by Kira Blakely
After all, the after party might last all night long.
***
Charlie
I could feel my eyes almost popping out of their sockets as Sarah, one of the maids, pulled the ribbons of my corset tight once more. She’d been pulling at it for as long as I started holding my breath each time, which was twenty minutes ago.
I never knew gowns could be this fatal.
“Breathe in!” she cried, as I started gasping for breath.
“Sarah, if I breathe in anymore, I’m going to suck myself into my lungs,” I croaked, holding onto the dresser for support.
She immediately let up, and I breathed in sweet oxygen like I had been starved for months. It took me a few minutes before I mustered up the ability to speak again.
“Isn’t there another dress that’s, you know, not hazardous to my health?” I asked in desperation.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, er,” she reddened as I glared at her, “um, Charlie, I mean, but this is the only dress sent over. Did you put in your request to the tailors?” she asked, and I stared at her in confusion.
“I can do that?” I asked her, and she nodded.
“Yes. Miss Ariana puts in her requests for gatherings like this all the time. Did she not tell you?”
Of course, she didn’t tell me. Why I am not surprised?
I got up and took a deep breath before looking at Sarah with a smile.
“Shall we try this again?” I asked, making Sarah smile and nod her head.
***
Prepping me for this party felt like it took forever, but in reality, it only took about three hours. My hair was curled and sent cascading down my back, and my makeup was light and simple. I didn’t really get the point of doing my makeup though, because I was told I’d be wearing an eye mask anyway, but whatever.
My gown was part of the new fashion line that the Jameson Company would be launching that night, and if I had to describe it, I’d say it looked both vintage and modern. The color was a deep shade of violet from the top of the corset, but the colors started webbing and frosting into a lighter shade until the skirt was a gentle lavender, the tail of it trailing just a couple of inches on the ground. The beadwork on my gown made it look like it was frosting, and the ribbons lacing up my corset added a certain femininity and flair that even made looking at the back of the amazing.
It amazed me even more that in the few days that I’ve started learning about fashion, I could already think up of such particularities with my gown. Back then, the only thing I cared about that was remotely related to fashion was when I was forced to buy clothes and I haggled with the price. And now, I was thinking of the beadwork, trail, and color – details that I usually overlooked because I couldn’t afford to buy it.
I was surprised that the large amount of changes happening in my life and in myself hadn’t given me whiplash yet.
Sarah gave me one last cursory inspection and nodded, handing me my mask. My mouth opened in awe as I looked at the intricate design. It matched my gown perfectly, and I knew that whomever made this took a lot of time and effort into crafting it. I put it over my eyes, and Sarah helped me tie the ribbons around my head as I lifted the upper part of my hair away so she could hide the ribbon under it.
“You look beautiful, Charlie,” Sarah whispered, making me blush. “The car is waiting for your downstairs.”
“Okay, thanks. Is my father ready yet?” I asked, and Sarah’s brows furrowed.
“Mr. Jameson, Madam Wilhelmina, and Miss Ariana left for the party an hour ago. They said you would be going to the party alone, as to not draw suspicion before you are formally introduced to the public,” Sarah answered, and my stomach dropped.
“So, they’re going to make me face those people all by myself?” I cried in disbelief. Were they serious? It had only been a few weeks!
I refused to let myself be overwhelmed to the pressure. This was just another hurdle I had to get through, and if I talked myself out of this this early in the game, then I was only proving Ariana was right in saying I didn’t belong here. I could not – absolutely could not – let her beat me.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror one more time, and the image of a girl I barely knew stared back at me. I steeled myself.
I was no longer Charlie Harris. This girl in front of me was not the girl I the girl I’ve always been. This was Charlotte Jameson, and she could pull this off.
I was more than ready.
Chapter Eight
Sean
The space between my thumb and forefinger. That was how close I was to falling asleep on my feet.
This party was boring as fuck. Boring and pretentious. When we arrived, there were cameras and reporters waiting outside, held back by a few big guys in black suits and metal bars. Apparently, only a select few were allowed in. This was not unusual, though. What was unusual was how each guest stopped by the double doors where two men wearing a wig and tights stood by, and they had to tell these guys who they were so they could announce it to the people inside.
What in the actual fuck?
“What the hell is this charade for? This isn’t a Jane Austen movie,” I whispered to Evan, who shrugged.
“I didn’t know you know who Jane Austen was,” he said, but before I could return that jab, he quickly added, “but I guess this is all part of the party theme, I guess?”
I rolled my eyes and when it was our turn, I told the guy some seriously messed up combinations of cuss words and dared him to say it. Th dude looked like a fish, not knowing what to do, so Evan quickly apologized and pushed me inside.
That’s where my fun ended. There were too many snooty brownnosers here and not enough women to distract me. Well, not enough women good enough to keep me entertained, anyway.
Granted, most of the girls were hot, but I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me. I took a couple of them to the dance floor and it was going fine, but the minute they opened their mouth…sigh. I don’t know. I guess they don’t have enough…substance?
My eyes travelled towards the side, and I smiled as I spotted Evan talking with the girl of his dreams by the chocolate fountain. She had her hand tucked under her chin as she balanced it on her other arm, but the way I caught her looking at him from top to bottom told me she liked what she was seeing.
Personally, she came across as a bit of a bitch to me in the few times we got to have a conversation with each other. She was as arrogant as she was beautiful, and what she lacked in height, her self-confidence more than made up for. She was way too full of herself and convinced she was better than everyone else, but I was hoping she didn’t give my bro the same treatment. Dude is the nicest guy in the world, and he doesn’t deserve that shit from anyone.
But while I was happy my best friend was getting some game, I, however, was not. I was seriously considering ditching this joint and haunting some other place.
I saw the double doors open at the corner of my eye and waited for that ridiculous announcement about who it was, but I was surprised that, for the first time, they didn’t say anything at all. Curious as to who this person is, I raised my eyebrow as I waited, and then my jaw. Just. Dropped.
The one who just entered was a girl in a purple dress with flaming red hair falling down her back. She picked up her skirt a little as she walked, and her head turned slightly from side to side as she looked at everything and everyone around her. And everyone was staring at her, too. Some with wonder, some with envy, but not with the same slack-jawed expression as mine.
She was so…beautiful.
No. Hot. She’s HOT. That’s what I mean. I don’t say “beautiful.” Beautiful leads to all sorts of dangerous feelings I’d rather not have.
She was on a whole other level compared to the rest of the women there, and I needed to turn my game up a notch if I ever wanted to get under that big ass skirt.
I adjusted my suit and walked over to her with my usual swagger, my mouth already set up with the casual smirk all the ladies seem to
want, and tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned around, and her gorgeous emerald orbs stopped me in my tracks.
Why are those eyes so familiar?
***
Charlie
You know that feeling when the world suddenly stops turning? You can’t hear anything, but you feel every pair of eyes in the room are staring at you?
That’s what I was feeling.
I had told the greeters who I was, but they must’ve been informed ahead of time because they didn’t say anything as they opened the doors for me. I looked around, but I couldn’t see my father anywhere. Even if I did manage to find him, I didn’t think they’d let me hang around them for the rest of the party.
I was searching for the refreshments table when I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I turned around and Holy Jesus, this guy is HUGE. He was probably around 6’5” or so, but he wore a suit well. He was probably the only person there not wearing a tie, keeping the first two buttons of his shirt open and showing a sliver of skin. I gulped as I looked up to his face, and his mask did nothing to dampen the mischievous light from his icy-blue eyes, or hide the fact that he was so brutally handsome.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” he said softly, the velvety undertones of his voice making me a little heady and my heart skip a beat. I cleared my throat to answer him.
“I don’t really make it a habit of going to parties,” I coolly replied, and his mouth formed a lopsided smirk that made him ten times more attractive.
“Yeah. Parties like this aren’t really my scene,” he agreed, and I could tell that he meant it. Judging from his size and the strength that was practically whirring from him, I’d think he wasn’t much for swanky soirees such as this one. Which begged the question…
“Then what are you doing here?” I asked.
“I’m an endorser. It’s written in my contract that I have to make appearances,” he answered truthfully. “Are you under contract, too?” he asked. I bit the inside of my lip.
“Something like that,” I answered vaguely. He narrowed his eyes but didn’t ask me to elaborate, and I gave him a point for that one. The music started playing, and I saw people breaking off into pairs to dance. Mr. Mysterious cleared his throat and raised his hand towards me.
“Care to dance?” he asked.
“I’m not much a dancer,” I admitted, recalling how my dancing lessons these past few weeks crashed and burned.
“That’s not a problem. I’m pretty good at dancing,” he said confidently, and I raised my eyebrows, incredulous. I highly doubted that. “You know, if you don’t want to dance here, we could go and hang out somewhere else, and I could guarantee it’ll be extremely fun,” he said.
I winced and opened my mouth to reject him when he cut me off. “There are three guys currently making their way towards you to probably ask you the same thing, and I’m sorry, I don’t want to stop talking with you just yet,” he took my hand, not bothering to wait for my answer and proceeded to pull me to the dance floor.
He wrapped his arm around my waist firmly while he held my hand with the other, and I placed my other hand on his arm, unable to turn my head away as he stared straight into my eyes. I tightened my grip on his arm involuntarily, and he pulled me closer to him.
He took a step back and then we were dancing, gliding, and swaying to the beat of the song. I had been afraid of the possibility of making a fool out of myself by stepping on his feet or missing a step, but it never happened. I was going to look down at my feet to make sure that I really wasn’t messing up, but a gentle squeeze on my waist kept me from doing it.
“Trust me,” he whispered. We were already down the first chorus, and I realized that I did trust him to lead me.
“Okay,” I said, and he smiled.
“I promise I’ll take your mind off everything, just for a little while,” he said, his voice low and sexy, making me raise an eyebrow at him.
“Oh, really?” I said, going under his arm as he twirled me away from him. I was smiling at him now, curious if he could really pull off what he was promising to do. He had the same teasing smirk on his face now, and something was tickling the back of my mind. I recognized that smirk from somewhere else, but I couldn’t remember.
“Oh, is that a challenge?” he asked, as he pulled me back in his arms before sending me out for another spin. I shrugged.
“Maybe,” I said. His eyes twinkled, and he pulled me back to his arms sharply, making my back hitting his chest with a jolt.
“If I succeed, I want a reward,” he said, holding me in place.
“What do you want?” I couldn’t help but ask him, and I caught my breath as I felt his arms wrap around me tightly and we slowly bent our knees. He bent low, his lips brushing on the shell of my ear.
“Your name,” he whispered.
His right hand squeezed my waist again as his left spread and ran his fingers from my stomach slowly, inching dangerously closer and closer to my breasts as we rose.
“I don’t give my name out to random strangers,” I said, trying to stall him. “If you force me to say it, I might just run away.”
He chuckled and turned me back around to face him, pulling me closer to him so that I was pressed up against his chest, waves of heat rolling off him, onto my body, and going down between my thighs. I gasped at the heat of his stare, unable to look away from him.
“You can run all you want. I love to chase anyway,” he whispered hotly, and I shivered.
“I feel like I’ve met you before,” he whispered, his eyes clouding up and his breath caressing the side of my face.
I tilted my head as I stared at him in confusion. To be honest, I felt the same way about him, and I had been wondering where or when I’ve seen him before.
“What makes you say that?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. Just do,” he answered, and I smiled.
“Maybe I’ve just got that kind of face,”
“Or maybe you feel the same and you’re being this way on purpose. It’s okay, though.” he said. The song was reaching its end, and I realized that he was about to win the challenge I gave him. His eyes snapped somewhere behind before looking at me again. “I don’t mind introducing myself first.”
I heard a voice in the background saying it was time to take the masks off, and I felt his hand caress my cheek, forcing me to look up at him.
His hand felt warm against my cheek as we stared at each other, and I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, making me blush. He raised his hand up and wrenched his mask away from his head, and my eyes widened as I looked at the face of Sean West, the man who almost killed me a couple of weeks ago. The man I’ve been seriously crushing on since I saw him play for the first time. The man who’s been making my heart beat so hard and so fast for the last couple of minutes while he held me in his arms.
***
Sean
I didn’t know why I felt nervous as I raised my hand and placed it on her mask, but I was comforted by the fact that it wasn’t just me who felt this way, judging from the way she was slightly shaking as I held her.
I felt a weight press on my toe, and I looked down to see that she had stepped on me a second before the song finally ended. I looked up at her in disbelief, and she smiled in triumph.
“Game over,” she whispered, and then it clicked. Before she could protest, I pushed her mask up and over her head so I could finally see her face, and my eyes widened.
“You’re her,” I whispered. She was the girl I almost ran over that day. Everything finally clicked when she stepped on me, making me remember how she stomped on it in anger the first time we met. “Who are you?” I asked, but she shook her head.
“I won,” she reminded.
“I don’t care,” I replied, the desperation creeping into my voice. “Tell me.”
“May I cut in?” a voice said, and I turned my head toward him, annoyed. My eyebrows rose in surprise as I realized it was Parker, holding his hand out and askin
g her to dance. I didn’t know why he was there, but I didn’t like it.
“No, you may not,” I answered, my hand snaking around her waist and pulling her against me.
“Excuse me, but who I sign on my dance card is none of your business,” she said, pulling away from me and taking Parker’s hand. They started to walk away from me before I grabbed her hand.
“A name. Please. Give me that, and I’ll never bother you again tonight,” I said.
“Don’t–” Parker started.
“Charlie,” she said, and then she was pulled away from me again. I watched her go this time, and I clenched my fists as Parker pulled her close. There was something heavy weighing on my chest suddenly, but I chalked it up to heartburn. It was probably from all the steaks I ate earlier.
“Charlie, huh?” I muttered under my breath. I had to admit, I didn’t peg her as the type to wear such fancy dresses the first time we met. And her name didn’t match how she looked at all, but I didn’t peg her as a liar, either.
She didn’t turn my way again, but that didn’t matter. Now that I had her in my sights, I wasn’t about to forget her anytime soon. The little time we had to talk didn’t tell me she was interested, but she didn’t exactly say she wasn’t interested, either. And even if she wasn’t, I’d find a way to change her mind soon enough.
Chapter Nine
Sean
The flashing lights from all the cameras were making it hard for me to see, so I turned my head away and settled deeper into my seat, distracting myself with thoughts of Charlie.
The team was being interviewed about the coming draft, asking if the Coach had an eye on anyone in particular to join the roster next year. I didn’t understand why we had to be there since most of the questions were directed towards the Coach, but an order was an order.
It was Parker’s turn to answer a question, and I couldn’t stop myself from glaring at him. He’d been too close to Charlie the other night for my liking, and I was surprised by how they never left each other’s side even after their dance ended. I had considered asking whether or not he knew her personally already, but I hadn’t forgotten how much I hated the guy, so I didn’t.