As Alicia waded through the crowd, she felt hushed whispers following behind her. Sensing a crowd as it began to form, she led them towards the living room.

And after being forced to tell the story of how she was attacked by the Crazed Clown Prince of Crime about sixty seven times, Antonia came to her rescue.

"Get out!! All of you! If you don't want to be thrown out of this party on your asses, you will quit forcing your hostess to relive being attacked by the Joker!" With that, Antonia grabbed her arm and led her away.

"Ant, you knew?"

"Of course I knew. I'm Antonia," the red head said as she led her outside to the pool," I know all. I just figured that when you were ready, you'd let me know."

"Yeah. You goin in the pool?" she asked dumbly as Ant peeled out of her already scant outfit into an even scantier bronze bikini.

Trying to think if she wanted to swim this early in the party and risk ruining her hair, Alicia thought carefully, looking about the veranda. All thought process was lost, however when she caught the pair of chocolate honey eyes.

Worried that Alicia had spaced out again, Antonia looked around and tried to pinpoint what she was looking at.

"Um Ali, what are you... oh my word." Mr. OMG peeled up from his seat like a panther, suit jacket thrown over his arm and a drink in his hand. As he drifted across the veranda, eyes of all genders followed him.

They drank in his curly blonde hair, frilly lashes, sculpted face, pouty lips, and long legs as he continued to walk, brown eyes busy on the two girls.

"Is he coming over here?" Antonia asked green eyes bright with mischief.

"Yes. No. I hope so. Yeah, he's comin over here. My hair straight?"

"Nope. Better, go in the house and fix it.

"I will. Later, like after he comes over here.

"Ok fine. Do I have something in my teeth?"

"Ant, you have food from high school still in between your teeth. Go upstairs and floss."

Antonia snorted quietly as Mr. OMG continued closer, until he was in between them.

"Excuse me miss," he said, deep rolling purr turning women (and some men of course) in the surrounding area to a puddle.

"да, моя любовь*?" she purred, cold Russian fire lighting her body with a sexual aura so powerful it made Alicia want to puke.

Show off...

He gave her a small smile, teeth threatening to blind the pair as he took her hand and said," do you think I may uh have some time to talk to your blond friend?" her eyes flashed and she took her hand back.

The two friends made it a game to try and snag a guy, but Antonia was a sore loser when not all that fancy foreign talk got her laid.

Needless to say, Alicia was quite happy.

Ahhhhh yeahhhh...Score 1 point for me!

"You certainly may," she glanced at Alicia, eyes screaming bloody murder, and said "Have fun Ali," in a voice so her breath came out in puffs. She dove into the pool, speaking Russian to the first boy who came near her.

"I'm Jack," he said, still smiling, with his hand outstretched. Alicia smiled, light blush making her fumble for his hand and shake it.

"Alicia Kneeley, but you can call me Ali."

There was a pause, and as she looked at him, she felt like she'd seen him somewhere before. Something in his eyes threw her off, gave her this sense of déjà vu.

"Um, I'm sorry. Have we met? I don't know why, but I feel like we've met before somewhere."

She noticed a change in his smile when she said that. Nothing major or terrible, but it sent a shiver up her spine.

"We did actually. Uh, a while ago, I met you at a party you'd thrown. I was staring at you across the pool, and you were with your friend Josef Stalin over there. I had been watching you as I saw you throughout this uh, party, but there was always some guy trying to lead you away on his arm. So I bided my time, until I thought it was the, uh, right time to strike, so to speak."

"Want to sit down Jack? The strength of this story is making me weak in the knees?" Alicia smiled, leading him into the living, which was now thick with smoke and sex.

The noise hushed a bit as the two stepped in and found a corner for them.

"So, uh, Ms. Kneeley," Jack asked, handing her a cigar as a girl came by with a case," tell me. What do you do?"

She took it, pushing it between her lips, lighting it, and taking a deep drag of smoke. "How'd you know I was a smoker?"

He gave her a crooked smile and motioned over to the far wall, which had a picture of her blowing smoke into the air as she leaned against the window of a loft.

She snorted, and blushed, trying to recover herself.

"Well, I'm a part time psychologist. Photography is obviously my full-time occupation." as she said this, she examined the shadows as the caught on his angular face.

"And you have quite a beautiful bone structure Mr. Napier." it was his turn to blush and pause.

"Um...what?"

"You face's shape, it's amazing. I know men and women who would kill to have such a well-proportioned and angular face."

"Well take a picture Mr. Photographer. Not that I don't mind you staring." he said, but was surprised to see Alicia with a camera in hand.

"How-"

"Say cheese."

Gee, that took forever to come out with...