(Bella) 

"H-Hi," I stuttered after I finally found my voice. I held out my hand. "Bella Domani." Calm down, I told myself. Don't let him see how much he's affecting you. He was just a guy. That's all.

"Ah! Piacere di conoscerti, Bella," he drawled, taking my hand and bringing it up to his face. He let his full lips linger on my skin for a few seconds longer than necessary.

It took all of my willpower to keep myself from shivering. He's just a guy, I kept repeating in my head. Just a random, gorgeous, hot guy. Stop!

The other guys on the couch hooted and hollered good-naturedly, but I felt Jimin bristle next to me. "All right, all right!" he said and pushed him away. "Let her breathe."

But Seokjin still held on to my hand. "Come sit with me, Bella. Sei bella come il tuo nome," he murmured close to my ear and led me to one of the couches.

I sat down slowly, my skin tingling where he was touching my hand. "Uh, I don't understand. I'm sorry but I don't speak...Italian?"

He leaned closer to me, still with his mysterious smile. "I'm sorry. My mistake. I said that you're as beautiful as your name. Your name sounds Italian. Your last name means 'tomorrow,' you know? Like a promise."

Jimin's face showed his annoyance. "That's enough, Seokjin," he said through clenched teeth. "You can let her go now."

Seokjin looked up at him and was about to respond when Namjoon returned.

"Here you go, my lady," he said, handing me a glass with a flourish.

Seokjin released my hand, and I reached for the glass. "Thank you."

"You're too late, Joonie," a boy sitting at the far end of the couch said. "Jin already got to her. He even spoke Italian."

Namjoon's eyebrows went up. "Italian? Holy hell! You have beaten me. Ah, well. 'The course of true love never did run smooth.' That's Shakespeare, by the way," he said and gave me another dimpled smile. He squeezed in next to me on the couch. "So, this is nice. How's the drink?"

Again more noisy chuckling from the guys. "Hey, it seems Jimin lost his girl and his manners," one of the guys on the other couch said. "I'm Hoseok. Nice to officially meet you. I'm sure I saw you a few times before. This is Allie, my date." The petite dark-haired girl waved at me. "And maybe you remember that lump asleep on that chair over there? That's Yoongi."

"I'm resting my eyes," came the mumbled reply from the chair. The ashy-haired young man was leaning all the way back on his seat

"Of course." Hoseok smiled brightly.

"Yes," I said. "Hello." I was trying to keep my composure. Being sandwiched between Seokjin and Namjoon on the couch was making me nervous. I could see that Jimin was staring at them with murder in his eyes.

"I see how it's going here," Hoseok said. "If you want to know more about these guys who are trying to get your attention, just holler at me. I know all their secrets, and I'm not afraid to spill. Excuse us." He and his date got up and made their way to the kitchen.

"Uh, guys," Jimin spoke up. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" He motioned with his head and went into the hallway. He looked angry.

Namjoon shrugged his shoulders, flashed a cute smile, and stood up. "I guess I better go see what he wants," he said cheerfully and left.

Seokjin shook his head with a smile. "I suppose we'd better get this over with. Excuse me, Miss Domani." He also followed them.

"I hope they don't fight," the young man at the end of the couch said.

I gasped and turned to him. "Oh, my God! Fight?"

He smiled at me. His teeth were large and white. "Oh, don't worry. They won't really hurt each other. I'm Jungkook." He held out his hand. "You can call me JK."

I tried to smile as we shook hands. "Are you sure they'll be okay? Why would they fight?"

"Oh, it's because you're so pretty," he blurted. When he realized what he'd said, his smile disappeared and he looked away.

"Oh, no," I said under my breath. "Do you think I should go and talk to them?"

"Don't worry. Namjoon will take care of it," Yoongi replied from his chair. "He's the most level-headed guy in town."

I nodded and looked closer at Jungkook. "Aren't you a little young to be at a college party?"

"I'm not in college yet until next year, but Namjoon is like a big brother to me. He always takes me everywhere he goes," he said with his big, bright smile.

"Bella, let's go."

I heard what sounded like disappointed sighs from the other girls in the room. I looked up and saw Seokjin standing over me holding his hand out to me. The expression on his handsome face was soft and alluring. I was mesmerized. Instead of asking any questions, I simply put my hand in his and allowed him to pull me to my feet. I felt a jolt of electricity at his touch. "Okay."

Then I allowed this unrealistically good-looking man to lead me out of the apartment without any objection.