Author's Notes:

Hi! Okay, my computer is "partially" fixed for the moment. I had a hard time planning descriptions for the party, especially now that I have a new fic in mind so I kinda turned a bit. There's an explanation for this chapter at the end, anyway. .…

KyteAura: How did Tomoyo know such things…I wonder too. ^^;;; Hmm… *thinks* Tomoyo as Kaho's shadow… *huggles KyteAura* You could always read my mind =^.^=

arashi009: LOL….Tomoyo and Eriol are ALWAYS perfect for each other. I intended for Sakura to have Tomoyo's character…a little OOC but I think Sakura needs to feel thrilled with dressing up other people sometimes.

crystal~heart: Yeah…there is some secret to Tomoyo's past life. Don't worry, you'll know the secret in about two chapters ^^

Fuu: LOL…yeah, I know I kinda interchanged Sakura and Tomoyo's character but at least Tomoyo is not as "clueless" as Sakura, ne?

Athar_Luna: A lot of people celebrated like you did when Kaho died. ^^ Anyway, I promise you won't die of not knowing Tomoyo's past, really!

Clownsareevil and Darkshadowheartless: Well, I updated now. ^^ Aren't you glad? ^^

Dana Daidouji: I am not "evil", khekhekhe ^.^ I don't plan on making Tomoyo "very" embarrassed…wait! Read the chapter first! ^^;;; Good luck with your geometry ^^

raven: Thanks for reviewing! Just as I said before to the other reviewers, I hope you'll like this chapter ^^

bishounen_lovah: Nah, I guarantee that Tomoyo did not have amnesia. Umm..and you will read about it in…soon ^^

Sore jaa! Please tell me how this next chapter fared! Enjoy! ^^

Caress of Venus

By: nikki hiiragizawa

Chapter 7: The Dinner

"Nee, do you want the bed near the window or the one near the door?"

Tomoyo looked at her new roommate, surprised. She was busy studying her surroundings to be able to hear what Kinomoto Sakura was saying. Eriol's house was nothing compared to this house. This house was three times the size of Eriol's manor, and to think she gaped at Eriol's house! She was wondering whether she would be found easily in case she wandered off alone and got lost, when Sakura called to her. "Any of the two beds would be enough for me," she courteously replied as she opened her bag and arranged her things on her dresser.

Sakura smiled and pointed to the bed near the door. "Saa, would you mind if I take this one? I really get cold easily, and even the closed windows wouldn't keep me from shivering." She smiled as she laid her bag at the foot of her bed. "Gomen nasai, I must have startled you since I am so energetic and everything."

Tomoyo shook her head. No, I just almost had a heart attack back then… "Um…not really, since I…"

"Syaoran, you know, my fiancé, told me to act a bit more like a lady, as everyone is acting. But I don't really have the talent." Sakura rolled her eyes as she spoke. "I do not even know why they hold such elegant parties as this and be stiff with manners and everything."

The purple-eyed girl on the other bed nodded, though she wanted to voice out her opinion too, especially since her two-inch high-heeled boot is making her numb from knee down. She managed to carry on the conversation. "Well, maybe it is a way of impressing the foreign people, you know, when people get together, they want to show everyone what they got, and things like those so…"

"You are absolutely right, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura was now sitting beside her. "I thought you'll just ignore my speeches about parties and everything but you are quite a nice person to talk to."

"Ah…"

"Sou ka!" Sakura held both of Tomoyo's hands. "You'll attend dinner tonight, right?"

Tomoyo gulped. "Di…dinner?"

The brown-haired girl nodded. "There will be a dinner tonight where all the organizers and primary guests of the party are to talk about final preparations for the party. Most likely, more than a hundred people will come so such matter need to be talked over."

"Oh." What is this? Did Eriol say something like dinner? With organizers? Tonight already? Hiding the shaking in her voice and knees, Tomoyo got up and started to arrange her clothes to a closet at the end of the room.

Sakura, however, was not to be ignored. "They would be so happy to see you, Tomoyo-chan. Do you already have your dinner outfit planned out? I could help you."

Such words from Sakura made Tomoyo think of Nakuru back at Eriol's manor. She smiled at her new friend. "Actually, I still do not have my dress picked yet. I didn't quite know what will happen so…"

Sakura looked as if she understood that Tomoyo was new at this stuff, but she didn't mention so. Instead, she became more energetic and looked at Tomoyo's wardrobe. "Hmm…Dinner is usually attended in semi-formal attire." She studied the dresses hanging in the closet already. "You have the day dresses, luncheon suit, travelling dress, and oh!" Sakura marveled at a certain gown. "Is this the one you are supposed to wear at the party?"

"Hai," Tomoyo shyly said. Eriol did not want her to wear Kaho's old dresses anymore, and two days before coming here, Eriol had the tailor down town to take her measurements and get her the right gown. The tailor came up with a dress, too bad Eriol was away when she tried it on. However, Nakuru said that it would surprise Eriol more. "We umm…does it look bad?"

"Are you joking? It's marvelous!" Sakura twirled with the gown still on her arms. "I couldn't have picked any better. You will look good in this." She set the gown back to the closet. "Anyway, you seem to not have any appropriate gowns for dinner?"

Tomoyo bit her lip. Eriol probably did not want her to attend the dinner. Or maybe he forgot to bring her clothes. She was having an emotional turmoil inside her of attending and not attending the dinner – with Sakura chatting endlessly – when a knock on the door was heard.

"Hah, Eriol-kun!" Tomoyo heard Sakura say. "Do you need anything to Tomoyo-chan?"

"No," came the voice of her host. "I just came to give her something. Is she inside?"

Sakura motioned for Tomoyo to come closer and opened the door a bit wider. "Eriol-san," she greeted.

The young man at the door smiled and held up something. "I heard there would be dinner tonight, and I forgot to remind to bring dinner dresses. So I have Nakuru come here and deliver one." He draped the clothes on Tomoyo's outstretched arms. "I am so sorry to make you wait."

"Oh no! Thank you very much," Tomoyo answered, trying to keep her face from blushing. "I really…well…I am not supposed to be attending the dinner since I am just a performer anyway." She blushed completely when Eriol held her arm fast.

"No. I would really love it if you would attend dinner. They would all love you, believe me." He bowed his head a little and moved away. "I'll be seeing you later then." He disappeared around the corner. Tomoyo watched his back until she could no longer see it.

"That's really Eriol-kun." The purple-eyed girl jumped when Sakura suddenly talked behind her. "He never leaves anything undone."

Tomoyo couldn't help but agree. Her host had made everything comfortable for her, and it made her less nervous.

She listened to Sakura narrate about her and Syaoran for a while when a maid told them that dinner would be ready in twenty minutes. Shakily, Tomoyo arranged herself – the way Nakuru taught her how.

+++

The brightly-lit dining room of the manor was quickly filled with twenty or so people. These were the organizers, sponsors, and primary guests of the party that was to take place tomorrow night. Some of these personages were the elite in terms of art and some were the talented ones. Eriol slowly made his way through the crowd.

"Ah, Yamazaki-kun, how is your business?" Yamazaki Takashi was a full-fledged novelist. His works included the most uncanny fairy tales of origins of things and places written so skillfully that even a grown-up would actually believe them.

Yamazaki held up a hand. "Long time no see, Hiiragizawa-kun, and what a nice tie you are wearing." Eriol looked at his blue tie and laughed. "No really," Yamazaki continued. "Did you know that we were supposed to be in the same color scheme as our partners for dinner?"

Eriol narrowed his eyes. "Was that a fallacy, or a truth?"

"Truth," Yamazaki said as he walked away chuckling.

"Eriol-kun!" The painter looked around to see Mihara Chiharu walking towards him. "I didn't know you have arrived already." Chiharu was Yamazaki's fiancée.

"Good evening, Chiharu-san. I just saw Yamazaki a while ago."

"Oh that….dolt." Chiharu moved to the wall as she spoke, fury apparent on her face. "He wanted to co-write something with Naoko-chan, and it ended up so funny it was in the Humor section of a bookstore!"

Eriol chuckled. This wasn't the first time Yamazaki did such a thing. "Well, what was the novel supposed to be, an to Naoko-san's taste?"

Chiharu looked back before walking away. "Historical drama."

Eriol softly laughed as he continued walking around. "Ah, Kinomoto-sensei!" He approached an older man standing nearby.

"Ah, Hiiragizawa-kun." Kinomoto Fujitaka was Sakura's father. "How is your art doing?"

"Not very well, sir. How about your diggings in Madagascar?"

"Ah…that seems to be fruitless too, so I came back to my daughter and son and have some fun. I was lucky I was just in time for the party tomorrow."

Eriol talked with him for a while, until Syaoran came and Kinomoto-sensei excused himself to talk with his daughter's fiancé.

"Yo, Hiiragizawa-kun." Syaoran approached him. "They are about to start dinner, should we wait for the girls at the landing?"

Eriol nodded and they set off towards the stairs. They were to escort the ladies to the dining room. It wasn't really needed for him to escort Tomoyo since they are not partners, but Eriol felt that the young woman would probably never eat dinner in the dining room if he left her. She would probably prowl around, looking for her sense of direction.

"Nervous?" Syaoran asked him as they stood against the wall.

Eriol looked at him. "Why should I be nervous?"

Sakura's partner was looking away from him as he spoke. "About Tomoyo-san, you were nervous, right? I was wondering when I would see you with a partner after so many months."

"She not really my partner," the bespectacled man replied. "She was to sing in the party tomorrow and I was the one who asked her to sing. Purely business, that is all."

Syaoran nodded, as if believing everything Eriol said. "Oh, is that so. Then maybe those fond looks as she walked away and the tone you use when you speak to her would probably be concluded as purely business."

Eriol glared at his friend and was to snap an answer when Syaoran looked at the stairs. Sakura and Tomoyo seemed to have at last come down.

"Oh Syaoran-kun, gomen," Sakura was saying. "I really had to do Tomoyo-chan's hair or I wouldn't be in peace. It looks good doesn't it? I hope Eriol-kun doesn't mind."

"No…I do not…You look really great, Tomoyo-san." Eriol forgot about answering Sakura and went forward to meet his partner.

"Well," Tomoyo started to say. "Sakura-san was too kind to arrange my hair and…well…I cannot even believe it would turn to something like this." Tomoyo's hair was arranged in a half-twist, securing the upper half with hairpins and letting the other half of her hair flow down to her shoulders. Blue glitters the same shade as her dress were sprayed on her gray her, making it shimmer in the lights of the chandeliers.

She was wearing the gown Nakuru brought earlier. It was light blue, made of light fabric. Flowing sleeves fitted her shoulder perfectly and the layered skirt reaching below her knees shaped her well. A thin necklace with a turquoise pendant encircled her neck and same turquoise bands were on her wrist.

"Eriol-kun?" Sakura looked quizzically at Eriol while Syaoran tried his best to stifle his laugh. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Ah yes." Eriol took Tomoyo's hand. "We should go to the dining area."

Tomoyo wondered as she was dragged to the dining room. Eriol didn't say anything about the dress. All he said was that she looked great. Could it be that he didn't like her wearing the dress? She pouted a little because of confusion but was hurriedly amazed by the dining room. It was as magnificent as the other rooms, the only difference was that so many people were here. All of them eyed her curiously, and followed her with their eyes as she moved towards the table.

Eriol led her to a seat near the end of the table, and assisted her as she sat down. She took a sigh of relief as Eriol sat beside her. Now with Eriol near her, it wouldn't be much of a problem.

The diners sat down and a middle-aged man occupied the seat at the head of the table. Coughing slightly, he spoke. "Welcome my dear guests," he said as he stood up. "I am glad to have you all here early to arrange a few things for the party tomorrow. As we all know, this party would signify the start of our museum business as well as the partnership with other countries. We should make everything work out in this party." A slight applause followed, and he sat down.

Just as when Tomoyo thought it was all over, Eriol nodded and stood up. Holding her breath, she looked, panicked, at Eriol. The young man bowed slightly and spoke. "Since we all know each other here pretty well already…very very well…" a slight smirk was directed to his old friends. "…I would like to introduce a new person here. She would sing for us at the party tomorrow night." Tomoyo gulped. "A good friend of mine, Daidouji Tomoyo-san." He looked at Tomoyo and waited for her to do as learned before.

She stood up a bit stiffly and bowed slightly. "It is very nice to be a guest to this such great occasion," she said, her voice shaking a bit. She could faintly see Sakura grinning at her, making her a bit more confident. She looked around to her audience. The people were still staring at her, as if wanting her to speak some more. "Um…I wish you would like my singing."

Laughter rang out through the room. Tomoyo looked down, a bit red and embarrassed. Slowly, she sat down and wrung her hands on her skirt.

"A very pretty woman you have there, Hiiragizawa-san," a young man across the table commented, making Tomoyo redder.

Suddenly, she felt one of Eriol's hand on her own, squeezing her hand to comfort her. "Of course, Yamazaki-kun," he replied. He turned to Tomoyo and flashed a smile, making the girl relieved a bit. It seemed that no one was really annoyed by what she said. In fact, everyone was quite kind to her.

Dinner started the same way Eriol discussed it. The kinds of foods were almost the same, except for one. Tomoyo gulped as she was served what looked like snails. "Eriol," she muttered under her breath, making the young man look at her with inquisition. "What is this?" she softly asked, careful that the others won't hear.

"It's snails." Tomoyo gaped at the dish before her. How in the world would she eat this? Suddenly, she turned to her right and saw Eriol motioning for her to do the same thing he is doing. He picked up the two-pronged fork quite exaggeratedly, so Tomoyo would notice, and stabbed the insides of the snail to get the meat. Nodding, Tomoyo followed suit. However, it was difficult to prod the snail meat while holding just a fork against it. She looked around. Everybody was doing the same and no one was holding the snail shell with bare hands. Feeling butterflies in her stomach, she tried still. It was working…she finally got the knack…now all she had to do was pull the meat out.

"Tomoyo-san, where did you meet our boy Eriol here?" somebody suddenly asked.

Tomoyo dropped her fork in surprise, sending the snail shell rolling off her plate.

"Ah, I met her in a park," Eriol quickly cut in, reverting the man's attention to him. "I was inspiring myself for a new painting when I heard her voice by the river." Tomoyo nodded. She got the snail back to her plate. "I kinda…"

"Where do you sing Tomoyo-san?" another man asked again. "What company is supporting you?"

Tomoyo looked up from her plate, as if clueless, and answered. "Umm…I am quite new at the profession, so I do not have a supporting company yet. I am currently sharpening my skills by singing in restaurants and gatherings, and I hope to better soon."

Nicely said! Eriol silently cheered. Well, after practicing that for about an hour, that answer should really go well. As he thought all would go well however, Tomoyo's fork slipped from her grasp.

"Gomen," Tomoyo suddenly blurted out, and by the time she was able to look up, most of the people in the table were looking at her. Uh-oh.

"Nee, what time will be the party tomorrow? Have we arranged all the things needed?" The people's attention was now directed to the person who spoke.

Arigatou, Sakura-san, Tomoyo silently said as she smiled at Sakura, the one who spoke.

"The party would be at eight sharp," Ishikawa-sensei answered. Then he turned to Tomoyo. "Daidouji-san, please tell the orchestra what you will sing so that it would be arranged before hand."

"Yes, Ishikawa-sensei."

The servers came and took away the dishes. Tomoyo's food was untouched. She gave up on solving the mystery of the snails and did not eat any of that course. Dishes after the snails were quite easy to eat, making Tomoyo almost melt with relief.

At last, interrogations about her and dinner were finished. Other people went to the parlor to have tea and chat, but Tomoyo decided that the conversations at dinner were enough. She bid her companions good night and went upstairs.

She was passing through the left wing corridor when she glimpsed a balcony at the end of the hall. She parted the light curtains covering it and went out. The evening air was calm, but chilly. Her light dress was not helping in warming her at all. She stared at the garden below. It was the back garden so no people are walking through it. A small lake was in the garden instead, reflecting the moon in its surface.

"So your excuse of being sleepy is not at all true?" someone spoke behind her. She whirled around and smiled.

"Eriol-san."

Eriol came up beside her and took a view of the scenery below, too. "You did really well a while ago."

"Well?" Tomoyo almost laughed. "I stammered in my conversations, completely destroyed my introductory speech, and murdered the snails!"

The young man laughed, but it was none of a ridiculing laugh – more of a light, interested one. "For a rookie, you did pretty well. I am really taken by you." Suddenly, he glanced at her. "Are you cold?"

Tomoyo was shivering. "Erm…"

Eriol wrapped an arm around her. "Is this better?" When the young woman nodded, he relaxed. "You know, he said after a while. "I am looking forward to the party tomorrow. I mean…hearing your song." He looked down and saw Tomoyo looking up intently to him. He sucked in a breath.

"I…" Tomoyo whispered as their eyes met. "I am not sure if…I can do good tomorrow."

"Yes you will," Eriol said, not taking his eyes off Tomoyo. "I know you will."

"But…" Before Tomoyo could speak, Eriol shushed her. Slowly, he lowered his head towards her. Tomoyo felt just the same as that time they were dancing. "Eriol…"

"I know…I…"

Eriol held her chin up and looked at her. Soon ,they were just a breath away…Tomoyo closed her eyes.

A crash from the stairs made them jump. Soon, they saw Sakura limping as Syaoran helped her up. Eriol and Tomoyo both looked at each other's red faces.

"Gomen nasai!" they both said at once.

Eriol guiltily looked away. I must…uh…tend to the visitors downstairs. He hurried away without anther word. Leaving Tomoyo staring at his back.

With a soft pat to her cheek, Tomoyo woke herself up. Cursing herself for such a stupid act, she hurried to her room.

Eriol was acting weird lately, she found herself thinking. I like him…I really do…but I… She slammed a fist on her door. "He's married for God's sake!"

"What?" Sakura was already on her bed, and was looking up to Tomoyo. "Is something wrong?"

Tomoyo quickly smiled. "Uh, no. I was just worried about the party."

Sakura turned to her stomach. "Don't worry," she muttered through the sheets. "They won't have snails tomorrow."

TBC…

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading,

I was supposed to do the party scene, I really am! However, I remembered than in formal parties sometimes, the guests arrive a day earlier than the party and they stay at the host's house for a while, so this chapter.

What did Tomoyo's dress look like in the dinner? If you watched Sound of Music, and the part where Rob and Lisa danced "I am sixteen, going on seventeen," the dress Lisa was wearing was my inspiration for Tomoyo's clothes.

Sore jaa~ I must go. Please tell me what you think about this chap…and suggest anything! ^^