Masks and Firecrackers

Chapter 1

Aiden

I had no idea why I was there. I didn’t want to be. There was no reason for me to be there. Just because Marcus and Noemi wanted to go out dancing, I was dragged along, a victim of their impulsiveness. I slugged back the shot of bourbon in front of me.

Signaling the bartender for another shot, I hung back in my seat and tried to pretend that I wasn’t sitting at The Twilight, the most recent hot spot nightclub in New York. Not one to visit nightclubs and that like, it was quite literally my nightmare come to life.

I had just closed my eyes to black out everyone else when a beautiful voice called out, “Rough night?”

“You have no idea.” I said, peering at her.

She was every man’s fantasy. Tight everywhere, her curves were showcased in red silk. In one hand was my shot, in the other was a fresh bottle of Wild Turkey and a clean shotglass. But most important was the red mask covering the top of her slender nose and forehead. Beautiful brown eyes, unusually deep, appraised me just as thoroughly. Her plump, made-for-sin lips curved up at the corners in the sexiest smile I had ever seen.

Setting my shot in front of me, she placed the empty one to the right of it. Flipping the bottle of my favorite bourbon behind her back and spinning it in one hand like all the best movie bartenders, she filled it to the brim, knocked it up against mine lightly, and slugged it back before walking away in red stilettos, swinging the bottle in her hand.

“Thanks for the drink, handsome.” she called over her shoulder, smiling and winking. Her brown hair swung past her back.

I just stared at her, appreciating the view, until she disappeared into the crowd of gyrating bodies.

Just as soon as she had disappeared, Noemi and Marcus came out of the same mass, sweaty but jovial. They came up to the table and plopped into the two waiting chairs.

“Tell me. Am I totally drunk?” I asked them.

“Not that I can see. How many finders am I holding up?” He pushed two fingers into the air.

Ignoring Marcus, I turned to Noemi. “Am I?”

“You’ve had, what? Two shots? That hardly qualifies as drinking you under the table, Aiden. Why?” She adjusted her blue mask.

“Does this have anything to do with the firecracker that just walked away?” Marcus asked, scratching under his mask at his nose.

“Yep.” I answered simply. My own mask was beginning to bother me. Part of the night club’s appeal, I suppose, was that everyone was made to wear a mask. Bloody pain in the arse, if you asked me.

I nudged the empty shot glass that she had drank from. Wow. I thought. Not many women that small can handle Wild Turkey.

I slammed back the shot she had left behind. “Damn it.”

Alice

I leaned up against the wall in the ladies’ room and just breathed for a while. It had taken almost too much for me to go up there to him. He was so handsome, so far out of my league.

Sighing, I kicked off my red stilettos. “Sex shoes.” My roommate, Cody, had said, shaking his head. “I like them.” He had grinned and waggled his eyebrows at me.

I had smacked him lightly on the arm at the time and filed the shoes away in the highly organized mess that was my closet (A/N you get a cookie if you can figure that one out). Figuring I’d never wear them, I had conveniently enough forgotten about them. And then the Twilight opened.

A masquerade nightclub. I had decided that getting my first book published had been a great reason to get drunk and forget what I did.

I had been getting ready and was about to go when Cody had stopped me at the door. “And where are we going in our librarian wear?” He had asked.

“Dancing.” I answered

“Unhuh.” He whipped a beautiful silk dress out from behind his back. “My girl goes out in style.” He winked.

“Oh my god, Code! I love it!” I ran my hands up the fine lines of the dress. “Who was it this time?”

“Some French guy whose name I can’t pronounce.” He informed me. Cody was a very successful male model, one of the ones that all my female friends couldn’t come within a fifty feet radius of without swooning. Of course, we never had to worry about that. “But this works out perfectly. I was going to use the dress as collateral to get you out of the house. Ben’s back in town.”

Ben, Cody’s partner, was a total sweetie, and I had given my full approval of their relationship. Also a model, Ben and Cody sometimes had to go out of town for a shoot, leaving me alone for however long they were gone. The house got awfully lonely at those times.

Normally, a simply bartender with aspirations of being a writer wouldn’t know such beautiful people, but Cody and I have been practically joined at the hip since birth. He had been my best girlfriend for as long as I could remember. And I’m female, I have a long memory.

“You spoil me, dah-ling.” I said, teasing him for the fake french accent he used when he didn’t want to be picked up at the bar I worked at.

“But you totally deserve it, Alice.” He winked and went to my closet, groaning when a pair of my favorite underwear fell onto his head. He smiled as he pulled it off and went to my shoe pile.

Pulling out the sex shoes and flinging them and the lacy, red boyshirts that were attracted to his head at me, he went to my jewelry box and pulled out the diamond choker he had gotten me last Christmas, adding it to the pile. Finally, out of the garment bag for the dress, he pulled out a red domino mask with rhinestones at the corners of the eyes. He looked at my hair, nodded, and pulled the dress out of the bag.

“Off.” He said, pointing to my practical shoes.

He threw me my lacy underwear and matching bra before turning his back to me out of consideration.

I changed my undergarments and cleared my throat. He turned around so fast it made my head spin and whipped the new dress over my head. Pushing me back onto the bed, he strapped the sex shoes onto my feet and pulled me onto them. Loosing my hair from its bun, he secured the domino mask under the brown mass and twirled me so that he could fasten the choker. He twirled his finger in the air, indicating I should mimic the motion. I complied, feeling foolish as I spun in front of him, stopping when I saw myself in the mirror.

The girl in the mirror gasped. She looked better than I ever had. Looking like this, I could probably pass for one of the supermodels Codyusually hung out with.

“I will sat this. I have never regretted keeping you.” I breathed out.

He bowed with a grin on his face. “Thank you, milady. Now get out.” he pointed at the door.

I grinned and left, stopping when he called my name.

“Yes?” I called back.

“I will be very disappointed with you if you don’t come home with at least a six on the boy-toy-o’-meter.”

I scoffed. “A six? I’m going for an eight.”

“Alice? Honey? With how beautiful you are, you could score an eleven with a flick of your little finger.”

With tears in my eyes (I’m glad I never wore makeup), I hugged him tightly. “Ben’s a fifteen, and he’s almost good enough for you.” I whispered in his ear.

He smiled and swatted me on the butt. “Go on, Alice. Your portal to Wonderland is waiting.”

I took off as fast as my three-inch-heels would allow, leaving Cody in for what I hoped would be a wonderful night for us both.

When I stepped out of my cab and onto the sidewalk in front of The Twilight, the bouncer immediately waved me in, something that only happened to me when I was with Cody and Ben.

Feeling beautiful and special, I walked through the door and paid my cover fee. Stepping into the main club, the music vibrated through me. Lights flashed and invited me to move towards them. Dancers moved fluidly and gracefully, tempting me to join their group. Used to being something of a wallflower, I automatically moved to a shadow in the corner of the club. I noticed and incredibly handsome guy wave a hand to the bartender with a look of despair.

I got an idea when I noticed the bartender nod at him and pull out a bottle of Wild Turkey, a drink that I had enjoyed when I first started bartending. Feeling confident (and maybe a little crazy), I walked up to the bar, bought both shots and asked to borrow the bottle, showing the bartender my license. He readily agreed, shoving the supplies over the counter.

I poured his shot before going over to the table he was sitting at alone, swinging my hips for extra effect. When I got to the table, I asked if he was having a rough night, getting a “you have no idea” back.

Glad for the mask as he took in my appearance, I sat down his shotglass and showed off a little, demonstrating techniques I had learned on the job. Smiling at his surprised face, I slugged back the shot I had just poured, grabbed the bottle, and walked away.

Feeling his heated gaze on my face, I looked over my shoulder, smiled as seductively as I could, thanked him for the drink, and walked into the group of dancers under those entrancing lights.

Definitely a twelve, I thought to myself as I scuttled into the ladies room, where I now stayed, leaning against a pale blue wall and breathing heavily.

I scrambled into a stall when I heard the door open. Once the newcomer was safely in the stall, I flushed the unused toilet and went to the sink to feign washing my hands. The woman came out of the stall in a few seconds, continuing to fix her shoes, the reason she had come into the bathroom. She paused when she saw me at the sink for some reason but quickly recovered.

“Nice place, isn’t it?” She asked.

“Yep. I’m really enjoying myself.” i thought of the man I had flirted with at the secluded tables in the back, wondering if he was still there.

Surprisingly, she placed a matchbox in my hand. On the cover was the name of the club and a hand-scrawled seven-digit number.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“The number of the guy you just knocked speechless.”She grinned. “I’ve never seen Aiden that surprised. He even went so far as to ask if he was drunk. You should ask him to dance.” She continued, obviously seeing an opportunity to play matchmaker.

Aiden. I thought. So that’s his name. I turned the matchbox in my hand subconsciously. “I don’t know.” I told her.

“Can I at least have a name and number to give him If he finds out that I ran into you and didn’t get it...”

“Do you have a cell phone?” I interrupted, a plan forming in my mind.

She seemed taken aback. “Sure.” She handed it to me.

I went into her contacts and programmed in my home and cell phone numbers. “My name is Alice. Tell him if he wonders. Say you met me in here. If he asks for my number, give it to him. Let’s play a little game.” I handed back her phone, smiling wickedly.

She smiled back as she put the phone back into her purse. “I like the way you think.” She reached out her hand, and I gladly took it. Her grin grew. “I have a little addition to your plan...”

Aiden

Noemi came out of the bathroom with a large smile on her face. She sat down at the table and linked her hand with Marcus’ and was silent.

The two of us just looked at her expectantly. “Well?” I asked.

“Well, what?” she asked, feigning innocence.

“What has you acting so strange?” Marcus asked.

She held up a mask without saying a word. It was the same one the woman, who Marcus was now calling “the firecracker,” has been wearing. The diamonds at the corners of the eyes caught the light.

“Where did you get that?” I asked, reaching for it.

She handed it to me. I ran into her in the bathroom and she told me to give it to you.

“Is she still here?” I asked, looking around.

“Hmmm...I don’t know. She’ll be kicked out without it. Unless that’s what the one she pulled out of her purse was for...” She evaded.

“Did you get her name, her number, anything?” I sounded eager and desperate even to my own ears. I blamed it on the alcohol.

“She said her name was Alice...”

“Alice.” I said slowly, savoring the taste of it on my tongue. A shiver rolled up my spine. It sounded absolutely perfect for my little firecracker.

I started a bit. When had I started thinking of her as mine?

“And I may have gotten her phone number and may have found out where she would be dancing the rest of the night.” She said quietly. “And I may be inclined to give you that information...for the right price.”

“What price?” Marcus asked warily.

She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, Alice had one requirement.”

“Which was?”

“That if you were genuinely interested, you would request a song by your favorite band, which I’ve already told her.”

I shrugged. Sounded easy enough. I’d even do one better.

“My requirements are these; you buy the next round of drinks.” She looked at me for confirmation. I nodded.

“Two; you ask her out on a date. One date. Whatever you do beyond that is your own decision.”

“Deal.” I said.

“Not huh. One more thing. You can’t go home with her unless she asks you to. And no taking her back to your house until she invites you to hers.”

“Deal.” I reached over the table and grabbed her hand. I knew why she had added the last conditions. My friends knew me to be a bit of a player. The truth is, no one had just felt right. No sparks flew, no one had been able to take my breath away.

“She’ll be in the back right corner of the club when you play the song. Until then, it’s a secret.” She handed me a slip of paper with delicate writing on it. “Alice,” it read with two numbers that the bottom. One was a downtown Manhattan number, one in the expensive part of New York. The other was probably a cell phone number.

Immediately, I got up from the table and went to the DJ’s booth, requested a song and dedication, went to the bar and folded my fingers into a steeple, waiting for my song to come on the speakers.

Your move, my little mystery.

Chapter One Fin