Chapter Nineteen:

Blaine had stayed true to his word.

The engagement party had been planned nothing short of perfect.

Hosted within the dining room and luxury gardens of the Intermezzo Hotel. It was a fusion of a garden party and a modern ballroom aesthetic, enhanced by the flawless blue skies and sweet rising heat of the pre-autumnal air.

Two rectangular tables decorated with golden table-runners and salmon-pink peonies in glass vases had been laid out, each table seating a total of fifteen people. Close friends and family would only be in attendance, a more intimate gathering for the engagement party.

A sharp lavender incense hung in the air, welcoming the guests' olfactory senses before they could take in the view.

A single sparkling chandelier illuminated the dance floor and the tables alike. Delicate fairy lights lined either side of the stoned cobbed floor leading to the outside venue. Soft sweet melodies wafted through the air thanks to the DJ and the selection of violinists employed for the evening.

Waiters roamed around the hall, holding a selection of canapes and small glasses of sparkling white wine on trays.

Lydia had requested that her bridesmaids be matching - in a colour of their choice - and despite the short notice, Ria and the maid-of-honour, Lydia's older sister Leela had managed to buy four sets of burnt sienna midi dresses.

The dresses flowed down in satin waves off the body, sheens of light flickering off the silky surface as the girls entered the room; the sun rays peeking through the open windows, the only lighting required for the night.

"I really appreciate you organising all of this for my sister, Ria," Leela spoke as she reapplied her nude-tinted lipstick in the bathroom. Her mouth hung slightly open as she said, "I know she's not the easiest person to get along with."

Ria let out a small laugh, "well, that may just be the understatement of the century. I honestly can't believe you're related. I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you're actually nice and she's well...she's Lydia."

"She has a good heart, trust me. Deep down." Leela replied, linking her arm with the younger girl as they prepared to re-enter the hall.

"Well, exactly how deep are we talking?" Hazel chimed in, earning herself a sharp look from Indiya, who had remained silent for most of the evening.

"I get it, I do." Leela chortled, "I grew up with the girl, but she's just more of an acquired taste. Give it time."

Meanwhile, Blaine busied himself chatting to the guests and other groomsmen in the main hall, but his eyes were firmly glued to the doorway. He'd been unable to tear his eyes away from Ria since he'd first seen her that morning. He was surprised that nobody had noticed his less-than-subtle glances all afternoon.

She strolled in, giggling with Indiya and Hazel. The golden rays of the chandelier caught in her freshly-straightened nut-brown locks, the rays shimmering with each movement. Her hair cascaded silky smooth down her back like water down a fountain. She laughed with no reserve, emphasising her sculpted cheekbones. Her lips were painted oxblood red - he'd noticed that the girl seldom chose light colours to paint her lips. It added to the forbidden aspect of their relationship, he thought. His eyes were drawn to her lips, and he almost felt like she was calling out to him. Almost.

Burnt sienna would never suit any other woman. The way the orange colour complimented her tanned skin, the way the dress clung to the curves of her body effortlessly. Hugging tightly at her bust and the way it hung a little too tight to her abdomen only added to her womanly charm.

She halted laughing as she clapped eyes on him across the room, her hand flying to cover her laughing mouth; evidence of her insecurity betrayed her as the soft flush added to her rouged cheeks. She quickly murmured something to the girls behind her before striding toward him amongst the bodies gathering on the dance floor.

"Hey," She whispered, "I never got to thank you for organising this. You did amazing. Everything looks perfect." Her brown orbs shone as she took in the scenery around her.

"You look perfect." He responded, barely catching himself before the words left his mouth. He leaned down, his face inches away from her ear, his hand sliding down the slit running from her thigh to her knee, "You can thank me tonight when I finally get to unwrap you."

She felt her body quiver as his breath hit her cheek, "shut up, Blaine." A grin played on her lips as she took a careful step back, noticing Reid and Lydia from her peripheral vision.

She was more than just alarmed as Lydia enveloped her in her arms. "You guys have made my day! Today couldn't have been more beautiful."

"Really? You mean that?" Ria asked, uncertainty lining her lips as she shared a look with Blaine.

"You two went above and beyond. We're so thankful." Reid patted his sister on the head before putting a fist out towards Blaine, "thanks, mate. I still don't know how you got a violinist at such short notice. Whose mum did you have to sleep with to get them?"

Lydia giggled, "Be nice, Reid. He probably didn't even have to sleep with her. Just flash her one of his smiles, right Blaine?" She teased, but it was light-hearted enough for Lydia. She turned back to Ria, "I mean it. Honest. This is everything I could have hoped for."

Lydia swivelled around, noticing Leela approaching, "Oh, Blaine! I totally forgot. Leela tells me you guys dated back in school. You certainly kept that one quiet, huh?"

"What?" Ria muttered under her breath, but she knew Blaine had heard it.

Blaine let out an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his neck, "I didn't keep it quiet. I didn't even know you two were sisters until today." He nodded up at Leela as she reached the group, "Hey, Leela. Long time, right?"

"Hey, Blaine." Leela simpered, fluttering her eyelashes at the boy, "it's nice to see you again." She stood at an impressive five foot seven without heels, and Ria automatically felt tiny compared to the girl.

Leela had unblemished copper-brown skin like wind-fallen autumnal leaves and eyes which were more green than hazel. Her hair swooped in coils down to her neck.

"I really didn't know you were Lydia's sister." Blaine reiterated, his hands firmly placed in his suede black trouser pockets.

"Because I'm black and she's white? It's okay, Blaine, you can say it." Leela responded, the teasing evident in her voice, "we're half-sisters. Same mum, different dad. You couldn't have known." She reached out to the boy, "Dance with me, Blaine? For old times' sake."

Ria willed Blaine to reject her. She was standing right there in front of him, and she could feel her heart sinking in her chest as she watched the stunning girl flirt with him.

He hesitated for a few seconds, his eyes meeting Ria's for a split second before he agreed, "sure, for old times' sake." He didn't stop her as she swung her arms around his neck, his hands settling onto the small of her back. He held her at a distance, not quite pressing their bodies together as they twirled around the dance floor amidst the other couples.

"Oh my god, the chemistry." Lydia squealed, "they look so good together, don't they, baby? Almost as good as us." Lydia continued to Reid as he chuckled along in agreement. She grabbed his arms, bringing him towards the dance floor in a rather awkward dance.

Ria's eyes remained plastered on Blaine and Leela as she sat at her designated table with Indiya and Hazel.

"Come on, single ladies." Hazel piped up, one hand grabbing each girl, "let's dance."

"I don't feel like dancing," Indiya replied, as she deliberately attempted to avoid any glances at the dance floor in case she noticed the happy couple.

"Me neither," Ria agreed, the echoes of Leela's laughter ringing in her ears. She had decided that she disliked the girl, and then Ria had decided that she disliked herself for the very fact that she disliked the girl for no apparent reason. She and Blaine were friends. She repeated the word friends in her mind until it didn't sound like a word any longer.

"Okay, guys." Hazel clapped her hands once, "who pissed in your cereal this morning?" She looked between the girls, "this is a party. An engagement party. And newsflash, you're both bridesmaids. So, come on." She tugged on both of their hands.

Before Ria could stand up, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. "What?" She almost growled.

"Oh, I'm sorry - I'm sorry to disturb you. I'm Felix. I'm one of the groomsmen...we met a few times vaguely. I just wanted to ask...if you wanted to dance?" The boy stammered through the words, obviously caught off guard by the girls' harsh demeanour. He was dressed in the same grey dark grey suit as the other groomsmen, his skin a milky white colour, except for a port-wine stain that covered his right cheek.

"Oh." Ria replied, "I know who you are, Felix. Sorry about that," she pointed over her shoulder, indicating how she'd acted only mere moments ago, "Sure, I'd love to dance with you."

He was thin, she noticed as she danced with him, his hands lanky and awkward against her back. But he was sweet enough, whispering sweet nothings in her ear.  She barely noticed as she exaggeratedly laughed when she felt Blaine and Leela come closer to them. As she lay her head on the guy's shoulder, listening to him drone on about how he and Reid had met, she felt a hand pry her away from Felix, "Hey Felix bro, I'm just going to borrow Ria for a second."

Ria opened her mouth to argue back, but he'd already pulled her towards him, placing her hands against his chest, his hands falling just centimetres above her buttocks. "Get lost, Blaine." She murmured softly, only half-heartedly trying to pull away, annoyance bubbling in the pit of her stomach, curling around her core and beginning to grip her heart.

"Don't be like that, Ri." He whispered into her hair, holding her close to his chest. His eyes roamed around undoubtedly to ensure that Reid was distracted amongst the chaotic and packed dance floor.

"I'm not being like anything." She replied, "What? You came to me because Leela's tired of you already?" She asked, swaying to the music slowly.

"No." His hand traced small circles on the small of her back, "But I'd much rather spend time with you."

She sighed, hating the impact he had on her. It was words. It was always just words. But she was shocked into silence when he touched her so intimately. She stumbled against him, clearly not as good of a dancer as he was. He caught her by her waist, keeping her upright in her heels.

"I didn't know you could dance, Blaine." She said quietly before adding, "actually, you know what, I'm not even surprised. I bet one of your exes taught you. I mean, there's clearly been so many. Maybe you have history with Lydia's mum too, over there?"

"Ouch, Ria." He chuckled, his hand subtly dropping to her buttocks, giving it a soft squeeze before pushing her closer to him, "but you're a pretty bad dancer. I wouldn't have thought you had two left feet for someone who's usually so good at everything," he teased.

"It's not like I have anyone to impress, is it?" She taunted him back, deliberately stepping on his toe a second time.

He placed his hand on her jaw, running his index finger along it until it reached her chin, lifting her head up, a soft smirk on his lips, "don't be jealous, Ria."

"Me? Jealous? Who would I be jealous of?" Ria scoffed in return.

"Leela. I saw the look on your face. It's not like I wanted to go with her. She asked me to dance, I couldn't say no in front of Reid and Lydia."

"You couldn't, or you didn't want to?" She asked. He remained silent, "I don't care anyway. It's not like this is anything, anyway." She gestured between the two of them.

"Only because that's what you want." He whispered against her ear.

She laughed, "Careful, Blaine. People might hear and think you're going soft."

He chuckled in return, his voice a low whisper, "good thing I've got you to keep me hard then."

She gasped at his words, her mouth inches away from his as he bent towards her. He could have quickly closed the gap between their lips, as the remainder of the crowd was busy surrounding the engaged couple, but he didn't.

"I didn't know she was her sister." He reaffirmed, "I wasn't keeping it from you, I promise."

"I don't have too much pride to admit that I was jealous seeing you dance with Felix." He continued when she remained silent.

"Oh? So now I'm proud as well as replaceable?"

"Proud, absolutely. Replaceable, no way in hell."

She gazed at their feet before he lifted her arm up, twirling her around slowly.

"What are you thinking about?" Blaine whispered. They continued to twirl again, her hands intertwined between his.

"I don't know." She replied, "I just despise you sometimes, Blaine."

His lips quirked in up in an almost-mocking grin, "No, you don't, Ria. I don't think you ever really disliked me. You just despise how much you want me."

"Oh, you wish." She scoffed.

"Oh, trust me. I really do. I wish I could kiss you right now in front of all these people and show you that Leela means nothing to me. I wish I could take you home, rip off that little dress, and show you how much I've missed you even though it's only been one night."

"Really?" She glanced up, shocked by his words. "Really?" she repeated, making sure she'd heard him right.

"Really." He reaffirmed, bringing her left hand up to his lips and placing a kiss on her ring finger. He let out a breath of air as he remained transfixed on her lips, "I'm not proud of the person I was when I was with her, you know. I..." His words cut off as the dining room door swung open with a loud bang.

A heel hitting the tiled ceramic floor echoed through the air.

"I take it my invitation got lost in the post, then?" A mature woman spoke sarcastically, her hand placed on her hip. She wore a mahogany-coloured loose dress as she sauntered in. Her face was more oval-shaped than the diamond it had once been, her eyes a deep chestnut-brown colour and her hair falling in soft beach waves.

"Mama?" Ria spoke, dragging herself away from the boy, "What are you doing here?" She heard Reid saying the exact words from behind her.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I wouldn't miss my son's engagement party for the world! I've got to give a speech, don't I? I'm the groom's mum, after all."

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Authors Note:
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please vote and comment xo