“So…” she begins, turning to face me, “it looks like you owe me a favour – an enormous one.”
“Me? What?” I snap out of my daze.
“I saved your life.”
“Are you joking?” I raise an eyebrow.
“I’m being completely serious.” Her face is too.
“And how’s that, exactly? Let’s hear it.”
“I’ve saved you from a boring night, first of all. From that leech trying to slide herself into your bed –maybe even your life! From a failed marriage spent buying shoes and clothes for your trophy wife.”
I burst out laughing.
“You’re not exaggerating there, are you?”
She laughs too.
“Perhaps, a bit, but you know, you never know how the night is going to turn out, what one meeting might lead to. Sometimes, a person can change your whole life, whether you want them to or not, and the results aren’t always good.”
“Seems to me like your imagination is running a bit wild. And I could’ve got rid of her without your help.”
“Huh. Sure seemed to me like you were in trouble.”
“Trust me, I know how to defend myself.”
She looks me over for a few seconds.
“Yes, I imagine you do,” she says rolling her eyes. “Anyway, it’s too late now.”
“For what?”
“You’re tied to me forever.”
“Really?”
“You better believe it. You’re in big debt with me, my friend.”
I look at her, amused.
“You could also pay up right away and consider yourself free.”
“And what would that involve?”
“A dance. With me.” She nods towards the dance floor at the end of the room.
“I’m sorry, I don’t dance.”
Her lip curls in disappointment.
“Oh, that’s too bad for you,” she says, putting down her drink and standing up. “I’ll find someone else to dance with, and you’ll still be in debt to me. And all debts must be repaid,” she whispers in my ear before heading towards the dance floor in her red backless dress.
I watch her disappear into the crowd, still thrown off by the unlikely encounter, when my brother, Ryan, sits himself down next to me.
“Where’d she come from?”
I shrug.
