Ira, when started the journey around the party on his sister's quest of finding a girl for him, had known how useless it was going to be. But, having seen Arianne,  he seemed to doubt his own premonition.
He waited for her to take his produced hand and as she did, smiling politely and replying, "Hello, Ira," he seemed to like her outright.

She, on the other hand, had no particular feeling developed at all. The introduction and the knowledge of each other's names did not matter much right now to her. She did not even know it was actually supposed to.

Nevertheless, she liked the politeness and courtesy Ira showed right at first sight.
Something between the two recently met people told Theresa that there was little or no space for her at the balcony anymore. She decided to step back to the party. "Guys, you've a talk," she said, suddenly pretending to feel busy and wanted, "I'll go, check if everything's alright."

The environment around changed instantaneously as Theresa stepped out. The two seemed to have no clue about what to say or do. Ira, though had been sent to many similar dates by his cousin, could not relate any of those with this situation.

At every those dates, he had planned to ruin it beforehand. Even when he was taken around the party to the other girls, he had his mind set up about how to avoid developing any hope in the girl at all.

Maybe, he thought to himself, if it was not that particular girl, Arianne, it would have been easier. But, what curbed him from repeating his actions with Arianne?
Arianne had almost forgotten what to say in such situations. It seemed to be a birth away that she allowed herself to be let alone with a guy.

It was actually in high school that she was alone for a long time with Ryan. After that, she never dared. But, why did she even consent to? It occurring with Ira was still acceptable, considering his polite gestures. There was nothing polite and courteous in Ryan's behavior that she was attracted to him. She'd never know, she sighed and tried concentrating on the current situation.

It was Ira who fortuntely started to speak as they stood with their arms rested on the high railings that guarded the balcony lest anybody falls off. "Are you majoring in Anthropology as well?" he asked, "you know, like Theresa?"

"No," she replied, looking back, "I'm doing Biology."

He nodded, wondering if that was it.
"What do you do?" she asked, keeping the conversation up.

"I'm working at the Grey Enterprises Holdings."
"Oh! You must be pretty old then?"

He chuckled. "Why do you think so?"
"Because,  I've heard once that the Grey House doesn't take anybody without an MBA. Generally! So, if you've done one and now you're working, you must be old. Seven to eight years older than me."

"I'm just a year into the job."
"Still!"

"Well...I'm twenty-nine. So, if you're Theresa's age, yes, I am old enough."

"I'm a few months younger to her." She giggled, feeling the pressure around them slowly evaporating. He felt it too. Like the loosening of a noose, the constraints of not knowing each other slowly seemed to zoom out.

As Ira stared at her, smiling and looking in the distance, he wondered if this could lead on to something. He was not sure if he wanted to, but he was sure that it was not that he wouldn't like if that happened.

"What work do you do?" she asked, looking back, forcing him to break his gaze.
"Computer jobs. Like fixing softwares and stuff."

"Okay, so, what did you do in college?"
"Engineering and, then an MBA from Boston. You know, things that made me old!"

Arianne chuckled again. "So, you're a computer engineer?"
"Yes, I am."

"So, if I ever mess up with my laptop, or any software you'll be able to fix it?"
"I hope. If you don't mess too much with it, of course." And, he stared at her smile again.

They stood in silence for a while again, before he asked, "what are your minors?"
"Chemistry,  English and Psychology."

"Psychology? Why'd you take up that?"

She thought about it. Noone has ever asked her about the minors. Everyone, even at the counseling, wanted to know why she took up Biology.

"Well...I've always loved to know how a human mind works and how to easily keep up with any person's changing mindset. And, I've also been able to meet a lot of people with a challenged set-up of mind, either by birth or by mishaps. It's really moving when you meet such people who are doing things yet they don't know they are doing it. Or, they have forgotten who they are, what's their name,  whom they loved - everything. And, trying to mend them to some extent is a bigger challenge."

"Why did you take it up in the first place?"
"I wanted to. That's it, I think. Chuck it. You tell me, are you from Seattle?"
"No, I'm mainly from Portland. Came here for my higher studies and then settled down here."

"And, your parents are in Portland now?"
"No, they are here. I recently bought a new house for them."

"You did?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I did," he chuckled, "remember,  I'm that same old person."

She laughed out at this, and the surroundings went lighter again. Ira turned around and rested his back on the railings so he got a better look of her now.

There was something extremely virtuous in her smile, he introspected. It was definitely not fake, neither was it flirtive but something original and infective. So infective, that he had to laugh out too, before he could speak further, "where are you from?"

"I am from Miami."
"Miami? The beach side?"

"Yes, our house is just beside the beach. I could even see the sea from my room. Have you been to Miami?"
"No," he shook his head, "I've never been anywhere."

And, he regretted saying that immediately after he said it. She was too spontaneous to pick that up.

"What do you mean? You've never gone anywhere? Never visited anywhere?"
"No, not really. I did, of course I did. Just never been to that side. You know, my father took me to the countryside a lot. Have you been to a bit unurbanized place of that sort ever?"

She shook her head.
"Those places are beautiful. You know, large meadows, all wild flowers, mazelike roads, winding up to a high area - driving through the highway is simply fantastic."
"You've never been to the sea."
"So?"

"You'd be in love with the sea if you go once. Everything else will seem... just... inferior."
"You should go driving along the meadows. You'll see what's heaven."

"I don't wanna go alone. I don't like driving alone."
"I'll take you," he immediately said.
He was certain that he did not want this party to be the end of it. He definitely wanted to meet Arianne again, and any way possible.

"I mean," he continued as she looked at him, "if you want."

"Arianne," somebody called her from within the party room just as she was going to reply to that. The both of them turned to see David standing at the brink of the balcony. Ira recognized him as the guy Theresa went to ask about Arianne.

"Hey, Dav," she called him out into the balcony, "come on, meet him. This is Mr. Ira Armstrong. He's Theresa's cousin. Ira, this is David McPherson, my best friend."

"Hello," they shook hands like gentlemen, but David did not seem to like Ira at all. And, Arianne could feel it. Cause, just after the hands were shook, David turned his attention to his friend and conversed to her, "the dance is starting. Don't you wanna come?"

"I don't know," she said, looking doubtful about the idea, "it seems nice in the open air here." "Okay, as you wish," he said, "if you change your mind, do come inside, okay? And, listen!"

He took her to a side, away from Ira and asked, "you sure of this guy?"
"What's there to be sure of?"

"He's not going to go bad with you, right?"
She pouted for a while and said, "I don't know him much but I don't think he is."
"Okay," he said, eyeing Ira again, "be careful."

Arianne moved back to Ira once David was gone. "Don't you wanna go inside for the dance?" she asked him.

"Nope," he said, "I'm already busy here with a lovely woman."

She looked away and blushed. Though, she couldn't understand if it was meant to be just sweet or flirtive. She let out a small laugh and asked, "what were you saying about going to the countryside?"

"I was asking if I could take you out some day to such places."
"Like...like a date?" She blushed even more as she said it.

Even he could see the scarlet on her soft cheeks. It made him immediately want to squeeze them like one does with a child. He smiled at the innocence she asked the question with and admired the youngness her face held.

Though, he felt at the core of his heart that something had aged her a little more than she was supposed to. She could have been younger but she could not have been any lovelier, he concluded.

It was amazing, Arianne thought, how her conversation with Ira was smoothly gliding from one affair to another. She had felt this easy only with David before. In spite of all her shyness, she could boldly ask the last question and she knew it was possible only because it was Ira.

True that they had met only a few minutes ago, true that he was almost a decade older than her, it felt like they were friends for days. There was much more to know, of course, but whatever she had known, she somehow knew it was genuine and true.

"Whatever you call it," he finally said.
She looked down and smiled. He asked again, "when can we do it then? Tomorrow?"

"No, not this Sunday" her innocent frown took his breath away again, "I've a test on Monday. Maybe next Saturday, if you're free."

"Of course I am," he said,  "can I have your number?"