Chapter 2 - Brianna's Birthday

 Knock knock. "Come in!" Kiara shouted. 

"Good morning!" Jasmine smiled. "Here, I made you some coffee."

"Thanks, I really need one right now. I was up late last night unpacking and tidying up the room," Kiara yawned.  

"It looks nice," Jasmine said as she scoped out the room. "So... Jackson and I are going to a birthday party tonight just out of the city. We would love for you to come along, if you're interested."

"Oh awesome, whose party is it?" 

"Brianna King. She's our close friend and I can guarantee it will be a fun time." 

Kiara paused momentarily and took a big gulp of the coffee, so as not to come across as too eager. "Okay, I'll come!"

"Perfect! We'll leave around 8, Jackson's going a bit earlier to help set up. Oh and by the way, don't worry about a gift." 

When Jasmine left the room, Kiara dragged herself to the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a shower. Kiara was filled with nervous excitement - she was desperate to meet new people and make a good first impression. She spent a long time in the shower daydreaming of all of the wonderful people she was hoping to meet. 

For the rest of the day Kiara scoured the Internet researching job openings and university courses. She worked as a florist in Oasis Springs as a means of making money but she wasn't particularly interested in going back to floristry. Kiara was never ambitious, she always assumed that she would marry her ex-boyfriend Dario and that she would end up being a young stay-at-home parent. After visiting a number of different websites, Kiara felt demoralised - it was clear that she lacked the required qualifications and experiences for all of the decent vacant jobs. Despite this, she zealously submitted a number of job applications before getting ready for the party.


--- later that evening ---

A short Uber ride later, Kiara and Jasmine arrived at Brianna's house.

"Brianna lives here?" Kiara gasped, unable to hide her amazement. 

"Yep, she lives here alone. Her parents bought this house for her, but she's doing pretty well herself - she's a lawyer," Jasmine explained. Kiara suddenly felt extremely out of her depth. 

"Is everyone here all extremely successful?" Kiara laughed nervously.

"Depends how you define successful," Jasmine winked. "Come on, I'll introduce you to some people." 

"There's James and Laurie, but we should say hi to Brianna first," Jasmine gestured to two attractive men lounging around and laughing loudly.  

"So you're the new girl" Brianna said aloofly, scanning Kiara up and down. 

"That's me!" Kiara replied awkwardly, feeling intimidated by the tall, beautiful and accomplished woman before her. Brianna was striking - her platinum blonde hair framed her perfectly oval face and her pale Snow White skin shimmered in the moonlight. Kiara tried her best to sound confident, "Thanks so much for having me, and happy birthday!"

"Thank you," Brianna responded as she coldly waved Kiara out of the way. Her ice queen exterior melted immediately as she turned to Jasmine and exclaimed, "You won't believe what Laurie got me for my birthday!" 

"Is it better than last year's present?" Jasmine asked enthusiastically. 

"Yes - he's taking me to Sulani for a week! Bikinis and sun here I come! You should totally come." 

Jasmine laughed, "I'll think about it. C'mon, let's go introduce Kiara to the others." 

Good thing Jasmine told me not to bother with a gift for Brianna, Kiara thought. Seems like this girl has everything she can ever want. 

"Hey, I'm James. Kiara right? Heard you moved in with Jacka and Jas," said a slender man with a deep voice. He was dressed casually and had perfectly shaped almond eyes.  

"Nice to meet you James."

"So is Jacka a pain in the ass yet?" 

Kiara giggled, "I only got in yesterday, I've barely spoken two words to the guy." 

"Well be careful, he moves fast..." James joked around and Kiara laughed, feeling more relaxed after her cold encounter with Brianna. "Jacka said you're from Oasis Springs - what brings you to the city?"

Without thinking, Kiara began to speak. "Um, a bunch of sad shit happened to me and I'm trying to start over."

James wanted to press further and ask the new girl about her past, but he stopped himself. "Well then, here's to new beginnings!" James grabbed two shot glasses and handed one to Kiara. "Bottoms up!"

The burning aftertaste of tequila filled James with ecstasy. Before Kiara could respond, James was already gone looking for another drink. As Kiara spun around to check out the rest of the party, she locked eyes with a gorgeous blonde man.

"H-hey" Kiara stuttered, taken aback by his dreamy blue eyes. 

"Hey there. You okay?" 

"Y-yeah. I just had a shot and it went straight to my head," Kiara mumbled. She couldn't stop staring at the beautiful blonde before her. 

"Do you want me to get you some water?" the godlike creature asked. 

Kiara pulled herself together and responded, "No that's okay, thanks though. I'm Kiara by the way." 

"Hi Kiara, I'm Laurie. Are you having a good night?"

Yes, now that I'm talking to you, Kiara thought. "Yeah, this place is amazing! So how do you know Brianna?"

Laurie grinned sheepishly, "She's my girlfriend." 

The smile on Kiara's face faded as she registered what Laurie had just said. She hoped that Laurie didn't notice her disappointment and in an overly enthusiastic manner she gushed, "Well Brianna is a very beautiful girl. You are very lucky to have her."    

After getting to know the group, Kiara learned that everyone in this circle came from high society. James, the son of two university professors, was currently in neurosurgical residency training. Brianna was a lawyer at the biggest firm in San Myshuno, the firm her father started. Laurie was next in line to take over his family's multi-million dollar real estate development business, Kerr Industries. Jackson's father was hotel tycoon Charles McIntyre and his mother, Lia Morris, was a well-known San Myshuno socialite. Even Jasmine, who was down to earth and the opposite of materialistic, was the daughter of Terence Jordan, the CEO of SimsAirlines. Kiara was relieved that no one scoffed at her when she revealed her past, but she couldn't help feeling extremely out of place all night.   

Everything started to become a little hazy as the night went on - inhibitions were lowered as the alcohol kicked in. Kiara felt herself naturally gravitating towards Laurie all night. Just before the clock struck midnight, Laurie pulled Kiara inside.

"So, do you want to go upstairs?" Laurie purred in Kiara's ear. 

Kiara pulled back and blushed heavily. "What?" 

"You heard me." 

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