Tailani
I sat in my cousin’s room listening to her go on and on about a party at some mansion on the other side of town. Apparently, the host was throwing some kind of masquerade ball that allowed people to hook up at the party without showing their faces.
“Why would I go to something like that?” I asked unmoved. I was 18 and had no intention of sleeping with a total stranger or going to a party held by some weird guy at a mansion.
“Come on it’ll be fun. Plus, nobody said you had to sleep with anybody and it’s your last night in Miami, you have to do something crazy before you move to California.” My cousin Kina said through puppy dog eyes and puckered lips.
I had come to visit her and her sister Tema for the summer before leaving for college in the fall at UCLA. We had spent the time partying, swimming, shopping, and flirting with hot guys. My part was innocent fun because I had just left a bad relationship, while my cousins were just easy. Still it was a lot of fun hanging out with them, even though they had a different idea of what a real relationship was.
“I’ll think about it,” I said; however, I knew it was pointless. I was going whether I wanted to or not, and I really didn’t want to.
Both Tema and Kina jumped for joy then ransacked their closets, trying to find something to wear. I laid back on Kina’s bed, my hand draped over my eyes as I let out a heavy sigh. The last place I wanted to be was at a party that reminded me of why my boyfriend of two years and I split, but trying to explain this to Kina and Tema was like talking to the wall.
Again I sighed, then thought, Oh well it’s just a party it’s not like anything is going to happen.
***
Later that night we pulled up to a huge mansion just outside of town each one of us dressed up in our best and wearing masks in the shape of animals, it was Kina’s idea.
“So, we’re only staying for an hour, right?” I asked, nervous and praying that my cousins wouldn’t make this an all-night thing, leaving me alone while they fucked random strangers in one of the many rooms in the already packed mansion. The lights were low and there was a DJ playing Ginuwine's Tell Me Do You Wanna while kissing some girl in a bunny mask. There was also a fog machine in each corner of the house giving it that mysterious feel and making me want to high tail it out of there as soon as possible.
“Yup,” Kina said, before she and Tema found some guys and disappeared into different rooms, leaving me standing by the wall to fend for myself bored and ready to go
“Hello beautiful,” some nearly bald guy with a joker’s mask said, from the side of me.
I rolled my eyes and ignored him hoping he would get the hint; however, that only made him keep talking.
“I noticed you noticing me,” he said, showing off his crocked yellow teeth and smelling of sardines and beer.
Just my luck to get left with the weirdo, I thought then said, “Go away,” with a pleasant smile.
His smile only grew as he closed the gap between us. “Your mouth is saying one thing but your eyes are begging for me. How about we go into one of these rooms and I’ll show you why they call me Danger.”
I laughed then walked away shaking my head, Do, people really think these pick-up lines work? I thought as I made my way to a seat only to bump into another guy. He was tall dark and probably handsome. He was about a foot taller than me with what appeared to be a muscled body underneath a suit. “I am so sorry,” I said, in a fake British accent. My goal that night was to not be myself just in case someone I knew showed up. The last thing I wanted, was for someone back home like one of my brother's to see me at this party, it would kill my chances of working for my father’s company after graduation.
“It’s fine,” He said, through the most beautiful smile I had ever seen, as a puddle of wetness formed in my panties. He looked over my shoulder then back at me, “Running from someone?” He asked, in a voice that was just as sexy as his smile.
“You could say that,” I said, trying to avoid his gaze but for some reason feeling drawn to those perfect gray eyes.
“Would you like my help?” He asked seductively.
My smile brighten as I said, “No thanks I’m good,” then attempted to walk away while secretly hoping he’d follow, and it worked.
“Wait,” he said, stopping me in my tracks, “You don’t seem like the type of girl that would come to this type of party,” he said, holding my gaze.
“You caught me, this is not my thing,” I admitted, feeling both embarrassed and excited to be talking to someone as seductive as he was.
“So, what brings you here?” He asked, taking a step closer to me and unlike before I didn’t move, because despite the voice in my head telling me to leave his ass right there and go wait on my cousins, I was curious about how far this would go.
“My cousins, they are the type of girls that come to these things and I need to find them,” I said, again about to walk away. The truth was I wasn’t looking for them, they had just left a few minutes ago, so I was sure they wouldn’t be back for a while, I just needed an excuse to get away from him before I did something I’d regret.
“Or, you could talk to me,” he said, again stopping me before I could leave.
I giggled, talking to him sounded both fun and dangerous because of how attracted I was to him—still I wasn’t ready for the conversation to end at least not yet. “We could, there’s a couch over there if you want to sit down,” I said, pointing him towards a large white couch in the middle of the crowded dimly lit room. People on the side of us were, talking, kissing or actually fucking in plain view of everyone but of course that was normal given the type of place it was.
I suggested the couch instead of a room to see if he would suggest us going to a room or make up an excuse to talk to another girl. If he did either, I would know for sure that I should run away; however, to my surprise and delight he said, “lead the way.”