity when he talked about his job. "That sounds wonderful. Its people like you who are passionate about their craft that make me happy to be a recruiter. I love finding those with talent and giving them the networking opportunities and connections to help them share that passion with others. I also really like judging people," she joked, and Soma laughed, not expecting that.

They talked for a bit more, keeping the details of their lives vague enough to not blow their covers but specific enough to be able to engage in conversation.

Erina leaned further back into the couch in contentment, letting her eyes comb over the dance floor for her friends. Well, there go #3 and #5. Ikumi was piggyback riding Daigo on the dance floor and Hisako and Hayama were dancing on a freaking table. Erina slapped a hand over her eyes from second-hand embarrassment. Soma followed her gaze and burst out laughing. "Looks like they're enjoying your 21st more than you are. Come on, we can fix this! How can I help turn this night around for you?"

Erina stared at the adorable guy in front of her and she swore she could feel his honey colored eyes burn right through hers. "Alright," she said pulling out the list from her clutch, "I still have a few more challenges to complete. I only have $17 in singles, I haven't popped a champagne bottle, or taken a group picture yet." She purposely ignored reading the last option, feeling a blush creep up on her face as he read it silently next to her.

It hadn't been crossed out like the others, but she hadn't said it was something she still needed to do. Soma decided to follow her lead and ignore it, pushing himself up from the couch. "Okay, I have a game plan. Let's go!" He pulled Erina up by her hands a little too quickly and she rose up unsteadily, falling into his warm arms. He smelled like laundry softener and cologne, and was that a whiff of paint?

Soma laughed, "Whoa, are you okay? I knew that last drink was a bad idea," he winked, steadying her with his hands on her arms. He didn't let go after she was firmly planted on her feet though, and he continued to stare at her with a soft smile. His head was spinning from all the drinks and this cute girl.

Erina couldn't collect her thoughts either. She wanted to blame it all on the alcohol, but she couldn't.

She nodded that she was fine, and they set off to collect her remaining debt. They decided to buy a bottle of champagne from the bar and "sell" it to another table for the $4 she still needed. Erina shrieked with laughter as the champagne cork popped off and the sparkling gold liquid overflowed from the bottle, eliciting cheers from everyone. She poured the drink straight from the bottle into the strangers' mouths and took a swig from it once everyone had taken a sip. Soma took the bottle from her and drank as well, forcing Erina to think about how his perfect lips had been touching the place hers had been mere moments ago.

From the dance floor, Alice could see up into the VIP section where her cousin was acting much more wild than usual. She smiled, wondering if that Yukihira boy had anything to do with it. She gathered her new group of friends and invited them to come up into the restricted lounge area with her.

It was nearly 1 am at this point, and the whole group was pretty drunk. Erina called them all over as she saw them come up the stairs. "Let's take a group picture!" She urged, and everyone did their best to squeeze into the selfie. "On the count of three, say 'Happy birthday, Erina!'" Alice called out, and they all smiled widely as the flash went off. The friends all went to sit down on the large couch, while Erina pulled Alice to the side and showed her the list triumphantly. "Finished everything!"

Alice grabbed the list disbelieving, "Wait a second, you still have the last one!"

Erina gulped, not knowing what to do. She glanced around, catching Soma's eye, and she immediately looked away in case he had been reading her thoughts. I guess he wouldn't be a bad option…

Alice smirked as she watched her cousin's internal struggle. "Oh, my dear Erina. Come, let's sit with our new friends." The two heiresses scooted onto the couch, joining in on the drunken laughter. Time had passed by so quickly, and before they knew it, the club was closing for the night. They all begrudgingly said their goodbyes and began picking up their things.

Hisako, Ikumi and Alice had huddled around Erina. It was now or never. "You can do this!" Hisako giggled, slurring her words. It turned out drunk Hisako was just as bad of an influence as sober Alice! "If you want, I can do it. It just has to be one of us," Ikumi offered with a sexy grin, glancing over Erina's shoulder to stare predatorially at her target. Erina growled, "I'm going to do it!" She balled up her fists in determination and spun around, her hair whipping around with her. She marched directly up to Soma, who had been making sure he had his wallet, keys and phone, and tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned around, and before he could even process what was happening, she was kissing him.

He could taste her last drink on her soft lips and as he started to kiss back, she pulled away teasingly.

Erina pulled out the glittery list and made a show of crossing out the final dare, while the girls behind her squealed in delight and encouragement.

"Thanks for your help!" Erina laughed over her shoulder as she walked away, still being praised by her cheerleaders.

Soma stared at her, a lopsided grin adorning his face. He was speechless. He had finally found his new muse.