by Ellie Danes
We were standing at the edge of the room, waiting for someone to speak to us, when I noticed Hunter and Natalie making their rounds and chatting to every individual person. I was almost relieved when they finally made it to us.
“We’re so glad you made it.” Hunter stepped forward, giving us both a quick embrace before taking hold of Avery’s hands in his, “I really hope you enjoy the evening.”
“Let’s get you both a drink.” Natalie smiled as she took hold of my arm and began to walk us over to the bar on the other side of the room. “You look a little uptight. Harper, right? We didn’t officially meet at the diner.”
“Yes, and yes. I probably could use a little something.” I giggled and was instantly relieved I wouldn’t have to stand in the corner looking lost any longer.
“A drink for the ladies, please.” Natalie smiled at the bartender before turning back to us and asking, “So, girls, why are we still single?” She looked us both up and down as though she were trying to figure us out.
“We prefer to play the field a little.” Avery answered on my behalf and hers. “Harper here has been a little unlucky in love lately.” I grimaced, but didn’t say anything.
“Well, ladies, you will be glad to know that this party is just what you need to get back in the game.” Natalie explained as the bartender placed a drink in front of each of us. “All these men and women are in exactly the same boat, They’ve been looking for love in the wrong places too.”
“Great!” Avery almost squealed, unable to hide her excitement over fresh meat now.
“There are just a few rules to be aware of…” Natalie almost whispered. “No sharing phone numbers, no kissing, and definitely no getting drunk.”
“Sounds like a fair deal to me.” Avery laughed as she glanced at all the beautiful people around us.
I watched her, wondering how she was so at ease with all of this. Didn’t it seem a little weird to her? Who were Natalie and Hunter, and why had they gotten this group together in the first place? Were they matchmakers, trying to give us a taste of their services so that we would sign up for more? Or was this some sort of weird swingers party?
No… that couldn’t be it. Swingers wouldn’t care about kissing or exchanging numbers. But what was the point of being put in a room with other singles if both of those things were forbidden?
Natalie turned to make her way back toward the roomful of guests and then stopped. “One more thing.” She smiled. “Don’t forget to pick up your envelopes at the end of the night.”
“Envelopes?” Avery raised a brow as she asked the question.
“Yes. Just a little something for coming tonight. It’s not a lot, but it will pay some bills.”
“Pay bills? We’re getting paid for tonight?” I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. Something didn’t feel quite right.
“You showed up.” Natalie winked. “We like to make sure that our guests are treated well. It means that they’ll be back again when we need them.” And with that, she was gone, giving us no chance to ask any more questions.
I grabbed Avery’s arm and pulled her close to me as I whispered in her ear. “Something isn’t right.”
“Don’t be so touchy.” Avery shrugged me off, still looking at the gorgeous men that moved around the room in front of her. “How bad could it be? We’re at a party with hot guys, and apparently we’re getting paid for it.”
Her words did little to ease the feeling of awkwardness in my stomach, but I kept the rest of my complaints to myself.
“Whoever set all this up must have a heck of a lot of money to be able to pay all these people just for showing up.” Avery commented as we looked around the room. It was then that I noticed the men had been corralled to one side of the room, while the women stood on the other. I couldn’t help but feel like we were at a high school dance; everyone scared to talk to the opposite sex.
We headed through the crowd of women, looking for anyone who might be interested in telling us what was going on. “Hey ladies,” A modelesque woman said as she stepped in front of us, blocking our path. “I haven’t seen you at these socials before. Is this your first?”
“Yes, it is.” Avery smiled back at her.
“So, you’ve been here before?” I asked, growing intrigued at the knowledge that this wasn’t a onetime thing.
“I’ve been to a couple.” She shrugged. “I wouldn’t miss them for the world.”
“So what’s the deal, then?” Avery asked, her eyes now fixed on the other woman’s face as she waited to get all the juicy details.
“Well, it can get very interesting.” The woman grinned, looking as though she had a lot of juicy gossip to spill.
A ringing bell at the front of the room brought an eerie silence to everyone, cutting short the women’s story before it had gotten started. I turned to see Natalie standing on the other side of the room, commanding everyone’s attention with a simple smile.
“Ladies and gentleman…” She began as Hunter appeared by her side. “Thank you all for coming this evening. Some of you are already aware of what goes on here, but for those of you who are new, let’s go over the rules.”
Hunter grinned to the group of onlookers. “Let’s remember that there is no exchanging of personal information, no numbers or emails.”
Natalie chimed in. “And no getting drunk. Everyone needs to be on their best behavior.” She cast a wink around the room, even as a few people groaned at the rules.
I was about to turn back to the woman we had been talking to, when Natalie spoke once more.
“Now, for the final rule.” She added, “No talking to the opposite sex. Ladies will speak only to other ladies, and men only to other men.”
“With the exception of the guests of the evening.” Hunter chuckled.
Avery and I glanced at each other, confusion reflected in our eyes. Natalie gestured at one of the security guards by the door. He gave a curt nod and pulled the door open. An attractive older woman with blonde hair entered the room. She was wearing an expensive looking cocktail dress that hugged her fit body and was adorned by sparkling jewels. Behind her, a tall guy with short, deep brown hair and a chiseled face sauntered in. He was clearly in shape, as his tailored suit stretched to cover his bulging arms.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please meet your dates for the night, Xander and Jesse.” Natalie gestured toward the two newcomers, “Have fun and remember the rules.”
Avery and I stayed where we were, watching as the rest of the crowd began to move toward Xander and Jesse. I noticed that all the men were surrounding her, while the women swarmed Xander; bees to a honeycomb.
“You do know you’re supposed to talk to him, right?” Hunter said with a laugh as he approached us. “It’s why you’re here, to meet an eligible bachelor.” He gently gave me a push toward the circle of women engulfing Xander. I quickly grabbed Avery’s arm and pulled her with me.
We stood almost in a queue as we waited for the other women to be greeted by the apparent man of the hour. When we finally made it to the front of the group, I was taken aback. Xander was even more handsome than he had looked from across the room. His tattoos were a big turn on, but even more beautiful were his smoldering, dark green eyes.
Clearly, Avery was thinking the same thing. She placed her hand on his arm, looking as though she was feeling his muscles.
“Hello, Xander,” she greeted him with a sickly sweet voice, “My name is Avery, and this is my friend Harper.” She gestured toward me without even glancing away from him.
“Charmed to meet you both,” He reached out and took hold of my hand, placing a kiss on the back of it.
“I’ll be back in a bit to talk to you both.” He promised as he brushed us off in favor of the next group of women. Avery and I stood staring at each other, wondering what had just happened. Did we do something wrong? I asked myself.
“Look at them.” Avery whispered into my ear as she pointed at Jesse and the men who were piled around her.
; I couldn’t help but notice the man directly in front of Jesse. He swirled the umbrella in his drink as he spoke to her, looking off into the distance and taking in the groups of girls scattered across the room.
“He clearly isn’t interested.” I said with a laugh.
“He’s way too young for her.” Avery nodded in agreement.
I looked around the room for a better match for Mr. Disinterested. “He’d be better off with her.” I pointed to a tall, thin blonde who was now talking to Xander. “She seems like the air-headed type.”
And with that, our game for the evening was made. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I kept looking around the room, commenting on various individuals and pairing them up with their best matches. Why do I always do this? I asked myself. I could match-make anyone, except myself.
“Do you feel like you’re being watched?” Avery glanced around the room after a few minutes.
“No,” I said, following her gaze. “But it seems that we are.” I pointed to Natalie and Hunter, standing across the room. They were at the edge of the event watching over everything, as if they might be preparing to jump in if anything went wrong. I watched as they whispered to each other and pointed.
“Ladies, I’m back.” Xander approached us from behind, pulling our attention from Natalie and Hunter. Immediately, he began to chatter on about himself. His MMA fighting status was quite impressive, and the fact that he liked to travel had me intrigued. But there was also something off about him. He seemed big headed as he spoke, never once asking about either of us.
My best friend, on the other hand hung onto his every word, fluttering her eyelashes whenever she got the chance to speak. Clearly she had her eye on him. But I knew her well enough to know that if she could get him into bed, he would be just another conquest. There would be no dating, at least not beyond the odd booty call whenever she felt like it. This was typical Avery behavior.
When Xander finally finished talking about himself, he turned to me. “So what is it that you do?” I could feel Avery bristle beside me.
“I…I’m a part time student.” I answered hesitantly, not having any interest in stealing her thunder.
“Sounds interesting.” Xander rubbed his chin. “Would you like to join me out on the terrace? It’s really stuffy in here and it would give us some time to chat.” I hesitated to say anything as I looked at Avery. Her stern gaze finally softened with a smile and nod.
“Sure.” I smiled.
The bad boy vibe he had been giving off, along with his tattoos and the way he spoke, made him hard to resist—even if I already knew he probably wasn’t boyfriend material. Still, I looked at Avery as we walked away and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
Xander held out his arm for me and we turned away from the rest of the group, headed for the back door. I felt a little nervous as I realized he was taking me away from the safety of the rest of the herd.
He pushed open the door and held it for me. Finally, a real gentleman, I thought. Slipping passed him, I smiled and made my way out onto the balcony of the mansion.
“So, Harper,” he said from behind me. “It seems you’ve managed to draw my attention. What would you like to talk about?” I leaned against the railing and he stood next to me, gazing intently.
“I’m not sure.” I said with a shrug of my shoulders.
“Well, you must be smart, being a student.” Xander nudged me with his shoulder, a smirk taking over his face. I sensed he was trying to flirt, but it was obvious he was either out of practice or didn’t really understand what a girl thought flirting was.
“I’m really… I’m not much of a talker when I’m just getting to know someone. I’m sorry.” I felt my nerves taking over.
“Well, then let me start you off…” He stepped back and opened his arms wide. “Do you like what you see?” I felt instantly awkward, but looked him up and down anyway.
“I guess I do or I wouldn’t be out here with you.” I giggled.
“So that’s how you’re going to play it.” Xander laughed as he leaned next to me again, “You know you’re very beautiful.” My cheeks grew red with embarrassment at his compliment.
I felt his hand on the small of my back as he whispered into my ear. “I love beautiful women.” My stomach twisted with both desire and disgust at his words, and I peered over his shoulder at the odd reflection from the eaves of the roofline.
I couldn’t figure out exactly what I was looking at, and immediately dismissed it when I felt Xander turn his close whisper into a hug, pulling me in tight. Gritting my teeth, I felt his hand slip from my lower back to my ass.
“You know that’s against the rules.” I laughed, attempting to warn him in a pleasant way and avoid any further conflict.
He simply looked up at me with a sly smile upon his face. “Actually, the rules said no kissing. There was nothing about touching.” Xander laughed, seeming quite proud to have found a loophole in the system. Then, holding my gaze, he added, “You know all those women in there are here for me, yet I’m out here with you.”
Leaning in, he closed his eyes and appeared to be about to kiss me. I pulled away quickly, turning to head back inside. But before I could make it more than just a few steps, I felt his hand tightly grip around my arm. His hold on me was hard and painful. “Ouch!” I squealed, trying to pull away. Don’t make a scene, I told myself as I took hold of his hand and attempted to remove it from my arm. He continued to hold tightly
The doors behind us opened with a creak. I glanced over my shoulder to see one of the security guards moving toward us from the doorway. “I think it’s time to come back inside now folks,” he said.
I was relieved as I felt Xander’s grip loosen. Taking my opportunity, I hurried away from him, slipping passed the security guard who gave me a sympathetic look. I nodded and offered a small smile, my way of thanking him for rescuing me, whether he knew it or not.
“Please come with me, sir.” I heard the security guard order Xander as I approached the door to the mansion, hoping only to find Avery.
Chapter Four
Mason
I stared at the monitors, my stomach tightening in anger. The girl Xander had just been speaking to out on the balcony charged through the crowd as though she were a bull in a china shop. Zeroing in on her, I listened as she spoke to the girl she had arrived with.
“Avery, I’m out of here.” She snapped as she took hold of her friend’s arm. “Xander is an asshole.”
The girl she was speaking to, Avery, turned with an excited look on her face, seemingly oblivious to her friend’s distress. “I guess rules aren’t his thing. Tell me what happened? Was he a good kisser?”
“Hell no,” Xander’s attempted conquest snapped. “But he tried. And he just about ripped my arm off when I refused.” She hissed, revealing a red handprint on her arm. “I’m leaving!”
“Oh my… yeah, of course.” Avery seemed to finally realize her friend wasn’t kidding as she looked at that handprint. “We’ll go right now, Harper. I’m sorry.”
Harper, I thought. What a beautiful name.
Clicking on the microphone button on the desk in front of me, I began to speak. “Natalie, It seems Xander was rude to one of the last minute girls you invited.” I moved the joystick that sat next to the microphone, zooming cameras around the room to find her. “They’re leaving. Please see them out and see to it that they return tomorrow night.” Natalie simply looked up into the camera above her head and nodded.
I watched as she made her way through the crowd to the door that would lead Avery and Harper out of the house. I clicked the microphone button again as I zoomed in more closely on Harper, watching her move toward the foyer. “And Natalie, don’t forget to pay them.” She nodded again.
A knock on the door behind me pulled my attention from the monitors. I sighed as I turned to see Xander followed by the security guard that had broken up his altercation with Harper.
Xander looked angry, his lips pursed and a large vein protru
ded from his neck. His hands were tightened into fists and his eyes were almost bulging out of his head.
“Xander, please take a seat.” I waved a hand toward the couch as Trevor, the security guard, stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, standing silently in front of it. Xander paused for a moment, hesitating to head over to the couch as he glared at me.
After a few seconds, he crossed the room, his eyes remaining on me in the process. “What the hell, Mason?” He said upon sitting down. “Why was I pulled out of that party?”
“You know exactly why, Xander.” I chastised. “Don’t try and play dumb.”
It was a struggle not to raise my voice as I sat down on the edge of my desk and placed my hands on my knees. Looking at him with a stern expression, I hoped he would understand just how serious I was. “I gave you only a few rules,” I began. “But apparently you don’t feel the need to follow them.” I rubbed the back of my neck, frustrated and wondering why I had ever agreed to take him on as a client.
“I didn’t break any rules.” Xander argued. “I didn’t kiss anyone, I didn’t exchange numbers.” The corner of his lip turned up just a touch. “Ok, maybe I’ve had a few too many drinks.”
“I have cameras everywhere.” I explained. “I have microphones everywhere. This setup is for your safety, and my guests. You may not have kissed her, but you certainly crossed some lines that are not tolerated here.” I stared directly into his eyes, knowing that at any second he could snap and it would take both me and Trevor to subdue him if needed.
“What? But I paid for this.” Xander protested. “I paid for you to set me up with gorgeous women, and that’s what I want. This is bullshit.”
“You may have paid, but that doesn’t give you the right to treat women the way you do.” I held firm. “I’m refunding your money. You’re done here.”
Watching him for a reaction, I attempted to guess his next move. But there appeared to be none; he seemed simply resigned to leave.