Emily's POV
"No, you didn't!" I exclaimed as I saw the 'ride' my office had planned.
It was a firetruck!
"Why?!" I choked on my words because I was laughing.
Being with Tammy and Freda for about three hours had made me a very different person already.
I was laughing too hard, smiling too wide, saying things as they came to my mind.
"In Frank's words, they've gotta be warned." Freda answered, mimicking Frank's deep baritone.
I made a mental note to thank him as soon as the ball got done.
According to Freda, it was going to last all night.
"Here we are." I murmured as our ride, which was far out of convention, pulled up at the hall.
It was a really big hall. I wondered how I'd never seen it, even though I was not so new to the city anymore.
"This is a big deal." I sighed.
"Yes! And I need you to be happy." Freda smirked.
Tammy was able to trim down a gown they had made already for show, and it fitted Freda only too well.
She was in silver, and I in red.
We both stuck out like a sore thumb.
Not just because we were kinda the only couple who were both ladies-every girl had their hands under a man's,and I found it a bit repulsive, well sweet but repulsive. Why does hand holding never go the other way? Society acts like its the men who always keep things down, when we all know they're all trash without the women by their sides
"May I see your IV?" The gruff bouncer said as we reached the entrance.
I looked at Freda immediately, and as expected, she had them.
His angry face morphed into a smile as he let us in, and bade us a nice time. But that wasn't in his power to cause.
I didn't mean to be a creep, but I wanted to tell what calibre of people were invited, so I stared a little too long, and only realised I was gawking when Freda tapped me by the side.
"Recognise anyone yet?" I asked her, desperate for some more company or familiar face in the sea of buff men and slim, pretty, delicately clothed ladies. A few were dressed to provoke, which added colour to the event, but mostly, the mask aside, they looked pretty.
"I can't. You shouldn't be able to either. Enjoy the ball while it's masked!" She said,
"What does that mean? Isn't it gonna be masked all through?" I asked her, surprised at her choice of words.
"You surely don't expect everyone to keep this stuff on all night." She smiled.
Oops. I did. I planned to. Shoot!
"Oh, no. Sure. I didn't." I stuttered. "Let's have a drink." We walked past other couples, some were dancing, others engaged in exaggeratedly animated conversations.
"Over there." Freda pointed, and led the way.
I didn't have my glasses, because I couldn't fit it under the mask. I was ready to be half blind for the night. Hopefully, nothing tragic comes up.
"Two glasses please." Freda smiled at the masked waiter as she placed her order.
"You're smiling too wide." I commented innocently.
"I figured ." She chuckled. "He looks hot, and has beautiful hazel eyes." She said,
"How did you even see that under his mask? And with these dim lights?!" I felt so ill at ease. Nothing there was done with me in mind. I wondered who the organisers were and what their goal was.
The party was largely acephalous, everyone just did their thing.
Men had their hands filled between placing the right on the small of their women's back, and holding a cigarette or glass in the other.
"This was a bad idea!" I blew some steam after taking all my Dirty Martini down at once.
"Go slow!" Freda chided.
"Why is it cool when a lady says that, but not when a guy does?" A voice broke into our conversation.
I froze for a second, but Freda didn't.
The intruder was behind me, and I was having trouble processing how I'd turn to face him.
Judging from how strong I was perceiving his cedar wood scent, he was also up close, too close.
"What do you mean?" Freada beamed, and tapped my foot with hers.
"Hello." I said to the intruder without looking at them. Like I wasn't embarrassed enough, I took Freda's Martini and gulped in one swallow too.
I wasn't okay..
I felt my face flush with heat.
"You're unconventional." The intruder said, referring to me.
"That's not an adjective I qualify me with." I replied, still not sparing him a glance.
"Witty too, I like." He commented.
"Two incomplete sentences. I don't think I see a future in this conversation." I commented.
There was no more alcohol to binge drink.
"That's because I do not have your contact yet." He said, and gave a proud chuckle. That low gutteral chuckle that makes you know that the owner has such big chest muscles that could keep one warm on cold nights. "Here." He slid his phone to my front.
His picture was his wallpaper, I could tell from the tat on his finger which I saw when he passed the phone to me.
It took all the self control in me to not immediately lurch at him.
I was already almost fully wasted. And mother nature chose that time to send one of her most sinfully handsome sons.
Man! This cannot be true.
With my hazy vision, I punched in my correct digits and handed the phone back to him, still without looking.
"It's two things, either you have a great deal of self control, or you're too wasted to raise your head up. Your head is the only one that hasn't turned since I walked in through that door." Mr Intruder said. "The name is Lucas."
"I'm sorry I'm not enthralled by the intrusion of a man-child who wants nothing but my attention and validation. Maybe he'd also like to see me drool, and after that, see me clothless." I said. Freda winced. Oops! I'd said too much.
"I'll see you around, Love." Lucas said, kissed my cheek and left.
I swear I almost felt his tongue. That was one hell of a kiss. Even Freda saw that I was shaken up a bit.
"I'd say Smash!" She said when he was well out of earshot.
"No one asked you." I shut her down and looked somewhere else.
The memory of his picture was warming my insides more than the alcohol I'd taken.