If I’d had anything in my mouth, I would have spat it out all over the wall of the dressing room.
By the time I got dressed and came back out, Crystal was holding up our bags. She was grinning at me with a sly look on her face, like she’d just gotten away with some master plan she had been concocting.
Now that I had the clothing, I didn’t feel right backing out of the party.
“All we need to do is find ourselves some masks,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we headed?” I asked.
“You’ll see.”
She threw the bags in the car, and we made our way across town. I looked out at all the unassuming people while Crystal talked my ear off, but I wasn’t paying any attention. I had no idea what I was getting myself into tonight and part of me still wished I could back out.
But part of me was also entranced with how I looked in that dress.
“We’re here!” she exclaimed.
I found myself being tugged out of the car and dragged into another store. The walls were lined with masks of every shape, size, and color. I gawked at the sheer amount of glitter that lined the floors of the shop, knowing I’d have to take many hot showers in order to rid my body of it all. Crystal was already trying on black and red masks to go with her outfit, but there was one that caught my eye over at the far end of the store.
A white lacy mask that matched my outfit perfectly.
I walked over and plucked it off the wall before I set it against my face. It covered forehead, eyes, and nose, and left my cheekbones, mouth, and jawline exposed. I loved the way the glitter accents made my green eyes shine, and the way it contrasted my jet-black hair made it look like I had blue highlights.
Crystal plucked it from my hand while I was admiring myself and threw it at the cashier.
“We’ll take this one, too,” she said.
“You know this party’s probably gonna keep me a virgin for the rest of my life, right?” I asked.
“Oh, I promise you it won’t.”
“I’ll be sexually harassed by some stranger, triggering a traumatic cascade of events that’ll shy me away from sex forever,” I said.
“Fuck’s sake, you sure are dramatic,” she said, grinning.
“I’m serious, Crystal. I have no idea what I’m walking into. I’m gonna be the awkward girl of the group. The outcast. The weird one.”
“When have you ever not been weird?” she asked, giggling.
“Isn’t the point of a masquerade party to not be yourself?” I asked.
“Look. You’re about to walk into a world where even the most innocent of virgins have fully devoted themselves to the cause. Trust me. It’ll be a fun and new experience. And if you don’t like it, we’ll leave. I promise.”
“Don’t you find it at least a little funny?” I asked. “That some inexperienced virgin is about to walk into a BDSM club?”
“Maybe a little funny,” she said, smiling. “But we gotta hurry up and get back.”
“Why?” I asked. “What’s going on tonight?”
“Seriously? Why the hell did you think I dragged you out shopping?”
“The party’s tonight, Crystal?”
“Come on,” she said as she held out her hand. “Time to go find you a new memory to take home.”
Boy, was that an understatement.
Chapter Two - Camillo