"We are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine."- Eduardo Galeano

His warm lips touched hers softly, hesitant at first, his vulnerability evident in his reaction. A warm feeling crept into her body, and it wasn't all lust. A strange sort of comfort settled in her chest, as if his arms and his lips were created especially to hold her, and her alone. She didn't feel trapped in his arms, she felt right at home.

His body was warm and soft, despite his slim, muscular structure. His arms seemed to tighten as she deepened the kiss, and she knew she had never felt as alive as she did now.

The kiss was chaste, but for a moment, he made her forget everything. The company, the pressure, the unfinished deals, the mob of reporters furiously clicking away at their cameras, the ball.

Everything.

For the first time in her life, she lost herself to the moment, losing control over her composure. The only thing that existed was his warm embrace, his gentle hands exploring the length of her bare back and the scent of his body merging with her thoughts, sending them floating away.

Her tongue pushed against his lips, begging for entry. As she felt his warm tongue on hers, she could taste the alcohol.

Yvonne abruptly opened her eyes, pushing him away gently. She suddenly realized that they were in the midst of lots of cameras and reporters. She was going to continue this, but at a different time and place, she promised herself.

"Stop," she whispered, out of breath. "Show's over. Let's get inside."

The journalists were having a ball with the show they had put up.
**

Kyle was dazed.

The kiss was... unexpectedly amazing to say the least. It wasn't like he hadn't kissed women before. This one was just... so much more tender, warm, even affectionate, not something he would expect from a woman like Yvonne. The best part was that she didn't get carried away. Kyle was uncomfortable with this sort of intimacy in front of a camera.

He didn't know whether it was the kiss or the alcohol, but he found a new sort of confidence in himself.

As Yvonne walked towards the throng of guests and fans, he put his hand on her waist and was pleased to see that she did not push it off.

Yvonne stood at the entrance of the building, near the large satin ribbon ribbon wrapped around the doorway.
She took a deep breath as she was about to begin. She was very nervous and took a quick glance at her friends, whose reassuring glances met hers. Normally, they would calm her down, but right now, her hands were shaking.

Kyle's hand slipped from her back to her side, sliding into her own hand. Surprised, she turned her face to look at him, but he was looking ahead at the crowd. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

That was all the push that Yvonne needed. She cleared her throat. "Before I inaugurate this building," she said, surveying the crowd, making eye contact with the reporters, "I wish to start by remembering my dear old friend, Ronald Carmichael, the person whose vision and support has made this company what it is today." So saying, she snipped cut the centre of the red band.

Dana gave a loud cheer and Jenna popped open a bottle of champagne, while Gordon smiled softly and the crowd began cheering loudly. The media began clicking pictures of the many different celebrities who had come to attend the ball.

The inaugral ball had begun.
***

The venue was set at one of the large halls at the top floor of the building by the poolside. Soft music played among the lavishly decorated hall, with well dressed waiters serving the guests refreshments. A large group of wealthy people had come to the party, along with CEOs of other large companies.

Kyle felt quite out of place. He had never even dreamt of coming to such a party. He was feeling self conscious and his palms started sweating again as he stood awkwardly at Yvonne's side, watching her meet and greet the guests. Perhaps some alcohol would give me some confidence, he thought as he grabbed a glass of pink champagne from a waiter nearby. Just as he was about to take a sip, a hand softly took his wrist.

"Kyle, it wouldn't do to get drunk right now," said Yvonne in her soft voice. "We have to greet the guests and answer questions from the media. Please, come with me." Yvonne pulled him towards the door.

The more he spoke to the press, the more confident he started to feel as they were all the questions he had discussed with Dana. He didn't feel as self conscious anymore as he did earlier and so far, it was all going smoothly. As they were ending their interaction with the media, a tall man with graying hair approached them.

"Miss James, you look lovely tonight!" he said, taking her hand, "And who is the gentleman?"

"Kyle Crawford," said Kyle, smiling. He extended his hand towards him in a handshake. Before his hand could meet the man's hand, Yvonne took it in her own, smiling gently at the man. She took Kyle's extended hand in her left hand, pulling it down to her side.

"Joseph Rodriguez," she said, something softly, "what a pleasant surprise. I thought you wouldn't make it." Her face face was calm, but her eyes held him in a hard, steely gaze.

So this was Joe Rodriguez, head of the Flamingo bars and restaurants chain. He had built his empire from scratch, just like Yvonne had.

"Did you think I would miss such an event of yours, Yvonne?" he asked, as his lips spread into a large, wide smile, his greenish brown eyes narrowing. "We are business partners after all."

Yvonne's grip on his hand tightened, her nails piercing slightly into the back of his hand. Kyle winced.

"I hope you liked the venue, Joe. Please go ahead and enjoy the party." she said, giving him another soft smile coupled with her cold gaze.

He nodded, smiling, and turned to go towards the other side of the hall.

"Don't associate with him," said Yvonne, letting go of Kyle's hand. She noticed the marks of her nails on his skin. "I'm sorry about that," she said, rubbing her thumb gently over them. "He's a dangerous man. I don't want him to notice you."

Kyle nodded. There had been reports of his linkups with the local Mafia, but Kyle assumed they were all rumours.

"But not quite as dangerous as you are," said a slightly accented voice from behind Kyle. A hand followed, taking Yvonne's hand and pulling it towards a pair of full, pink lips.

He was a tall, handsome man with black hair, deep, brown eyes and olive colored skin. "Have you replaced me with this young man?" he asked, as he clutched his chest dramatically. "É lui il tuo amante?"

Yvonne rolled her eyes. "This is Marcus Rossi, he's... " she paused, trying to find the exact words, "a friend of mine."

Of course he knew Marcus Rossi. He was one of the biggest rising movie stars in the film industry. And had received many awards for his movies.

"May I borrow your woman for a short while?" he asked Kyle, placing his hand at Yvonne's back.

She turned to Kyle "I won't be too long, you go ahead and enjoy the party."

A strange sort of sadness filled Kyle as they turned and left towards the balcony. He would never belong in this glitzy, glamorous world of theirs, so why was he getting sad? He turned around to find another waiter. He was going to enjoy the party. This time, there was no one to stop him from taking a glass of champagne.

A/N: Sorry about the shorter than usual update. Hope you like it.