Eyes

I had arrived fashionably late to the party and as is my wont stood in the far corner from the entrance nursing a drink and observing the crowd and its dynamics. Now whether I am an observer or a voyeur has never been clear in my own mind. Regardless, it is usually a fruitless and solitary pastime. That night however, right around when I had just downed my sixth drink and my mind was considerably numbed and defenseless, she made her entrance. It seemed as though the crowd quietened. Or perhaps it was just that my senses sharpened and focused on her suppressing all that was extraneous. Evolution must have done this, given the hunter and the hunted special abilities. I watched her enter the room, instantly part of the conversations. Sequined, off-shoulder dress flowing with her as she moved. Someone gave her a glass of champagne. Laughter, her head thrown back, her hair lustrous. Her lips parting to swallow. Kisses for a friend. A hug. Feline, her movement. Predator or prey? She moved across the room, pulling in her wake a growing crowd of voices. Someone took the empty glass from her. Her bare arms encircling a friend, pulling him in, whispering in his ear. Laughter. The crowd parting as she moved steadily across the room. She was within earshot now but my senses dulled my hearing so that I could see her better. Her smile infused her face and I could see the green of her eyes, the light touch of makeup on her face, the moistness from the champagne on her lips. She had not looked at me, not once, but she kept on coming in more or less a straight line. She reached for the glass of champagne I offered as she finally came near. "You have been watching me," she said, raising the glass to her lips as she came within kissing distance. "My eyes have not left your face since I first saw you," I whispered, raising my glass to join her in a silent toast.