Mayas POV

I quickly found out that Kevin wasn't so bad after all. Not too long after, we were both on the dance floor where all the other guests were. Rose and Connor were in the middle of the dance floor giving their all. I smiled at Rose and she winked back at me. She smirked at me, as she saw me close to Kevin. 

Kevin had his hands around my waist as we were dancing together to the music. I rolled my eyes at her, but a smile crept on my face while doing so. James was no longer in sight and I got relieved. Even though I only engaged in a conversation with Kevin because of James' piercing eyes, I thought well of Kevin now. 

He was kind, he was indeed very charming and knew how to make my all flustered with all his compliments. He was also a handsome man. My arms were around his neck as we now slow danced to a soft and slow song. As I looked up at Kevin again, I caught him staring at me, deeply. I sudden warmth welled up inside of me. I wasn't used to getting so much attention from one guy, so it made me feel good.

As I was about to rest my head on Kevin's chest and move along to the music, we got interrupted. I looked up to see James standing beside us. He was standing alone now. I wondered where Eve was...

"Can I get a chance to dance with you Maya"?

My eyed widened a bit and I had a slightly open mouth after hearing his question. Was James asking me to dance with him?

Wow, this was weird!

I looked at Kevin and I thought I somehow saw his jaw clench harder now. He said it was fine and retreated to get something to drink. James was now getting closer to me; I couldn't say anything because I was so shocked to witness this.

In fact, I didn't really feel comfortable either about dancing with him. Instead of saying no, I gave in and took his hand. It was so strange to hold his hand again. I remembered our first date then and how we held hands in the darkness. 

His hand was soft and yet very strong. And it was the same tonight. My chest tightened and I had a tingly feeling in my stomach.

Am I getting butterflies in my stomach? But why! This was James. The guy who didn't date black nor brown girls...

Yeah, but he's dancing with you now, isn't he? My thoughts reminded me.

As we followed the rhythm of the music, he cleared his throat and looked down on me. I gave him a polite smile and averted my eyes from his. Why was I feeling tickly and nervous in front of him? Then, I caught the looks of Connor and Rose staring in awe at us.

Connor had his mouth slightly opened but then decided to give a huge smile. Rose was somehow more concerned but smiled at me anyways. I mouthed to her that I was okay. She nodded and then turned her focus back on Connor.

We didn't say much to each other during the first song. When the second song was coming, he spoke up, finally. I was expecting him to say something sweet or something like a 'sorry' about last time.

"Maya, you shouldn't engage with a guy like Kevin".

I froze completely. I looked up at James. He was so much taller than me, so I had to really look up high. Was he serious? Did he come over here to tell me that I wasn't supposed to have anything to do with Kevin?

Slowly my heartbeat went faster, my chest got scrunched up and I could feel my eyes were getting moist. It was hard to keep the tears away at his sudden comment. So, James walked over here to have a dance with me and tell me that I wasn't good enough for anyone. And I knew why he said it. Because I wasn't white. In fact, what he said right there was that I didn't really belong here.

I looked around me and saw people at this reception giving their all. People were talking, some were dancing, some were still sitting down eating or drinking their wine. Some younger people were making out and the older guest already went home by now.

I inhaled some air. "I shouldn't engage with a guy like Kevin because what? Because I'm not white, James? Is that it?" I somehow only whispered this to him. My tears were so close to escaping down along my cheeks.

I looked down on the floor. He was still holding my one hand and the other hand on my waist. But after I said it, I could feel his hand squeezing my hand hard. I couldn't get myself to reveal my hurt in front of him, so I just kept staring down at our feet.

Suddenly I let go of his grip before he could say something more hurtful. I retreated to the bathroom and locked myself in till I was done with crying. I sobbed quietly. I felt tired and I really craved to get back at the studio to paint now. But I had to pull my self together now. 

As I went out to wash my hands and fix my makeup, I told myself that, if James could come here and tell me what to do and what not to do, I would definitely not let his words get to me!

I walked out to the bar table where Kevin stood. I smiled at him and he gave me a charming smile back. "Shall we dance again?" I asked him. He put his drink on the table and almost swooped me in his arms. I laughed at his sudden move and blushed inside.

I saw James sitting on his chair and observed us. I enjoyed provoking him while holding tight to Kevin. Nobody should tell me what to do or who I should be with or not. If that was the case I would have been married to a random brown man by now! I was not giving in to that.

James, you can shove your big racist pig head up somewhere else where no one can see it!

The party went on for a couple of hours. I was beginning to get tired and I longed for a bed now. Kevin and I were now getting closer to each other and he made me feel wanted.

As we sat down after a break from all the dancing, he asked me if I wanted to get some fresh air. I thanked him and he followed me outside. As we walked outside, he had his hand on my lower back. He held my hand and walked beside me for a while. I smiled at him.

Then out of nowhere, his hand glided down from my back to my bottom. I gasped a little bit because of the sudden move. I tried to relax and go with the flow. But then he began kissing my neck. He held me in his arms and groped everywhere.

"Uhm, Kevin..." I tried to get his attention back to me and not my body. Why was he so aggressive suddenly? I began feeling afflictive. This intimacy was getting too much suddenly.

I tried to push him away with my two hands on his chest, but he didn't budge at all. "Kevin... Would you please stop" I tried again. He just kissed me further and was beginning to push me backward. We were outside the mansion where the wedding was held. 

Outside the mansion there was a little forest and he somehow got us both there, where no one could see us.

Suddenly his hands were now on my breasts and I panicked. It felt like everything froze. Kevin was now a completely different man than he was a couple of hours ago. I didn't have the strength to resist his powerful manhandling, and I tried to make him stop. 

He pushed me further down in the dark forest now. I could now only hear a faint sound of the party now.

Hi guys. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I would love for you to give some feedback on this chapter.

Do you think that James is an ass, or do you think there maybe could be something good about him?

Let me know!