Chapter 13 – Gathering

It was going to be a celebration! Dionysis had declared Gumiho fully recovered, and to celebrate the occasion, she had decided to throw a sort of party at their home for Gumiho and Ea. Morrigan, Brynhildr, Behemoth and Incubus had all been invited. Gumiho and Ea both looked really pretty. Against their protests, for they had wanted to keep the celebration a low key one, Nyx had insisted on dressing them both up.

Gumiho looked dazzling in a sheer red dress that accentuated her supple figure. The red color contrasted with her soft white hair, and similarly white fluffy tails. Gumiho's face had been almost as red as her dress when she had stepped out in it, as it was rather low cut. Ea's eyes had widened and her throat had run dry when she had seen Gumiho the first time in it. But then, when Gumiho saw Ea's outfit, she was also stunned speechless.

Nyx had dressed Ea up in a brilliant sequinned dress that glittered and sparkled under the light. It reminded Gumiho of the time Ea had walked out of the waterfall covered in water droplets. Poor Gumiho couldn't take her eyes off Ea. They openly gawked at each other for a long moment before a polite "Ahem!" from Nyx caused them to both hurriedly avert their eyes politely (albeit a bit too late). Nyx gave them a gentle push towards the stairs, hardly able to cover her mirth.

"Go on, I will be joining you shortly, the guests will be arriving soon!"

As Gumiho and Ea walked down the stairs, they both unconsciously sought each other's hand and grasped it shyly.

"You look gorgeous, Ea. Sorry, I.. I can't stop looking…" Gumiho apologised, trying to keep her composure.

"Gumi, don't… don't say such things… my face is already feeling almost feverish. You, you look really beautiful too!"

Ea stammered at the last part, her mind was yelling at her, telling her to calm down, that they had a whole night of celebration in front of them with friends. But her heart was in cohorts with her eyes, and ogling Gumiho openly, and making her want to jump on Gumiho and pull her back into the room to do naughty things….

Ea shook her head a little. No! no! She had to get such improper thoughts out of her head… But she felt Gumiho's hand tighten its grasp on hers, and gulped hard. Her hand felt soft and warm, and she was sure Gumiho could hear her heart hammering away in her chest because it was beating so hard right now. This was going to be a very long night!

Together Ea and Gumiho made their way downstairs, and were just in time to welcome the guests for that evening.
Morrigan and Brynhildr arrived, bearing a large bottle of wine. Morrigan was dressed in a black soft gown that flowed all the way down to her feet, but had a very high slit in it which allowed her to reveal flashes of her long, pale legs. Brynhildr, who was clad in a stunning white gown made a good contrast to Morrigan, and she seemed to have a rather pink flush on her checks as well for some reason (Morrigan had been teasing her) and a petulant pout.

Incubus and Behemoth was also nearly there when Incubus received a call on his cellphone. He picked up the call and answered it.

"Hey, Incubus! Wanna go hang out?"

A boyish sounding voice filtered through.

"Ah … Herman! Erm, maybe some other time, I am already booked for tonight!"

Incubus deferred, his eyes on his employer as she stopped to wait for him. Behemoth had changed out of her usual maid outfit and was dressed in a stunning cheong san like gown that showed off all of her curves and reached down well past her knees. She wore her hair pinned up, but left two slender long strands trailing down on either side, framing her oval face. She looked much more chic and sophisticated dressed up tonight … and very beautiful. Incubus had been having trouble not to let his gaze linger on Behemoth too long, but it was a challenge.

"Hah, you have a hot date? Which unsuspecting lady did you put your moves on? You rogue!"

Herman's boyish voice floated through his cellphone and echoed rather loudly in the quiet of the night.

"Shut up! I did no such thing! It… it was an invitation for us to go to her friend's house for a celebration! I… I have been a perfect gentleman!"

Incubus spluttered in reply as he desperately tried to tone down the volume. Across him, Behemoth waited with a slight raise of one eyebrow and slight grin, as she couldn't help but hear what Herman's clear boyish voice had said.

"Anyway, they are all waiting for us, I gotta go. Bye!"

Incubus turned off his phone hurriedly with relief and looked at Behemoth with a red face.

"That was my friend Herman, he… he is a joker sometimes!"

Incubus stammered, looking down. But Behemoth surprised him by walking up and tilting his bowed head up. She looked directly into Incubus's eyes and smiled wryly.

"So… looks like this unsuspecting lady is now no longer unsuspecting! Seems like you are going to have to up your game now, Incubus!"

She grinned a wicked grin, turned around and walked off, leaving him speechless. Huh? Up his game? Was… that an invitation from Behemoth to court her? His scary scary boss with that big mean scythe was interested in him? She had always been attractive to him, but so far, nothing had happened at all between the two of them. Incubus stood rooted to the spot for a while, trying to sort out what had just transpired before hurrying forward to catch up with Behemoth.

Behemoth was inwardly freaking out and her heart was thumping hard. She had walked on ahead also because she didn't want Incubus to see the red flush on her face. Behemoth was screaming at herself inside. Oh my god, I… I literally called him out and just about openly invited him to put his moves on me! Behemoth, are you crazy? But then, Incubus stepped into her field of vision again, and her throat went dry while her heart did a little tumble. He was dressed in a black and white tuxedo today and looked dashingly handsome. His face was red right now with embarrassment, but he was also looking at her with eyes filled with question and open interest… He looked really cute and awkward. Without thinking, Behemoth just grabbed his hand and said

"Come on, they are waiting for us!"

Then she increased her pace, hurrying toward's Dionysus's house at a great pace, almost pulling Incubus along. They arrived right after Brynhildr and Morrigan. As they walked through the door, Incubus immediately sensed the almost palpable air of sexual tension in the air. Alarm bells were ringing crazily in his head. This was not good… he felt as if he was walking into a lion's den! If Incubus had a choice at that moment, he would have seriously considered turning completely around and retreating away.

But he then felt Behemoth's hand on his, and that soft feminine hand, so at odds with the hidden strength within it, was now firmly leading him into Dion's house. With a little sigh, he closed his eyes briefly, bolstered his courage and walked in. He was placing himself in Behemoth's hands for tonight… he hoped fate would be kind!