Chapter 3 #2
“My ride had to leave,” I explained. I didn’t want to say good-bye like this, but like Cinderella, I had to catch my coach home before it was too late. “If I don’t go now, I’m going to miss the bus. I’m super sorry. It was nice meeting you, Aaron.”
His face hid it well, but I caught a flash of disappointment in his eyes. “Wait,” he said, standing quickly. “I was planning on leaving early anyway. How about I give you a lift?” I blinked, and he must have realized how forward his offer sounded because he added, “Only if you want one, of course.”
I should have said no. Aaron was a stranger, and for all I knew, he was some dangerous gang leader or mass murderer.
But at the same time, I wasn’t ready to let go of tonight.
Sure, there was the whole soda-on-my-dress incident, but besides that, my time at the ball actually did turn out like I wanted. Better even.
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, trying to decide what to say.
Aaron was holding his breath, and when a couple of seconds passed without me giving an answer, he deflated.
His gaze cut away from mine, and he shoved his hands in his pockets.
All it took was seeing that look on his face, and I made up mind.
“All right,” I said. “But just to warn you, it’s almost a forty-minute drive to my house.”
Aaron’s smile was filled with relief. “That’s okay. I have plenty of music for us to listen to.”
***
Five minutes later, after taking a wrong turn by the gazebo and losing our way, we emerged from the garden.
I immediately came to a halt. Not far from where I’d left my shoes, there was a couple sitting on the edge of the fountain.
They were wrapped in each other’s arms and much too busy making out to notice us.
Aaron followed my gaze, and we exchanged grins before tiptoeing around them, grabbing our things, and scurrying up the stone steps.
“Good thing we got out of there when we did,” I said, slipping into my heels again.
As much as I wanted to cross the ballroom barefoot, shoes dangling from my fingertips, I knew Sandra would be mad if she caught me disregarding the dress code.
“Any later, and we would’ve caught them in significantly less clothing. ”
This made Aaron chuckle as he pulled his tuxedo jacket back on, and after adjusting the sleeves, he gestured toward the door that was still cracked to the festivities inside.
We fell in step beside each other as we crossed the terrace, and when we reached the back entrance, Aaron moved aside like a gentleman and let me go first.
As I reentered the ballroom, the sudden temperature difference was shocking—from dry and scorching to cool and crisp.
I felt like I’d stepped into the walk-in freezer at the diner.
I surveyed the room as Aaron stepped in next to me.
The shortest route to the lobby was by using the grand staircase, and even though we’d have to navigate the dance floor, I turned in its direction.
“Felicity,” Aaron said. He must have had a different route in mind, because when I looked back at him, he shook his head and pointed away from the staircase.
I let him take the lead, and we hugged the perimeter of the room, flittering around the edges of the party.
Finally, we hit a side entrance, one we could have reached much quicker if we cut through the thick of the crowd, but Aaron seemed intent on avoiding as many people as possible. The door led out into a narrow hall.
“Shouldn’t you tell your dad you’re leaving?” I asked as we made our way down the long corridor.
“No. He already showed me off tonight.” As he said this, something shifted in his eyes. “He won’t notice I’m gone.” I wanted to ask him what he meant, but Aaron’s voice was tight, and I could tell it was a subject he’d rather not discuss.
I stayed silent until we reached the lobby. Someone was locking up the coat check room. “Can you give me a second?” I asked Aaron. “I need to grab my stuff.” I dashed across the shiny marble floor. “Hey, wait!”
A custodian glanced at me over his shoulder before returning his attention to the door. There was a ring of gold and silver keys in his hands, and he appeared to be looking for the right one. “Can I help you, miss?” he asked, his tone bored.
“My bag is in there. Mind if I grab it?”
He stopped searching and turned to face me. “I was told I could lock up because none of the guests checked coats this evening.”
“I’m a volunteer,” I explained. I pulled my CCA employee lanyard out of my clutch to show him. “See? I left my belongings inside when my shift was over.”
The man examined the plastic badge like he was a bouncer checking IDs at a nightclub. “All right, go on in. You’re lucky you had such good timing.”
“Thank you!” I slipped into the dark room and found my way over to the counter where I’d stashed my bag.
After a few seconds of searching blindly, my fingers brushed against the familiar worn material.
In junior high, there was a bejeweled designer messenger bag that was all the rage.
Every girl in my grade had one instead of a backpack, but Mom couldn’t afford it.
Instead, she bought me a simple canvas one, and I dressed it up by beading a sun on the front flap in yellow, orange, and red beads.
The girls at school asked me where I got it, and I just smiled and told them it was custom made.
I stuffed my clutch inside before lifting the strap over my head.
Then I hesitated, wondering if I should take off my mask and put it away too.
I didn’t need it anymore, but reappearing without it felt weird somehow.
Aaron and I had yet to see each other without masks on.
I wasn’t nervous for him to finally see me, but I felt like once my butterfly was taken off, the night would truly be over, and that made me a little sad.
“Miss, did you find your bag?” the custodian called.
“Yeah, I’m coming.”
Before I could overthink it, I pulled off my mask and tucked it on top of my bag where it wouldn’t get crushed.
Then I hurried out of the room and thanked the man before surveying the lobby for Aaron.
He was standing beside the valet counter, headphones in as he waited for me.
His head bobbed to the beat of whatever song was playing, and when he saw me coming toward him, he stiffened.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when I reached him.
“Nothing,” he said, yanking out the earbuds. He stood straighter and nodded at me, but his response was too quick and I didn’t believe him.
“No, really. What’s up?” Reaching up, I self-consciously brushed a strand of my hair away from my eyes.
“It’s just that, well…you took off your mask.”
Oh man, that’s a bad thing?
My cheeks caught fire. Okay, so maybe my bottom teeth could be a little straighter, and I hated the number of freckles I had, but it wasn’t like my face was repulsive or anything. At least, I’d never thought so.
Aaron instantly backtracked, waving his hands in defense. “Crap, I didn’t mean it like that. You have a very lovely face…er…I mean, you’re really pretty.”
“Um, thanks?”
“I’m sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That came out all wrong. What I meant was… Now that you took off yours, I feel obligated to as well.”
“And you don’t want to?”
“No, it’s not that, but…” He trailed off, shaking his head, and took a big breath. “There’s something I haven’t told you.” He paused. “About myself.”
“Okay?” I said, my voice rising slightly.
Did he not want to give me a ride home anymore?
If so, I was totally screwed. I’d probably missed the bus, and there was no way Asha was home from picking up Riya yet, which meant I’d have to call my mom and interrupt her date.
She would not be happy. “Are you some crazy serial killer?” I joked, voicing my earlier concern. “Aaron the ax murderer?”
“No,” he said, “but my name isn’t Aaron.”
My entire body tensed. “What?”
Why would he lie about his name?
“I’m sorry,” he said, slowly untying the ribbon that held his mask in place.
“It’s just…I didn’t want you to think of me any differently.
” He pulled the wolf away, and somehow I kept my mouth from falling open.
I knew his face, but my mind couldn’t accept that he was the person looking down at me. “My real name is Alec.”
Holy. Freaking. Shit.
“Alec,” I repeated. I tried to swallow my shock. “As in Alec Williams.” Son of Sebastian Williams, CEO of Mongo Records—one of the largest labels in the music industry—and bass player for the Heartbreakers.
He stood there blushing, hands clasped behind his back.
I couldn’t wrap my mind around this impossibility, and I thought if I said the truth out loud, then maybe I would actually believe it.
Because I hadn’t spent my time at the ball with some random cute guy.
No, Alec Williams and his bandmates were some of the most famous guys in the whole flipping universe.
Even more famous than Gabe Grant and Violet James.
It wasn’t like I was crazy obsessed with the Heartbreakers like Asha was.
Sure, I liked their music. Heck, I’d even bought one of their albums, but I’d never been to a Heartbreakers concert, and I didn’t stalk their lives like a crazy fangirl.
But the revelation that I’d unknowingly spent the past hour with an actual celebrity was overwhelming.
Suddenly, all those embarrassing moments rushed back to me, and I blushed so deeply that my face probably turned the color of my hair.
Alec watched me with a guarded expression as I tried not to freak out. And then I remembered what he’d said only moments ago: he lied because he didn’t want me to think of him any differently.
Right now, I was doing just that.
He’s just a regular guy, I tried to convince myself. Pretend he’s still Aaron.