Susan hated these stupid parties, but Elise had drug her - promising that she would have a good time. Susan knew that she wouldn't. She never did. Still here she is standing in the middle of the party making small talk. She could do small talk; it was easy. Say a lot about absolutely nothing. The lady who was babbling on about knockoffs was making Susan regret getting in the car three hours ago. As Susan drained the last bit of champagne from her glass, she used the need for a refill as a chance to make a hasty escape. When she was a respectable distance away, she handed her glass to the closest waiter and retrieved another from the tray he was carrying. She had attended enough of these parties to know that if you didn't have a drink in your hand some wealthy man would offer to get her one and expect her to giggle and flirt.

She moved to the edge of the crowd. It gave her an opportunity to observe the people around her. Elise only came because it was expected of her and to see the new guy. Susan and Elise had met their first year at Yale. Susan was on work study swiping cards in the dining hall. Elise was there doing penance for her latest bit of rebellion. Her father and stepmother had insisted that the University punish her in some way for driving off with the dean's new Mercedes. Elise took it in stride. She figured it gave her a way to meet guys. Meeting Susan gave her a wing man. Whenever Elise was interested in a guy she brought Susan to a party or a club and pretended to ignore the guy. They always fell for it. Usually once she had them she got bored, but this guy was different. Elise had forgotten to lose interest. Watching her friend tonight dance with the newest object of her affection, Susan got bored.

Her eyes swept the room until they fell on a stunning redhead standing in the center. She seemed to be engaged in conversation, but her eyes were looking past her companion and directly at Susan. Her stare made Susan's mouth go dry. The woman smiled easily. Susan blushed and turned away. She had to get out of here.

Susan went in search of Elise. It took her a while, but finally she found Elise out on the garden patio wrapped around the new man. "Elise," Susan said.

Elise turned around wiping the saliva off of her lips. "Susan, what... What are you doing?" The man swept Elise's hair off her neck and moved in for a kiss. "Stop it!" Elise giggled.

"Elise, I'm ready to go."

"Now!"

"Yes, now!"

"Give me a few minutes."

"Elise. I just want to go home. I'm tired."

The man stepped forward and held out his hand to Susan. "It's nice to finally meet you Susan."

"Its nice to meet you, Captain." Susan was really not interested in talking to this guy. He smiled slowly at her. Susan was sure his smile had gotten him a lot in life. What it would not get him was her compliance with this dalliance. "Look just give me the keys to the car. I'll drive myself."

"I can't do that. Father took the car earlier, I told him I would catch the train back."

"Why didn't you tell me? It would have been helpful information."

"I'm telling you now."

"Look," the captain began. "I'll give you girls a ride to the train station."

"I am not ready to go," Elise said.

Susan sighed dejectedly. "I'll call a cab. See you when get you home." Elise went back to kissing the captain walking further into the garden.

Susan wandered into the house in search of a phone. She stopped a waiter, asking where she could find a phone. He pointed her towards the library. She walked in that direction, looking at the opulence of the rooms. They screamed wealth. It drove Susan crazy. She would be paying student loans for the rest of her life. Especially since she was working for an idiot who was more important in his mind than anywhere else.

After graduating, she told her parents that she would not be pursuing her master's degree. She could see the relief in their eyes. They couldn't afford for her to have more education. She was from a small town in the Midwest. Both of her brothers had gone to community college and her sister had married the guy she dated all through high school. Susan worked hard all through high school. She was the go to girl for every school function and vice president of the student body. When she was accepted at Yale, her parents mortgaged their home to help pay for it. It was barely enough. Even with Susan working full time, she still had to take out student loans. Now as much as she wanted to get her masters in French literature, she simply couldn't afford it. Instead she had found a job that barely allowed her to eat and make the minimum payments. If it wasn't for Elise, whose father had given her an apartment on the upper west side as long as she worked, Susan wouldn't even have a place to live.

She opened the door to the library and looked around for the phone which was sitting on the table next to the redhead from earlier. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was here. I just needed to use the phone."

"Go ahead," she gestured towards the phone with her martini glass.

Susan moved towards the phone and dialed information for the local cab company. While the operator connected her, she kept her head down. She could smell the redhead's perfume, Chanel number 5. It was intoxicating. 'Get control of yourself, Susan.' She reprimanded herself. "Huh… Yes, I need a cab.... 5675 Worcester Place… train station… Yes now… ok thank you I'll be waiting out front." Susan hung up the phone and looked at the woman sitting beside her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Not a disturbance," the woman said.

"Bye," Susan said.

"Bye."

Susan almost ran from the room. What was wrong with her? It was just a woman. 'but she's exquisite.' Susan could still smell her perfume. She smiled to herself. 'well, at the least the evening wasn't a complete waste. I talked to a beautiful woman.'