EMBER #2
“So we can post pictures online and make him see what he’s missing while he’s acting injured and weak, duh!” she shrieks animatedly.
Maybe it’s the alcohol talking, but I am so down for it.
“Hell yes!” I tell her, running into the bedroom to get dressed.
Once we’re done, I stand in the mirror.
A tragic, yet elegant gothic fairy looks back.
My tulle skirt reaches mid length, showing off my black boots.
My hybrid fairy/bat wings spread wide behind me.
My leather and lace top squishes my boobs up, allowing the perfect amount of cleavage to be on display.
My makeup is a full face. My deep burgundy and black smokey eye smears down my face, appearing as if someone used a wet sponge and wiped it downwards.
A killer dramatic eyeliner wing accentuates my eyeshadow.
In the center of my forehead, an upside down crescent moon.
A small dot under, and another dot just a tad smaller settles between my eyebrows.
To add the perfect finishing touch, I line my lips with my favorite matte black lipstick.
My hair is in two long messy braids, with baby's breath tucked in at the start of them.
Some stray pieces are left out of the braids for dramatic messy effect.
Ensley stands beside me in her sexy killer clown costume. Ensley’s legs are a mile long in her short leather skirt. Standing side by side, we look hot as hell. We snap a few photos together and then Ensley talks me into heading outside to “utilize the natural light outside.”
Since I’m a gothic fairy, I guess she felt the trees and the sunshine streaks were necessary.
She’s the best hype girl, because she makes sure to get all the good angles to make me look good.
She downloads a preset app on my phone, and sends a couple of the photos through it to give them a dark aesthetic look.
I sit on the barstool at the counter, sipping on my drink, choosing my favorite photos.
Once I pick out the sexiest one I can, I post them to my Facebook.
The caption reads, “Take all the time you need, boo.” I smile to myself, snag a chip from the bowl Ensley just placed in front of me, and hit the post button.
I hear a car door close and gravel crunching.
I hop down from the counter, and scroll into Ensley’s playlist for tonight.
Ensley cuts the overhead lights and plugs in all the strings of lights she’d decorated with.
Fake spider webs line the mantle, with twinkling lights woven through them.
Orange and purple decorations light up all around the room.
A tiny disco ball hangs from the ceiling and turns in a slow circle, tiny specs of light flash along the walls.
Ensley runs over to the door, gives me a huge grin, and yanks the door open.
“Come in my beautiful creatures! Grab a drink and some snacks!” she says excitedly as the area slowly fills with guests.
Eventually, she leaves the door and lets guests come and go as they please.
Her and I had gotten a head start on drinking, so we’re in our prime moments of a beautiful buzz together.
We sing and dance together to our favorite throwback songs.
We bump and grind together. Other party goers join in, and we’re having an absolute blast.
After the millionth song comes to an end, I finally decide to add some water to my system.
I already know tomorrow is going to hurt, but I guess a glass of water can’t hurt.
I make my way around people who are still dancing against each other.
I open the kitchen cabinet and stand up on my tip toes to give me an extra few inches to reach the second shelf for a glass.
I’m just about to revert back to my childhood days of becoming a total monkey and climbing on the cabinet, when a gloved hand reaches over me. They set the glass on the counter. I look up and come face to face with a Ghost Face mask taking residence on a muscular built body.
“Thanks,” I say, prying my eyes off of the masked human’s body. I flip on the faucet and fill the cup.
I try to inconspicuously drag my eyes up and down to get a once over of the whole package.
Whoever is under the mask is covered head to toe in black.
The only thing standing out is the white mask itself.
I realize in that moment, that while I thought they were looking out towards the party pit, they’re facing me, and they would have seen me no matter how discreet I was trying to be.
I begin to walk away, feeling embarrassed that I was caught. Not only that, but also guilty that I was enjoying the leather jacket and chains that accessorize the mask, and only just now being away from Harley. It’s insane actually, that at that very moment, his cologne fills my senses.
“EMBER!” Ensley yells from across the room. “REFILLS!”
I quickly make my way over to her, both of our cups filled. Once I reach her, I see she’s got her phone out and her instagram camera pulled up. I pass her cup to her and we engage in a thousand poses and take a million pictures together.
When we finish this round of drinks, Ensley honors the girl code and goes to refill our cups again.
I close my eyes and sway to the music, my hips making sensual slow dips from side to side. As the song starts to slow towards the end, I open my eyes and see the Ghost Face mask through the crowd of people. They look like they’re looking right at me, but there’s no way to tell.
Ensley floats back over to me. “Girl, do you see him watching you?” She throws her hands above her head and looks down on me and then back over her shoulder at the person in the mask.
“Let’s try and take a picture. That is so fucking hot. I’ll keep it for later.” She winks at me and then turns, shoving her ass into my front. “Smile like we’re gonna take a selfie, and I’ll take a picture of him instead.”
I smile and pose and watch the moment Ensley presses the button, and to our absolute horror, the flash goes off, giving our secret photo away.
“Oh shit,” Ensley says at the same time I let out, “Oh fuck.” And we both drop low to the floor in a fit of laughter. We stay hunched over, cackling as we make our way out of the line of sight of Ghost Mask.
Once we hit the sidelines, Ensley gets pulled back on the dance floor by another one of her friends. My smile starts to fade as my mind wanders to Harley again. I wish he was here, but I don’t want to push him if he needs space.
I try not to think about it. The feeling of guilt keeps coming back in waves.
Maybe I’m just drunk, but I miss him. Against my better judgement, I pull my phone out of my pocket and open my contacts, searching for his name.
I bump into someone as I make my way towards the hall, eyes glued to my phone.
I enter the bathroom and press call. The phone rings twice, then goes to voicemail.
Fucking ugh.
A second later, my phone vibrates.
HARLEY
Did you need something?
You
I wait for a response, but nothing comes. I plop down on the toilet and let out a deep sigh. I feel myself starting to lose my extroverted personality from drinking, and I think about sneaking off early, turning in for the night.
After deciding to try and enjoy myself for just a little longer, I pull open the bathroom door. When I step into the hallway, I’m met with the Ghost Face mask yet again. They lean against the wall across from the bathroom, arms crossed to their front.
My antennas shoot up again, and I realize I may have shown interest in the kitchen and I want to squash that. “Hey, I appreciate you helping with the cup, but I’m actually taken,” I say bluntly. I don’t want to leave any room for miscommunication.
Ghost Mask steps towards me and I take a step back, keeping the same distance.
”Dude, not interested,” I say in a stern tone.
Ghost Mask cocks his head to the side before quickly advancing after me, pushing me into the bathroom.
I begin to panic and attempt to shove them back, but when my arms make contact, he quickly grabs my wrists and spins me around, pulling my back to his front. My wings make it a difficult fit and I’m thankful for that.
”Help!” I start to scream.
Ghost Mask lowers his head to my ear and whispers, “I took some time, boo.”
Harley.
Hearing him spout my own words back to me in his husky voice, sends a shiver down my spine.
I step out of his embrace and spin around, facing him.
“What the fuck? How are you here?” I ask him, confusion swirling in my mind.
“Do you want me to be honest?” he asks me, backing up to lean against the door.
“I wouldn’t ask a question if I didn’t want an answer.” I fold my arms across my chest.
“I put a tracker in your weekend bag,” he says, mirroring my arm movements.
My eyes go wide. “Are you fucking kidding?”
“Do I look like I’m kidding, Ember?” he deadpans.
I throw my hands up and spin around. I’m having a hard time concentrating on being pissed when he’s still wearing the Ghost mask.
“Dean wasn’t caught today, and I'll be damned if you are going to head out to the middle of nowhere, drunk, and mad at me,” he tells me, his arms falling to his sides as he pushes off the door.
He has a point when it comes to Dean not being caught. But the rest is a real reach.
”Look at me, Ember.” I feel Harley’s presence behind me. “You didn’t have a problem looking at me a while ago.” I hear the smug smile in his voice.
Fuck.
He totally caught me eye fucking him at the party. And what’s worse, I didn’t know it was him.
I turn around and meet his eyes, his mask gone.
“I’m still pissed at you,” I tell him, advancing on him. “You invaded my privacy.” I poke my finger into him. “And on top of that, you had the audacity to be short with me!”
“You were mad! I didn’t know what you wanted from me in that moment.” He opens his palms at his sides. “You could have been done with me right then and there.”
“What happened to ‘never letting me go again’?” I push him back against the door with one hand. “I guess just take the time you need.”