Your 21st was coming up and your mum really wanted to do something for it. See, she was American. So, even though in the UK the legs drinking age is 18, she still believed that 22 was a big birthday and you had to celebrate it.
She'd moved to Birmingham after meeting your dad on a business trip here. Personally, you thought it was stupid and didn't really want to do anything, but you did always want to go the kind of fancy parties your parents were always going to. So you decided to ask her to arrange a masquerade. "Oh and mum"
"yes dear?"
"Make sure to invite guys too!" You laughed thinking of the shambles that had been your 19th, she'd forgotten to send off invites to the male children of her friends and it ended up being mostly girls!
You told your big sister that she could also invite a bunch of her friends.
2 months before your birthday, your boyfriend had broken up with you. It was hard but you expected it as you were growing apart. He wanted to settle down whereas you were enjoying going out drinking most weekends with your friends. He'd started hinting that he didn't like this and eventually you were going out without him. It didn't stop this from hurting though, he'd been your best friend. So you had to change your dress for the party. He had helped you pick it, but you couldn't even stand to look at it now, so it got donated to a charity shop and you went looking for another amazing dress.
About a week later, you had nearly given hope on finding a dress in time, so you went out with your big sister, Anna, and her best friend, Natalie. Natalie had an idea on where you should go, it was a lovely boutique tucked in a small side street by the shopping centre. As you walked in, you're eyes darted everywhere, it was beautiful and they had dresses for almost every occasion and in pretty every colour.
After an hour or so of looking around and trying on dresses, you spotted this beautiful ball gown that reminded you a little of Belle's dress from the live action but it was in (y/f/c). You had to try it on.
It was perfect. No dress had ever made you feel so confident and you loved the way it sat on your hips.
"I've found my dress!" You shouted to the other 2 girls before stepping out and showing them.
Natalie had her phone out and was ready to take a picture straight away.
"Y/N, you look amazing!" She squealed. After buying it you picked up a pair of heels to match and a new clutch bag as well. Now it was just time to get home and choose the perfect mask to go with it. There was a couple in the house already that you had ordered before picking out your first dress and you were fairly confident you knew which one would match.
Finally it was the day of your party, your mum had hired the main function room in a nearby 5 star hotel, she had hired the bar staff to go with it and set up a small booth just before the entrance into the room. This was so ID could be checked without anyone else seeing who was under the mask.
When you arrived there was already a large crowd in the room and as you looked around you spotted a small photo booth with props and there wasn't many decorations but there was a large cake which looked like it had a mask resting on top of it made from some form of icing. It looked amazing and you were kind of shocked at how well your mum had done.
A quick text to let her know before you see her again tomorrow. "Mum this is awesome. Thanks x"
So you walked in and made your way down to grab a glass of champagne, but you didn't even have a chance to drink it before someone had walked up to you.
It was a tall man in a tight fitted dark blue suit with (y/f/c) shirt in underneath which had the first 3 buttons undone. His mask was just black with a little blue lace decoration under the eyes. He bowed slightly, "Miss, may I have this dance". A blush creeeped across your cheeks as you gave a small curtsy in return. "Of course, Sir". You couldn't believe it, this is what you had dreamed of happening. This party had a little bit of a surprise though, at midnight everyone will have to remove their masks and show their partner who they had been dancing with all night. And you just hoped that this man wild be the one you were still dancing with then.
He moved flawlessly, his waltz was perfect. His big, strong hand rested on your waist, which seemed to fit perfectly. And you were just tall enough to rest your head against his shoulder as you danced. Honestly, you were a little taken aback by him. There was no way anyone could be this perfect.
He moved his head down so he could whisper in your ear "you look beautiful".
A shiver ran down your spine and you felt your heart race as a blush crossed your face. "Th-thank you" you struggled to get the words out. "You look really good too" you traced your finger down the collar and undone buttons of his shirt, feeling his skin on yours made you gasp a little. "I really like this look on you"
He chuckled, and a devilish grin came across his face. "I like this dress on you, but I think it'd look even better on my bedroom floor"
You didn't know what to say, just staring at him with your eyes wide. Did he really just say that? I must be dreaming.
"Oh, it looks like we have company" he said just before someone tapped your shoulder interrupting.
"Can we have a moment?" The woman in a elegant, flowing navy dress asked. You recognised it as the one your sister had picked for tonight. "Of course" you said to her and then your turned to the mystery man, "hopefully we can dance again later?" You asked, sincerely hoping he would say yes.
"It would be my pleasure, I'll come and find you again before midnight. Maybe you can think about what I said and give me an answer then." His grin had disappeared and he looked a little disappointed but he didn't say anything else before turning away.
"What is it Anna?" You asked through gritted teeth, she just had to spoil everything didn't she.
"Ryan's here" she said, pointing out the only man without a costume or a mask. "And you were getting really close to that guy, didn't want him to see"
"Can't you get rid of him?! I don't want him here. He can fuck off and leave me alone. He was the one who ended it."
"I think you should be the one to tell him to leave." She was always like this. Insisting you stand up to your fears and forcing you to confront them.
You stood up tall, taking in a deep breath. If I can get rid of him, I can get back to that man. I'm not going to let him ruin my night.
You walked over to him, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the hall and into the hotel lobby, away from everyone else.
"What do you want?"
"What do you mean? I want to spend my girls bi-"
"NO!" you screamed. "You don't get to call me that. Not ever again. I am not yours anymore. Or do you not remember ending it with me a few months ago?! Who the hell do you think you are?!" Your voice cracked and you tried to hold it together. This was the first time you had seen him since that day.
"Babe, come on. Please."
"No. Just go. I don't want to see you. Let me move on and be happy."
"But I don't want to move on."
"Tough. You broke my heart. You don't get to choose if I want to get back with you." A sob escaped."I don't want to see you. I don't want to go through that again." And then in a quiet voice you half whispered. "Please, just piss off and let me heal".
You ran to the bathroom, feeling the tears fall under your mask. You removed the mask and dabbed at your eyes with a paper towel and then reapplied some more makeup to cover it up. Standing there for a few more minutes, you were scared to back out, just hoping he was gone. Your phone buzzed.
A text showed on your lock screen.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. But it's clear you don't want me anymore. I've left. Enjoy the rest of your party "
You gave out a large sigh of relief and pulled yourself out of the bathroom, grabbing to glasses of champagne on your way back into the hall and downing them both before placing them back onto the tray. Not ladylike and probably not the best decision either, but you didn't care. You needed the courage. It was somehow 11pm already so you had to find the mystery man before 12 so you could find out who he was and why he had such an effect on you.
Almost immediately you found him, he was dancing with another girl and you were jealous. They weren't dancing like you two were, he didn't have her pulled right into him and his hand so low down on her waist but that didn't matter. As you got closer you realised it was Natalie, your sisters best friend, that he was dancing with and you stopped yourself from getting any closer. Instead you decided to grab a quick snack from the table and watch them.
This guy, he did something to you. Something you couldn't understand. It was like you were being drawn to him. Just knowing he was so close made you feel weird, like his presence had some effect on you.
Then your eyes met across the room and he stopped dancing, excusing himself from Natalie he walked over to join you.
"Yes" you said as he reached you.
"Yes, what?" He asked, puzzled.
"I agree with you, my dress would look better on your bedroom floor"
"well that's a pleasant surprise" he said, that devilish grin back on his face.
"You didn't think I would?" I grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the dance floor
"honestly, I wasn't sure. But I was hopeful" he followed willingly and as soon as you got between everyone else, his hands wrapped around you pulling you close to his body.
Your arms wrapped around his neck as he danced, your body pressed against his. Everyone around you seemed to disappear. It was your moment with him and then all of a sudden the lights came up and the music cut off. Midnight. Time for the masks to come off. You both reached for the ties of each others masks and you pulled them off.
You instantly recognised him as Natalies little brother, Brad, who was a few years older than you.
"Did you have a good birthday Princess?" Was all he said, the same devilish smile on his face as before. He knew who you were too.
"Well, that depends on what happens next"
The music started back up again, but now it was lots of pop and chart songs. He crashed his lips down against yours, his tongue passing over your lips almost begging to let it in. You opened your mouth and let him deepen the kiss. Your hand running up to his beautiful, soft curls and tugging gently.
You pulled away and leaned your head into his chest. Breathless and smiling you looked up at his gorgeous eyes "I want more"
"well, let's get in a cab and I'll walk you through all the things I wanna do. And it's a lot, believe me."
