When the Clock Strikes Midnight

by A L Miller

  She giggles a little as she lays her hand on mine. “Well, aren’t you sweet. Where’s your date? Looking as good as you do tonight, surely you didn’t come alone.”

  “No date. I chose to go solo tonight.”

  “Well, I doubt you’ll be solo for long.”

  Her eyes move from me to someone else across the room before rushing off in their direction. She gets halfway and turns her face back toward me as she walks away. “Nice seeing you Cole, have fun tonight but not too much fun.” she winks before picking up her pace toward the other person.

  I could just slap myself once I realize I completely forgot to ask her the question I’ve been wondering all night, which mask in the crowd belonged to my adorably shy neighbor if this was indeed the party he was attending tonight, which I had a feeling it was. Perhaps it was best I didn’t know. Besides, after what just happened between the stranger and me upstairs, I don’t think I could face Danny now.

  The rest of the night becomes a blur as Paul continues to pass me drink after drink. I don’t remember calling an Uber to take me home but apparently, I did and I managed to make it up the stairs safely in my apartment with also no recollection.

  I wake up the next morning in my bed still fully clothed and smelling like sex and alcohol. The only thing I do remember from last night is the thing I didn’t want to forget, my encounter with the sexy stranger in the blue and gold mask.

  Nine

  Danny

  A raging headache wakes me up, opening my eyes to the unwelcoming bright sun shining right through my window is not helping the situation. I grab the covers to pull them over my head. I glance down at my completely naked body under the covers. At least I managed to take my clothes off before climbing into bed. I normally sleep this way anyway. I always hated the confinement of clothes on my body while I slept.

  I crawl out of the covers until my feet reach the floor and I continue to keep my eyes facing down as I walk into the slightly less bright hallway that leads to my very dim kitchen. I grab the empty coffee pot and fill it with water before setting it back under the coffee machine. Splashes of water hit my skin reminding me that I’m still naked.

  At least it wasn’t hot water that splashed on me. I put the coffee grounds into a filter and while I wait for the coffee to brew, I head to the shower to wash off the remaining smell of sex and shame from the night before off my body. The warm water hits my body, and my sore muscles welcome it. I let the water spray over my body as I stand under it with my eyes closed and head facing down.

  I exit the bathroom in nothing but a pair of jogging shorts, smelling like my usual soap and shampoo and no longer like the alluring stranger from last night. I know it was best to not know who the guy was, I still couldn’t help but let my mind wander over all the possibilities. Having sex in a public place had always been a fantasy of mine, but my ex-boyfriend didn’t share my same fantasies. He didn’t seem to share the same love and compassion for me as I felt for him either.

  I never imagined my fantasy would become a reality. It was one of those things I shoved in the back of my mind a long time ago as one of those things that would only take place in my dreams or my novels. It almost feels like it was a dream. If I didn’t have the memories of last night’s event etched into my body, I would have thought it was.

  I pull out a coffee cup from the cupboard when a knock comes at my door. It could only be two people, either it was Vivian or Melanie, and I hadn’t had my coffee yet to deal with either one of them. I loved Vivian, but she could be a bit much in the morning. She was way more of a morning person than I was. Melanie sometimes annoyed me, but she had her moments where she was not so bad to be around. She was one of the only few friends I had, I didn’t really have the luxury to be picky. I opened the cabinet again and pull out another cup as another knock comes at my door.

  “Coming!”

  I open the door just enough for someone to squeeze their way through before I could really good a look at the person entering my apartment. I didn’t have a peephole, and I really wish I did at this moment.

  “Good morning, sunshine. Oh! You already made coffee and pulled out two cups, it’s like you have friend ESP.”

  I roll my eyes as the familiar voice enters my ears, letting me know it is the lesser of the two evils, Vivian. “Oh my god, what time is it and don’t you know how to text first?”

  “Did someone have too much to drink last night? Well, tuff stuff buttercup. Today is the beginning of a new year, and we are celebrating today with brunch at the new café that just opened down the street.”

  I try my best to hide my annoyance but based on her expression, I know I failed. “Wait, there are actually places open on New Year’s Day? What is wrong with these people?”

  She rolls her eyes before taking a sip of her coffee, She pulls out a bottle of ibuprofen out of her purse and hands me two pills with a cup of coffee. “Here, take these and drink up and for the love of all holy, put a shirt on man.”

  I glare at her. “Uh hello, I just woke up and you decided to randomly show up here at the ass crack of dawn.”

  Vivian sets her now empty coffee cup on the counter. “Oh you love me, and you know it. It’s 10 a.m., stop being so dramatic.”

  I leave her alone in the kitchen while I get dressed in a pair of jeans and a grey sweater. When I come out of my room, she is already pouring herself another coffee. “Aren’t we going to brunch? Aren’t you going to want coffee there?”

  She blows on her coffee before taking a sip. “This is just gearing me up for those mimosas I’ll be having with my pancakes.”

  I can’t believe she is thinking about drinking again after last night. I’ll be chugging down water for the rest of the day. I couldn’t even drink another cup of coffee right now. I hope eating will help ease my stomach some. I fill up Felix’s bowls with food and water and he meows at me, looking at me with those sad cat eyes that beg me not to leave again. I reach down to pet his yellow fur, and he purrs against my touch.

  I bundle up in my usual winter coat, matching scarf and beanie whenever it gets this cold outside. My hoodie won’t cut it today. I drive this time since she drove all the way here from her place these last few times. She’s the one who wants to go to all these places though. I’m perfectly fine with hanging out in my apartment all day.

  The diner is packed when we get there, I sigh at the crowd of people waiting to be seated. It’s a holiday, and this place is probably the only place open right now so of course it’s busy. Forty-five minutes of boredom later, we are finally seated at a table by a window. I open the menu before even fully sitting down. I’m so hungry, it’s all I can think about.

  The waiter brings us water and Vivian asks for a mimosa as I kindly shake my head when asked if I want one as well. My eyes fall back to the menu, and I’m about to tell Vivian what I’m going to order when my eyes land on the last person to enter the restaurant, Cole. I would think hooking up with the mystery man last night would help lessen this effect Cole had on me, but it somehow made it more intense, which made no sense whatsoever.

  His eyes land on Vivian and me as her head turns to see what I’m looking at. She spots Cole by the door, smiling our way and waves him on over. He hesitates for a minute before making his way towards our table.

  “Hey there neighbor, and neighbor’s friend.”

  She stands up from her seat reaching her hand out to him. “Vivian. It’s nice to officially meet you. I heard about how you saved the day by bringing Danny his mail. If you’re alone, then you should totally join us, no use in waiting in that long line when you don’t need to.”

  His eyes move between us before smiling wide. “Yeah sure, I’d love to as long as Danny here is okay with it.”

  I nod my head before sticking out my arm toward one of the empty chairs at the square table. “Of course, take your pick. You can sit by Vivian over there who doesn’t know what boundaries are or you can come sit next to me.”

  He laughs and takes a s
eat next to me, and I smile at the fact that he chose that spot to sit even with him knowing I was more than likely kidding about Vivian, but I really wasn’t. He would soon see that for himself. His arm lightly grazes mine as he opens his menu. I face his way after enjoying the small touch way too much, and he shoots me a wink that makes my stomach flutter.

  Ten

  Cole

  I wake up starving, after searching my fridge for something that sounds appetizing and coming up empty-handed, I pull out my phone to check if anything nearby is open today. If all else fails, I’ll grab some fast food. I know I have food here since I just went to the store yesterday, but I was craving a real breakfast and not the usual waffle or bagel I grab on the way to work. Luckily, Google pulls up a new restaurant nearby that serves brunch and is indeed open today. My stomach grumbles at the thought of blueberry pancakes smothered in butter and syrup.

  I grab my keys and wallet off the counter and head out the door to the diner. I’m wearing a pair of grey Nike sweat pants with a plain black t-shirt. I don’t look my best right now so I really hope I don’t run into anyone I know. I’m probably the only idiot I know trying to eat at a restaurant on a holiday. Well, that’s what I think until I enter the diner and gasp at the number of people that are here today. The long line of people is enough to put me off and send me on my way to grab some fast food. That is until I catch sight of something that makes me consider staying for more than just the delicious pancakes.

  Danny’s head lifts up, and his gaze meets mine; I almost feel breathless for a moment. He really is beautiful, and he has no idea either. His adorable nervous smile sends a small amount of warmth through me. His friend turns to see what his attention is on and as soon as she spots me, her eyes are beaming. She waves me on over to their table and I don’t move at first, but when Danny smiles at me again, I can’t seem to reach their table fast enough. She asks me to sit down, and I make sure it’s okay with Danny before I do. I choose the seat closest to him.

  I open my menu with my elbow sticking out in hopes to graze his. His eyes meet mine again and when I wink at him his cheeks redden. Fuck he’s adorable. My mind falls back to the stranger from last night, and a rush of guilt hits me in the gut. I have no idea what I’m guilty of. There is nothing going on between Danny and me, we barely know each other. I can’t help but feel a bit of sadness at the revelation.

  Danny and I both order the blueberry pancakes and Vivian orders like half the menu. Danny informs that she will indeed eat everything she orders too, she’s one of those people who eats like a linebacker but still manages to remain a size two. He says that with a hint of annoyance in his voice and Vivian pushes out her stomach. “Oh whatever, look at this gut. Does this look like I’m not paying for my eating habits?”

  He takes a bite of his pancakes before responding, “Oh please Vivian, anyone can make it look like a gut when they force their stomach out like that, especially after they just ate. I’m sure all that beer you inhaled yesterday contributed to that bloat also.”

  She sticks her tongue out at him before taking another drink of her mimosa. I don’t want to so much as look at alcohol right now, and here she is just throwing it back effortlessly like it’s a Capri Sun. I can’t believe I almost left. If I didn’t spot Danny when I did, then I would have. I enjoyed the conversation and laughs the three of us shared. I didn’t want to hold back anymore. It was now or never. I was going to ask Danny out and if he said no, no big deal. I’ll just walk with my head low in shame every time we pass each other in the hallway.

  I kind of hoped by the way we kept eyeing me at brunch and flirting with me back and forth that his answer would be yes. He reached for the tab but I gently pulled it from his hand. “It’s on me. Consider it thanks for saving me the hassle of standing in that awful never-ending line.”

  I can tell he wanted to fight me some more but instead pulled his hand back and thanked me. He was about to stand from the table once the lady brought me back my card. I stood up when he did and grabbed him by the arm before he could walk away.

  “Hey Danny, I was wondering if you would maybe want to see a movie sometime or go to dinner. You know whichever you prefer.”

  His eyes grew wide as if I caught him off guard. I was sure I made it clear at how interested in him I was, and I was just glad he wasn’t trying to hide his face from me anymore. He pulls away from my grasp and bites his bottom lip. Something about the way he does it sends a thrill through me as I remember the guy at the party doing the exact same thing. But it can’t be, there’s no way. I would know if it was him, wouldn’t I?

  Danny now has a curious expression on his face as if he said something and I missed it. Then it dawns on me that I probably did when I went back to a memory from last night.

  “Did you hear me? Did you disappear somewhere for a minute?”

  “I really didn’t get much sleep, so maybe I’m starting to fall asleep standing up,” I say with a chuckle.

  His worrying expression becomes more relaxed. “I said yes, yes I’ll um… go see a movie with you or dinner or whatever.”

  I smile with excitement. “Awesome, well here give me your number and I’ll text you.”

  He hands me his phone and I enter my number to his contacts. “There, now text me so I have yours.”

  My phone pings and a message appear saying, hey. I add the number with his name to my contact list. “There now I can bug you all I want.”

  He laughs, “Wow, we haven’t even started texting each other yet and I’m already considering blocking you.”

  Vivian is just standing there, looking at us with amusement on her face. I forgot she was there until she loudly cleared her throat to get our attention that was only reserved for each other in the moment. We part ways after saying goodbye for the fifth time, and I almost want to come up with some other way to stall him and to keep him where I was, but I let him leave the diner with his friend. I make a pit stop at the bathroom before driving back home.

  Once back in the comfort of my home, I watch a few episodes of Scrubs before grabbing my phone to check if I had any missed calls or messages. I had a few messages from my family wishing me a Happy New Year. Then one from Paul asking me if I ever figured out who that sexy stranger in the blue and gold mask was. My eyes go wide when it occurs to me that I must have told him when I was drunk and he didn’t forget the way I clearly did.

  I text him back, telling him no such luck and he sends back a sad face emoji. I consider texting Danny, but I don’t want to come off as too eager. I stared at his name for a long time before setting my phone back down on the coffee table. I went back to watching television until I eventually fell asleep on the couch.

  Eleven

  Danny

  “I said no. Take it down, Vivian,” I say with annoyance in my voice as I reach in an attempt to pull the iPad from her hands, failing miserably.

  She giggles as she settles on my tan couch with my iPad in her hands. “Oh, come on, you may thank me for this one later. Maybe your mystery man will see your pictures and reach out.”

  I grunt before taking a seat next to her. “But I don’t care who he is anymore. Cole asked me to hang out. He may have not actually called it a date, but it was pretty much implied, wasn’t it?”

  Yesterday when we had run into Cole at the restaurant, I was worried he sat with us only because he didn’t want to hurt our feelings, but that was until he had really seemed to enjoy our company and was laughing at all my jokes, even the really dumb ones. He had seemed to be flirting me with the constant smiles, winks and light touching he kept sneaking in. I didn’t mind it one bit. If anything, I wished he would touch me more.

  I imagined what it would be like to hold his hand or what it would be like to lean my head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around me. So many things were running through my head that I thought were all impossible until Cole asked me out to dinner. I know my face had to have shown him how shocked and caught off guard I was. I was pretty sure it wou
ldn’t matter who the stranger was anymore because all I cared about was getting to know Cole better.

  Vivian brings me out of my thoughts when she hits submit on the new profile she creates for me on Facebook with my profile picture being one she took of her and I that night in our masks posing, huge smiles on our faces in front of some ridiculous ice sculpture Paul had at the party. She puts the profile under the name James Bishop which is a combination of my middle name and mother’s maiden name. She fills out all the basic info and hides the remainder of my profile and friends list in case if he does see it, he won’t be suspicious of the lack of friends and activity. She loads pictures from the party, making them the only thing public on my timeline and tags Paul, writing #PaulsNewYearParty before hitting submit.

  A notification comes in thirty minutes later, Vivian swipes her finger across the screen to click on the notification that shows Paul liked the pictures she posted. She squeals in excitement causing me to hold my hands to my ears in an automatic reaction. Paul accepts the photos onto his wall and also adds them to his party album while tagging my name.

  Vivian smiles my way. “Now, just give it time. I’m willing to bet mister mysterious stranger in the black mask knows Paul more than we do and is surely to notice the photos sooner or later.”

  I take a deep breath and sink back into the couch. All this waiting is going to drive me crazy, and I’m probably waiting for nothing. Vivian grabs my remote to turn on Netflix. She says she’s in the mood for a scary movie so puts on Carrie while I walk to the kitchen to put the roast, I defrosted in the fridge into the instant pot. I set it for forty-five minutes and glance at my phone sitting on the counter.

  There are no new messages, and I don’t know why I’m expecting any. I just exchanged numbers with the guy today and I’m already expecting a text from him. I could always text him first, but that would just make me appear too desperate. I sigh and set my phone back on the counter and walk back over to my friend.