Shauna, Marlene, Lynn, Christina, and I walk slowly down to the cafeteria where the guys are waiting for us. At least I'm walking slowly, my shoes are deathtraps. Seriously, how do women walk in these things? I stumble a few times and finally Christina puts my arm through hers to steady me. I smile and thank her. She's a great friend.
When we come around the corner, I see the guys loitering in front of the cafeteria waiting for us. Zeke is the first one to notice us. He hits Tobias on the arm then motions towards us with his hand. Will, Uriah, and Tobias look our way but Tobias' eyes slide right over me. I can't understand why. It's as if he didn't recognize me.
I stop and give Christina a hug and say, "Thank you for everything. Have fun tonight." She hugs me back fiercely and turns and walks toward Will. Shauna is already in Zeke's arms and Uriah is spinning Marlene around. I notice Lynn scowl slightly at them then walk into the cafeteria. I wonder what that's about.
Finally, Tobias meets my eyes and his mouth falls open. He seems frozen in place so I'm forced to walk to him. I carefully put one foot in front of the other, wobbling a bit until I'm standing right in front of him.
"Wow, damn!" he says as his eyes slowly roam by body from head to toe and back again. A blush colors my cheeks. Finally, he takes me in his arms. "You are so beautiful." He tenderly kisses my mouth. He puts his fingers on the necklace and says, "You got my present." I put my hand over his and look up into his eyes.
"Thank you so much, Four. They're so beautiful," I say. "You didn't have to do that you know."
"I know, but I wanted to. You deserve it." He hugs me close and says in my ear, "I'm so glad you chose Dauntless. I love you."
"I love you, too," I say in return. He leads me into the candlelit cafeteria keeping his arm around me where James and Ciara, Samuel and Ella, and Dante and Kirsten are already seated at our table. I take my usual seat beside Christina, and Tobias slides in after me.
"I have to say the woman at this table clean up quite well," Zeke says, not taking his eyes off of Shauna. She smiles at him. We all say thank you.
"I have to agree," Tobias says. He looks up and down the table and says, "You all look spectacular tonight." Then he looks directly into my eyes and quietly adds, "Especially you. I'm glad you thought of this party." I'm having a hard time keeping my eyes off of Tobias. He looks dazzling in his black tux. All the guys do but I've never seen him looking so polished.
All the food is especially delicious tonight. I've never had such a fancy meal in my entire life. I can't help but feel a little selfish. When I finish the main dish, Tobias asks what kind of cake I want. I tell him I would love to try the strawberry, and he comes back with a slice of strawberry cake and a slice of vanilla cake. I thought for sure he would have gotten chocolate. Out of the corner of my eye I see Uriah has a slice of each flavor and laugh.
"Uriah? Do you have enough cake, or should I get you another three pieces?" I ask, teasing him.
"Don't mess with me when I'm eating cake, Tris," he says.
"I wasn't threatening to take it away, Uriah, I was offering you more," I say with a giggle.
"Oh, in that case, sure. This is really good tonight," he says putting another bite in his mouth. Everyone at the table starts to laugh except for Uriah, he just keeps eating. I can't blame him, I have come to love Dauntless cake in my short time here but tonight's cake is heavenly. I would turn into Uriah if we had this flavor every day and only eat cake. After supper is over all of us head to the auditorium. Tobias is holding my hand as we walk when my ankle buckles, and I fall into him. He quickly steadies me.
I look up at him and mutter, "Death traps." I lift my dress and hold out my right foot so he can see my shoes. "Seriously, look at these." He looks down at my foot and when he looks back up at me there's an odd look in his eyes that I don't recognize. He shakes his head then laughs.
"I'm surprised you're upright," he says, smiling. He puts his arm around my shoulders and lets me lean on him as we continue our way to the auditorium.
When we walk through the double doors, we stop and take in the site before us. Christina has transformed the auditorium into a ballroom. Hanging from the ceiling at various heights are hundreds of silver stars. The support pillars throughout the room that hold the weight of the ceiling are wrapped with greenery and frosted white twinkle lights. On the outside of the pillars are several large round tables covered in black table clothes and sitting on each table is a centerpiece made of greenery, wild flowers, and lit black candles. On the inside of the pillars is a makeshift dance floor filled with Dauntless members.
The stage is wrapped in black billowy fabric, and the stair railings are wrapped with the same greenery and frosted white twinkle lights as the support pillars to illuminate the path to the stage. On stage is a DJ booth and numerous speakers that are cranking out loud music I've never heard before. All overhead lights are turned off but the twinkle lights and candlelight are reflecting off the silver stars creating a romantic ambiance. All 15 of us head to the lead table, which has been reserved for us along with Tori and her date. Sometimes being a leader has its perks.
The music slows down, and Tobias asks me to dance. I've never danced before so I'm a little nervous but dancing with him is effortless. I put my arms around his neck. He wraps his arms lightly around my waist, and we sway to the rhythm of the music. The DJ plays songs from the past couple hundred years or so, and I find the music exhilarating. I learn about songs and artists I like and some I don't. We dance every slow song throughout the evening and even during several of the fast ones. We dance long past midnight having a wonderful time. I once again have my arms around his neck during a particularly romantic song when I yawn into his shoulder. The 3-inch heels have helped to bridge the gap between our heights.
"Tired?" he asks. I hadn't noticed I was tired until the yawn.
"Yes," I say. "It's been a long day." He pulls away from me, and I let my arms fall from around his neck. He puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me close to his side. We say goodbye to our friends who are still here, and we start climbing out of the Pit toward our home. When we finally reach our apartment, fatigue is pulling me down. I can't wait to crawl into my big, comfortable bed and put my head on my pillow. He slowly leads me up the stairs knowing my 3-inch heels are even more dangerous to me now that I'm practically sleep walking. We stop outside his bedroom, and he gives me a long, slow goodnight kiss. We part and I tell him good night and walk into my bedroom. After dancing around for five minutes trying to get the zipper down I realize this dress is not coming off unless I ask for help.
"Tobias," I shout. "Can you come here for a minute?" He slowly comes out of his bedroom, down the hall, and into my room. He has his tie off, his shirt open, and I notice the button of his pants is undone. I swallow past a lump in my throat, and my heart picks up double time.
"Did you need something?" he asks. I bow my head a little and look shyly up at him through my eyelashes.
"I need help getting out of this dress," I say bashfully. "I can't reach the zipper." He doesn't say a word, he just comes closer to me and motions me to turn around with his finger. I very carefully turn my back to him. He places both hands on the top of my dress by the zipper. I feel his fingers graze my bare back, and the fatigue dies instantly. He holds the fabric firmly with his left hand and unhurriedly lowers the zipper with his right all the while trailing his fingertips down my spine. When he slides over my bra I let out a startled little gasp but I don't move. He continues lowering the zipper until the fabric starts to fall away from my body.
I boldly let the dress fall to the floor and lean back against his bare chest. I'm standing in front of him in nothing but my black lace strapless pushup bra, black lace boy shorts, and black faux crystal embellished 3-inch heels, and suddenly the mild spark within me is a raging fire. At this moment I realize I'm ready, and there's nothing in this world I want more than him. The new sensation of skin on skin is overwhelming. He's motionless for a moment then suddenly I feel his hands on my waist just above the lacy waistband of the boy shorts. He slides one hand up my ribcage and around until it is lying just beneath my breasts and pulls me closer to him. He runs the other hand down to my thigh and leans down and places his lips against my neck. I raise my left hand and tangle it in hair. Soon he's groaning in my ear.
I turn around in his arms and meet his urgent mouth with mine. I wrap my arms tightly around his neck, pulling him close to me. Our mouths move together perfectly synchronized for what seems like hours while he runs his hands over every unclothed inch of my body. He takes the pins and bands out of my hair and lets it fall. He threads his fingers through my mess of curls and gently pulls my head back and moves his mouth to my throat and trails kisses down to my heart. Then he puts his arms around my waist and lifts me up so he doesn't have to bend anymore. He slowly maneuvers us toward the bed, kissing me the whole way. When I feel the back of my legs hit the familiar fabric of my quilt, he lets me slide down the front of him then gently lies me back on the bed. His mouth finds mine once again as I pull him down on top of me. After a minute of fevered kissing, I slide his shirt off his shoulders, and he pulls his mouth away from mine.
"Tris," he groans, looking directly in my eyes. I know the longing I see in his eyes is mirrored in mine. "We can't do this. Not tonight," he says roughly, stroking my face. That isn't what I thought he was going to say. Suddenly I feel exposed and rejected but I can feel his need so I'm confused.
"You don't want me?" I say in a whisper. I can feel the tears threatening to flow because of how vulnerable I am right now.
"I want nothing more than to make love to you right now. You can feel how much I want you," I blush a new color of red, "but I don't have any protection. I'm sure you don't have any birth control either, right?" My eyes widen at the mention of birth control. That thought had never even crossed my mind, I was caught up in the moment. As much as I want him, I'm not ready for a baby. I shake my head at him. He eases himself off of me. "I'm sorry, Tris. I shouldn't have let things get so far," he says as I pick up his shirt and quickly slide my arms into the sleeves to cover my nearly naked body. He goes to walk out of the room when he turns back to me.
"Those are the sexiest damn shoes I've ever seen in my life. You keep those okay," he says. He winks at me then goes back to his room. I get off the bed, cross the room, and shut the door behind him. The realization of what almost happened hits me. Now that the heat of the moment is over, I can't believe I was standing in front of him in my bra, underwear, and 3‑inch high heels. I start laughing with near hysteria. What did that look like? It certainly couldn't have looked like a naive virgin.
I pick the dress up off the floor and hang it in the closet. I finally take the shoes off and massage my tired feet for a while. I go into the bathroom and wash all the makeup off my face and look in the mirror. I still have an excited look in my eyes and I blush. I put on a pair of sleep shorts and a camisole sleep shirt. I slide in between my sheets and rest my head on my pillow. I toss and turn for a while then realize what I'm missing. I slide out of bed and make my way to his door. It's shut. I close my eyes and inhale deeply. I lightly tap on his door and open it. He's started to get out of bed when I enter his room. We stare at each other for a minute, neither one of us speaking. I walk over to him, take his hand, and lead him to our bedroom where he'll sleep from now on.