Friends, of a Sort.
Laura likes people. She loves to talk to people and get to know every single thing about them.
I really don’t.
I’m more than happy to leave everybody to their own devices, and in that sense, we’re complete opposites. It’s also one of the reasons why I chose this particular place tonight. One of the main selling points of “Masquerade Night,” is its anonymity, but just like the masquerades of old, it’s a party. Rather than in our own cordoned-off booth, or our own separate table, Laura and I are sat at a large round table, adorned with a deep red table cloth. The table seats eight people, and as of right now, we’re the only two sitting here, but more are soon to come. Using our newfound anonymity, we’re supposed to talk, joke, and laugh with 3 other equally faceless couples, sharing a night of drinks and fun, with all of our proclivities left by the door.
There’s a part of me that wonders how that’s a successful business model in this day and age, but I guess why question it? If it’s working out, more power to them.
I explained the idea of the restaurant to Laura and expected her to be a little more excited. Instead, she seems a little shaky and is clinging to my arm in the way you would expect a scared child to. Something is really wrong.
“Laura, what’s up?”
“I… do we have to talk about it here?”
“About what?”
“The whole… um…. The church.”
She’s losing me pretty quickly, “What church?”
“The one I told you about?”
Did she tell me about a church? When?
Oh! back in our scuffed therapy session. Before we had sex for the first time. She mentioned that she was religious, but stopped attending after her church fell apart. Apparently, they preached pretty harshly that women should only ever have one partner, and that ended up blossoming into the lovely experience that was her attempting to murder Mr. Karlsson.
I do my best to stay open-minded when it comes to religion, but I’m a little soured on Laura’s ex-church already.
“The one you were part of? What does that have to do with anything?”
“The building… This is an apostle meeting house.”
“... a what?”
“It’s where the leaders met! Nobody else was allowed in.”
So… she’s nervous because she wasn’t allowed in when she was little. It’s like a Pavlovian thing, I guess?
“So… you think we shouldn’t be here?”
“No! I’m excited for tonight, I just… need a second to get over myself.” She leans over and gives me a hug. She’s trying to hide her nervousness, but I can feel how tense she is. What the hell were they doing in that church?
“Laura, we don’t need to do this. I want to have a nice night, and if this is making you uncomfortable—”
“No! I’m fine, Sam. Seriously.”
Okay. I don’t believe her, but maybe she just needs to spend a little bit of time here to get over it? Time will tell I suppose.
We sit for a while in silence, her grip on my arm gradually slackening as she seemingly grows more and more comfortable. I guess it really wasn’t a big deal.
Slowly the room fills with fellow party-goers, and the first couple to join our table sit across from us. They’re wearing matching plain white masks that barely cover their eye line, leaving most of their faces exposed.
The moment after sitting down, The one opposite me, the man, flicks me an up-nod, which I return. That seems to be as much interaction as he wants with me and takes to speaking quietly with his partner.
The man’s about average height, maybe a little shorter, and the woman is about as tall as him– so quite tall for a woman. The man has a soft face, with no trace of hair, while the girl has an overall sharper facial structure, giving her a purposeful look. The man’s wearing a suit, while his partner is in a professional black dress. Upon closer inspection, there are two small bumps on the man’s chest…
Oh.
Ohhhhhh.
I’m pulled out of my contemplation by Laura giving me a little tug on the arm. I glance up from the “man’s” chest and find her locking eyes with me. She gives me a little smirk.
Shit. I was totally staring at her tits, and she totally saw.
I look away almost instantly, looking for anything other than her to look at, before settling on another couple walking toward our table.
It’s a tall, lanky man, evidently a little older, wearing a full, fitted suit as well as white gloves. His mask covers his entire face and is painted a particularly lustrous silver. His partner is in a flowy red dress, that shows off just a bit too much cleavage and has a deep cut-out on the left side. Her mask is an equally lustrous gold. The woman sits next to Laura and the man sits next to her, filling out three-quarters of the table.
Nobody says anything. Laura would normally be the one to start talking with people, but she’s a little out of sorts right now, so I’m not really sure what to do.
Well, I’m not gonna be the one to start the conversation. I glance toward the door to see the flow of people has slowed considerably. The room is mostly full at this point, and the last few couples are trickling in.
Right as I’m about to shift my gaze elsewhere a flash of blonde catches my gaze. A beautiful, short woman and her tall, obviously handsome partner step into the room. Even with their faces covered, their attractiveness shines through easily.
The woman is short, barely 5 feet, and is wearing a cream-colored dress that covers just a bit more than the one I saw her wearing last time, but is still quite scandalous. This isn’t helped by her already rather voluptuous body, which has drawn quite a few gazes from men in the room.
The man is tall, his model-like features are apparent on the exposed lower half of his face. His confident gait and cocky posture have drawn an equal number of gazes from women in the room.
They’re wearing masks shaped into the likeness of animals, leaving the lower half of their faces exposed. The short woman is wearing a white mask with gold details, with cat ears at the top. The man is wearing a similar mask but shaped with tall rabbit ears on the sides.
I avert my gaze. Holy fuck, please tell me he doesn’t recognize me. There are still a few places left, what are the odds that he ends up coming over here?
I can’t help but take a quick glance back, to see them looking around. The short one points towards the open spots at our table and they begin to walk over.
Shit.
I start to panic a bit, and Laura tugs at my sleeve.
“Is something up?”
“No. Everything’s totally fine! Nothing wrong. We should just be calm.”
“We?” Laura seems a little confused
The chair next to me is pulled out and the short woman sits in it. The tall man sits between her and the woman in a suit.
Well, shit.
I’m looking down into my lap, hoping I'm not recognized, when the woman in a suit says, “Well, I guess this is the group then.” She takes a look around the table, examining everyone, then leans back in her seat. “This is gonna be an interesting night.”