Aaron took my hand and whispered softly “I’m glad you came…” he said
“There’s no place I would rather be.” I smiled. What a lie.
My mind was divided. I really wanted Aaron’s family to like me; so far, so good. But I also really wanted to play dress up…and see Jeremy obviously.
However, I was still glad to be here. I had looked forward to moments like this with Aaron for as long as I could remember and I wasn’t going to let a tease-and-flee coward spoil this evening for me.
Suri, Aaron’s sister, was excited to meet me, she even let me look at her baby….she wasn’t letting anyone touch him, looking at him was more of a chance than other guests had gotten…so that was a good thing.
Suri was beautiful, she had long wavy hair, and blazing brown eyes. She had a sense of humor and was rocketing off the ‘cool’ chart. She even managed to look amazing even when we all knew she was freaking tired, no one gives birth and hosts a barbeque the same weekend.
Well, it was no one's fault they had planned the barbeque weeks ahead as something to keep Suri busy when Mason, her husband, was out of town. And Suri didn’t appear to be one to cancel on people.. she seemed dedicated that way.
At that moment, Aaron pulled me towards him and whispered to me again “I need to talk to you.” he said.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” I asked as I noted the seriousness in his tone.
“No…it’s not you, it’s me.”
“You’re not breaking me with me are you…cause I’ll have you know we’re not a couple.” I said firmly…and a little bit tipsily…damn those cans of beer I had.
Aaron laughed. The laugh, the whispers, I had dreamt of all these for far too long…and now they had no effect on me. I didn’t yearn to hear them anymore, because when I lay my head down at night…it wasn’t Aaron I dreamt of. Why couldn’t I just accept that?
“This is practically our first date…..”
“So we’re not counting Friday night dinner, ey?” I asked heartily.
“We ran out during starters, and we spent almost the whole night waiting for my sister , so no, we’re not counting Friday night dinner.”
It was my turn to laugh.
“Don’t you feel weird meeting my family?” he asked.
“Is that what this is about?” I smiled “Look Aaron, it would have been rude for me to say no to Mason when he invited. It was his way of thanking me for waiting.
Secondly, to the rest of your family..I’m just some bimbo they probably will never see again. And if I’m going to date you, I’ll date you not your family, it’s not like we’ll have dinners with them every night…so this is a one time thing for now…don’t put pressure on it, okay?” I said
“Wow, you’re amazing.” He smiled.
At that moment, my phone began to ring in my purse, the only reason I was even able to hear it was because I had been expecting the call.
I brought out my phone and looked at the caller ID “Its Allyson” I said to Aaron. Yeah it had to be Allyson, the innocent one, that called. That way, Aaron wouldn’t suspect anything was wrong. “ I have to take this, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” He said as he led me into the house so that I could take my call in a quieter area.
I walked away from Aaron a bit when I realized it was Jamie calling with Allyson’s phone. “We have your dress in the limo, twat, just ditch the barbeque already so we can have a shit load of fun...cause if we don’t I swear…I’ll effing kill you in your sleep. You and you’re twisted and let me add, completely unnecessary, love triangle. We’re around the corner, Dimwit…” she swore.
“Oh my God, how bad is it?” I asked oblivious to what Jamie was saying “Oh, I don’t know Ally, I’m kinda in the middle of something.” I said looking back at Aaron.
“No..no..it’s not like that.” I said in between Jamie’s cursing which had intensified within seconds.
“I’m sorry Allyson but I made a commitment and you know how important those are to me.” Yes, I saw the irony in those words even as I said it. “Thanks for understanding.” I said as I hung up.
“Everything okay?” Aaron asked.
“Yeah, it’s just Ally, she’s stranded.” I said slyly hoping to play on his conscience. “but I told her I was here, and that was that.”
“Look, it’s okay if you need to go.” Aaron said “it’s a bummer no doubt, but your friend needs you.” he said calmly.
I was almost jumping in delight when he added “I could even give you a ride if you want.”
“No!!!” I squealed “I mean, I think Jamie’s just around the corner anyways..I’ll give her a call and have her pick me up if you insist…but I’m not taking you away from your family...so scurry off and grab another drink..I’ll just give Jamie a call.”
As soon as Aaron was out of sight, I was out of the house, texting him that Jamie was nearer than I thought, apologizing.
True to her word, they were actually just around the corner. I literally dove into the limo in excitement. They were all looking beyond this world.
James had on a three piece black suit with a silver mask in hand. Allyson has on a red strapless, dress, which accentuated her curves. And Jamie had on a purple dinner gown- ish and her hair tied up. she was the one that took my breath away.
I didn’t waste time to take off my clothes, “I love it when you get naked for me.” Gay James said jokingly.
I rolled my eyes as I grabbed my black and gold gown from Allyson. As soon as the gown was on, everyone sprung to work. Jamie on my hair, Allyson on my makeup and James on my jewelry. I guess if anyone was looking good, then we were all entitled to look good.
“Seriously, thanks guys…” I said…I meant it. Our ride suddenly came to a stop and we realized we already at Maggie, our hostess’ place. It was dark out, I didn’t even know it had become this late..how long was the drive from Aaron’s anyway?
Maggie was at the entrance greeting everyone that came in with Anthony, her butler, by her side. She engulfed me into a hug as soon as she saw us. “Oh I’ve missed you girls.” She said to me.
“Do promise to visit often?” she said as she hugged Jamie.
“We promise.” Allyson said when it was her turn to hug Maggie who was surprisingly firm for her age. “Maggie this is our friend, James..”Allyson introduced. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Ah nonsense, any friend of you drunkards is a friend of mine.” She said looking lovelier than ever. She had on a simple black dress and a red mask to go with her red shoes and red-stone jewelry…she looked stunning. “Now go have fun children.” She said as she turned to say hello to the new arrivals.
As I looked up, the elegance of the evening hit me; everyone looked like fancy ghosts as they floated around...but that wasn’t why I was there. I thought as I searched every male silhouette for Jeremy.
“Take a load off.” A male voice said behind me. I hadn’t even noticed I was alone. Allyson and james were already raiding the buffet table and only God knew where Jamie was. I turned around to see who spoke to me. “excuse me?”
“You came to party, didn’t you? Why do you look so worried?” he asked
“You can’t even see me” I said through my Gold mask.
“But I can still tell that you’re beautiful….” He said “I’m Leon, by the way, a friend of the family.”
“I’m Mel, gradually becoming a friend of the family.”
“Before you run off to see whoever it is that you’re looking for…lemme be your guide. Show you around.” He said stretching his hand out for me to take it. I did.
“Every party is the same” Leon said as we walked away from the bar. We had stopped by the bar mid tour to get out buzz on..and now we were back on track. “There’s someone who want to be the center of attention…” he said pointing to a girl wearing some feathery kind-of-contraception-kind-of-dress…
I laughed.
“There are the shy people…” he said pointing to a group of three people beside the staircase we were ascending….and then there’s the cool people, they know everyone and anyone who matter…” he said smiling at them.
“Your group?” I asked.
“Definitely…I could introduce you if you want.” He said
“No thank you...but I’m afraid we don’t walk in the same social circles…” I said non chalantly.
Everything was fancy…there were models/statues with trays of drinks at the top of the stairs. Up there was more captivating than the ground floor. It was so much…cooler. So much more elegant.
“…and then there’s the room where the real party happens…” he said opening the door to one of the guest rooms…or should I say guest apartment. There were people making out on the bed, the wall, the sofa, the chairs.
“Isn’t it early?”
“Rule number one Mel, rules that apply in the real world…don’t apply here. It’s the fun of a masquerade ball. There are people you know…and people you don’t. Find those you don’t and live out your wildest fantasies with them…and in that case NEVER TAKE YOUR MASK OFF.” Leon explained.
“Good to know.” I nodded. So far so good since my mask was still intact.
“Leon…” a female voice called over the music that was playing. A petite young woman walked up to him and put her hand on his.
“Mel, this is my girlfriend, lisa.” He said.
“Nice to meet you..” I told her
“Same here.” She said but I could tell she was itching to get Leon away from me.
“Later.” He said as he was whisked away.
Since I was up here anyway…I strolled towards the room I stayed in when I had I spent the night here. Actually I was heading towards Jeremy’s room, the room that was beside mine.
As I combed through the crowd of youths that had flooded the hallway…I was glad when I finally reached his room. I paused at it, leaning on it…imagining what was on the other side, who was on the other side with Jeremy.
At that thought, I attempted to open the door in jealousy. It was locked.
I imagined a million reasons why the door was locked, but the thought of him being with someone else was the most disturbing.
“Melanie…” a male voice called behind me, this time I was sure it was Jeremy.
I turned around.“You’re not supposed to know who I am…it’s a masquerade ball.” I joked.
As soon as he reached me, everyone else disappeared and it felt like it was only me and him in the world. I couldn’t wait to rip off the black-silver mask from his face as he leaned towards me.
“I hoped you’d come.” He said
“I hoped you wouldn’t stay away.”
“From you….never….” He said as he dipped in to kiss me. I kissed him back and placed my hand on his door knob.
“Open sesame” I said with a light laugh.
He reached for his keys in his pocket and opened his door.
“Abracadabra….” He said as he led me in…
“To be continued………
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