Chapter 2
(Kat's POV)
Within a few minutes, Carlee and her secret admirer had stopped dancing. Cheers passed through the drunken crowd as they made their out of the center, being replaced with another daring, dancing couple.
I noticed Carlee look around for me, and I lifted my hand. She spotted me, walking towards me with the boy at her tail.
Once she got in the kitchen, I noticed her beaming.
"You were great!" I exclaimed, even though I could barely see her past the wild crowd.
"I know," she grinned cockily, causing me to roll my eyes. "But why are you here?"
"Just tired," I lied, which I probably shouldn't have because Carlee could read me like an open book.
"From sitting?" She raised an eyebrow from behind the mask.
See. Open book.
"Carlee, I'm fine sitting here. It's more of my forte."
"It's my birthday," she whined. "I order you to go out and have fun."
"I am having fun," I replied truthfully. And I was really being honest. I was never one to dance and be the center of attention, so I was having fun, sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, if this wasn't Carlee's birthday party, I wouldn't have showed up.
"Don't waste time on me," I told Carlee. "Go have fun with..."
I peeked behind her, spotting the brunette boy that was following Carlee around. "What's your name?" I asked him quietly, as if Carlee wasn't there.
"Drew," he replied to me. I knew it was him, I thought, no wonder he looked so familiar.
"Drew." I announced, "go enjoy with Drew. I'll catch up later."
She stared at me for longer than she needed to, and I just smiled weakly. Finally, she sighed, realizing THR I would win.
"Fine Kat. But just keep this in mind on your birthday."
I nodded and she rolled her eyes. As she began to turn around, I grabbed her arm after I remembered about the boy that was standing at the counter. She turned around, and nodded at me, signaling me to talk.
"Who's that?" I whispered to her so that only she could hear me. I nodded to the boy to the left of me, and she turned to look at him.
She examined him, then a smirk pulled up on her lips. She turned to me and shrugged. "Actually, I have no clue. But you should find out."
I groaned, "you're so annoying. Do you actually not know who he is?"
"I don't," she said truthfully. I glared at her, not exactly being able to tell if she was telling the truth through her mask.
"It's your party and you don't even know who he is?"
"Hey," she warned, "there are like fifty people here with masks on. How am I supposed to know who he is?"
I let go of her arm as she turned around, facing Drew.
"You're bloody useless," I whispered under my breath, but she heard me.
"Go to hell," she called over her shoulder, winking at me from behind her mask.
I eyes her as she walked away as if I could somehow get any answers out of her, but she was long gone. I sighed, realizing that I had to get the answers to my questions myself.
After a while of mentally arguing with myself, I figured there was nothing better to do than to go ahead and approach him. There was a high risk of me messing up, but even if I did mess up, he wouldn't know who I was anyways.
So, in conclusion, what have I got to lose?
I stood tall, building up a bit of confidence as I walked on over to where he was standing. As I got closer to him, I couldn't help but notice his beautiful facial features, making me gulp.
Nothing to lose, Kat.
He probably heard my footsteps coming towards him and he turned his head. My breath hitched when I saw his hazel eyes burning through his dark mask. He was beautiful.
I instinctively reached down and straightened my dress, lifting my chin. I leaned against the counter, instantly regretting my decision. What was I thinking? He was definitely not as conversational as I had made it out to be.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him take his dear time to examine me. I couldn't help but notice a devilish smirk played upon his pink lips.
Other than the loud music and the screaming people, it was silent between us. I took a deep breath, his presence making me nervous for no reason.
"Hi," I finally spoke up, breaking the tensed silence.
I turned to look at him, only to see that he was already staring at me. I smiled the best I could, hoping I didn't look as nervous as I really was.
"Hello there," he replied, revealing his powerfully heavy British accent.
I couldn't help but feel goosebumps arise on my skin at his voice. I had yet to know this man and he already made me feel weird.
I looked back at the crowd, realizing I'd be more confident if I didn't look him in the eye.
"Why aren't you out there?" I nodded towards the crowd, asking him as if I had know him for a long time.
"Not interested in drunk couples and dancing," he shrugged, replying just as easily. Then, he turned to me, staring at me intently. "What about you?"
I felt my heart skip a beat but I answered. "I hate parties like this."
"Yeah?" He asked. I noticed him lick his lips hotly, purposely making me more nervous. "Then why did you come?"
"You know Carlee?" I asked him, bringing up the girl who had put me in this situation in the first place.
He nodded, "nice girl."
"Well she's my best friend," I told him as I turned around and faced the counter, noticing the beer and coca-cola bottles. "And she would've killed me if I hadn't come."
I shamelessly picked up an unopened beer bottle and used a nearby bottle opener to pop the cap open. I quickly brought the bottle to my lips, taking a sip to intoxicate myself. If I wasn't a bit drunk, I'd be boring. And for some reason, I wanted to impress the guy behind this mask.
I turned back to him, holding on to the beer bottle as if it was giving me strength.
"What about you?" I asked, looking up at the attractive man in front of me. "Why did you come?"
The corner of his lips turned up into a crooked smirk as he eyed the beer bottle in my right hand.
"To be honest, I'm not quite sure myself why I came here," he spoke, his voice low and captivating. "I got an invitation and decided to show up."
I shrugged, taking another sip of my beer. "Good excuse."
I looked back at the crowd, scanning it to see who the dancing couple was, but instead my eyes landed on Carlee. Even from our distance, I noticed her wiggling her eyebrows up and down at me, a smile on her face.
I rolled my eyes at her, lifting up my beer bottle to show her that I would be getting drunk. She just giggled, turning her back towards me and continuing to dance with Drew.
The boy cleared his throat, directing my attention back onto him. I watched him as he crossed his arms over his chest, staring at me as if I was very intriguing.
"You know," he said, "I'm not regretting coming to this party completely."
"Why not?"
He shrugged, "I'm getting free beer and talking to you."
"Me?" I asked, bringing my beer bottle up to my lips to get a bit more intoxicated so I wouldn't panic.
He nodded, brazenly scanning me once again. "You're very beautiful."
My eyes widened. I was always the worst at taking compliments. But, I realized that I wasn't Kat to this mysterious guy. He didn't even know who I was. I could've been a murderer and he wouldn't have known, not that I was.
But the point was, I could be anyone I wanted tonight. And I would be. I set the beer bottle down on the counter, not needing it anymore.
"Thank you," I replied boldly. At least, I think it was bold.
He watched me as I adjusted my mask, making sure he couldn't see behind it. I wouldn't want to risk him actually knowing me from somewhere, somehow, and me make a complete fool out of myself.
"So how do you know Carlee?" I asked him, trying to strike up conversation.
He lifted a glass of coca-cola up to his lips which I never noticed he had before. I examined him as he took a sip, then he said, "I met her at a coffee shop and she invited me her 'grand nineteenth masquerade'."
I bit my lip as he ran a hand through his dark hair, getting a bit distracted. He took notice and raised his eyebrows at me, making me snap out of thought.
"It's quite boring," I admitted to him.
He furrowed his eyebrows. "Really? I am having a whole lot of fun back here in the kitchen."
"Drinking coca-cola?" I teased.
He smirked, lifting his glass for me to see. "Don't be fooled. There's more rum in here than coke."
I laughed quietly, "sorry."
He shook his head, "don't worry about it, love."
I smiled at him, then realized that he wasn't so uptight as I thought he would be. I was more nervous than I had to be. He seemed like a nice guy.
Our attention was stolen when we saw a group of girls stumble inside of the kitchen. They all had their masks off and their heels were in their hand and from the way they were walking, I realized that they had one too many drinks. But that didn't stop them from making their way over to us, next to the beer bottles.
"Excuse me!" An obnoxious redhead yelled, shoving me to the left and towards the boy.
I stumbled by accident in my heels, losing balance, but I felt a strong hand grip my arm and the other placed on the small of my back. I was quickly back on my feet because of him.
"Thanks," I told the boy, smiling nervously.
"That's fine," he smiled, "you alright?"
I nodded, looking down at my heels, my cheeks heating up for no apparent reason.
As the rest of the girls joined the redhead, the kitchen soon became crowded. I grabbed on to the counter so that I wasn't rudely pushed again and waited for them to leave.
The boy turned to me, extending his hand. "It's crowded in here. Wanna get out?"
I looked at him, then gulped. But the masquerade Kat took the boys hand as he led me outside of the kitchen and back into the living room where people still danced.
Once again, I was being shoved, but this time by the drunken crowd. But I felt the familiar hand on the small of my back as the boy led me through the people, making a path for himself.
We stopped when we heard people cheer loudly, clapping obnoxiously. Both, the boy and I, noticed that the crowd was cheering for the couple that had just finished dancing. Now, people waited for someone else to go up and dance.
Immediately I felt lips pressed to my ear. I noticed that the boy was trying to tell me something over the chanting people.
"Would you like to dance with me?" He whispered, his voice the only one I heard.
My heart stopped. No way in hell. I couldn't dance to save my life, let alone to impress some hot guy.
"I can't dance," I spoke to him truthfully, kind of hoping he had heard me and kind of hoping he hadn't.
A throaty chuckle escaped his lips. "Don't worry love, neither can I."
He pulled away from my ear, extending his hand towards me once again. "What do you say?"
I stared at him and took in a breath. It wasn't much, but I had a choice to make. Completely embarrass myself in front of the crowd, or take this handsome stranger's hand. Everyday Kat would probably say no to the guy and run from him, but party Kat- the Kat I was right now- wanted to take a chance.
Not that I had much of a choice. There was something about this man that made me want to fulfill his every wish.
I took his hand, and he smirked. I let him guide me to the center of the dance floor, hearing the crowd boom around us. He licked his lips, wrapping a firm arm around my waist. I sucked in a breath when he brought his lips back down to my ear.
"You ready?" He whispered.
I nodded slowly, realizing that this was it.
As the music boomed around us, he pulled away from my neck. He used one of his hands to press my body against his, causing me to shiver slightly. He chuckled darkly, using his free hand to interlock his fingers with my right hand.
I watched him bite his lip, and I couldn't help but want to bite it for him. He pulled me back and twirled me under his arms, my heels clanking against the floor.
Everyone's eyes were on us, but I realized that I didn't care. He had me under his full control.
Once my chest was pressed against his, he grabbed onto both of my hands. Our feet moved together as if we had practiced this many times before. It was inane.
People cheered while others tried to recognize us. But I knew that they didn't know who we were, in fact, we didn't even know each other.
He spun me around so that my back was facing him. His hands slowly traveled down my arms, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. I shut my eyes at his touch, never feeling anything like it before. It was amazing.
He was amazing.
I felt his hot and smoky breath against the skin of my neck. Our bodies swayed together, his hands locked into mine. I let out a breath when I felt the unfamiliar feel of soft lips pressing against my neck.
"You're doing so good," he whispered in my ear. Shivers traveled up my spine as I took his words as a signal to continue dancing.
When he spun me back to face him, his hands let go of mine and he dropped them down to my waist. He held me tightly in his arms and leaned over me as a finish. His eyes stayed locked in mine the entire time, already so familiar.
I tried to catch my breath, my chest rising and falling rapidly. He shamelessly examined me, the smirk never coming off of his lips. Handsome bastard.
The crowd was wild, and I knew that we didn't do great. I even felt myself stumble a couple of times. We were probably completely off beat, but neither of us cared at that moment.
Everyone cheered, but all I heard was the sound of our hearts beating; together.
"Relax, I've got you." He whispered breathlessly.
He pulled me up, making me stand straight. I looked up at him, my breath hitching at how close he was to me. He bent down and gently pressed his lips against my pink cheek, causing my heart to flutter inside my chest.
"I have to go," he whispered in my ear.
My eyes widened, "what? No."
"I'll see you soon," he whispered in my ear. And despite my protests, he escaped the crowd, passing me a wink.
I stood there for a moment before I realized he had actually left, without any way to contact me. I even forgot to give him my name, or even get his name.
Real smooth, Kat. Real smooth.
I quickly ran after him, pushing and shoving everyone in my way. My dark blue dress ruffled against the floor, my heels making it harder to catch up to him. I picked my dress up and ran through the front door, following where he had went. My heels clattered against the wet sidewalk while the sound of rain filled my ears. I stopped myself from leaving the sheltered roof before I could get wet by the rain.
My eyes wandered around for the boy. Soon the sound of a motorcycle engine filled my ears. I turned my head and spotted him leaving on the motorcycle, not even taking notice of the fact that I was there.
"Hey!" I yelled over the sound of the pouring rain, but he didn't take notice of me.
"Hey! I didn't get your-" He didn't hear again but this time, he drove off. "Name," I finished, whispering to myself.
Once I took my focus off the boy, I realized I had stepped out of the shelter of my roof and into the soaking rain. Yet, he still hadn't noticed me. Shit.
I groaned and stomped my foot in frustration. Everything that had just happened was absolutely useless. While mentally swearing, I stormed back inside.
Every person in the room had their eyes on me but I ignored them completely. I charged towards Carlee while hearing some people say "is she that desperate?" or "man I feel bad for her".
I turned around when some girl said, "she isn't something anyone would be interested in, let alone a guy that hot."
I immediately switched my path and charged towards her, her eyes widening as I stood face to face with her.
I was party Kat tonight. And party Kat got mad. In fact, everyday Kat did as well.
"He didn't dance with you, did he?" I smirked at her, showed her the finger, then walked to Carlee.
"What the hell happened to you!?" Carlee asked worriedly, examining me up and down.
"I'll explain later. I'm sorry Carlee but I've got to go home."
"Why?!"
I looked down at my dress, that was once dry, and sighed.
"Oh," she answered her own question, "you want me to drop you off?"
"No, that's okay. I'll walk." I replied to her, "It's not like my dress won't get more ruined than it already is. And besides, my house isn't that far from here. So enjoy your party, and sorry for the interruption."
She shook her head, "you didn't interrupt the party. Just call me when you get home, okay?"
I nodded, "happy birthday, again."
Everyone's eyes were still locked on me and I soon figured that this wouldn't leave their minds for a while. I walked to the door and stopped, turning around.
Might as well make the most of it.
"I'm hot, I know. You can turn your heads now!" I yelled, holding my dress and pulling off a sloppy curtsy. Many people looked away and I noticed Carlee giggle.
Oh well, I thought, it's not like I had a reputation to lose.
As I walked through the front door, I had realized that the rain had gotten lighter. Thank God.
It took me a little over fifteen minutes to get home without any interruption. By the time I had reached home, the rain had completely stopped. Reaching into my purse, I pulled out my keys and unlocked the door, thinking that this was definitely not the way I wanted this evening to go.
Slamming the door shut, I reached for my heels and threw them furiously across the floor. They were the reason I wasn't quick enough.
I remembered to call Carlee so I picked up my phone and turned it on. But, it didn't turn on, meaning my phone was dead.
Just perfect.
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