7

Candles in all shapes and sizes. Dangling in the entire venue were twinkling lights and in swoops from the ceiling. Drapes of silk-covered up household items and the tables were sprinkled in sequins and glitter. Glasses were filled with feathers and beads and the color scheme of this ball was gold and red.

Everything screamed mystery and secrecy. 

The people around me were all dressed in beautiful designer gowns or suits and exquisite masks. I didn't expect anything less since this was the billionaire boys club. 

Only the elites who were a member of this club were allowed to exclusive parties like these. 

And everyone wanted to outshine the other. 

"There you are!" A high-pitched voice said behind me, making my heart jump a little. I turned around to see my brother next to a beautiful blonde-haired beauty whose face was covered in a black and gold glitter mask. 

"Yasmin!" I greeted the blonde in front of me. She placed two kisses on both my cheeks and clasped her hands together as she gave me a once over.

"You look smoking hot!" she squealed, looking at my brother to support her statement, but he just shook his head. "Have you met Zane already?" she asked when my brother didn't bother to compliment me. Little did she know that Milan and dad argued about this dress earlier. 

"No, not yet," I answered, my eyes scanning the room. "Is he...is he here already?"

"Yes!" Yasmin exclaimed excitedly. "We've already met him, right babe?"

Milan nodded his head. "Yeah, we met him in the elevator."

"Oh... well uhm enjoy your night. I will search for Angelica." I told the pair in front of me as I hurriedly tried to escape from them. Being with them will increase the chances of meeting Zane, while I'm trying to avoid him like the plague.

Instead of searching for Angelica -who I'm a hundredth percent sure is doing a quickie with Alex in the bathroom - I made my way towards the bar to get myself a drink. I jumped on the barstool and the handsome bartender immediately made his way towards me.

"What can I get you, pretty lady?" He asked as he poured vodka in a glass for the person sitting three stools away from me.

"A margarita, please," I said, smiling.

"And a martini for me." 

My eyes immediately darted to the person next to me and I couldn't help but stare at him agape. Dressed in an expensive Givenchy suit and a plain black mask, the stranger next to me eyed me up and down without any shame.

He stretched his hand out to me, a smirk playing on his lips, as he introduced himself. "Ivan Preston, and you are?"

I almost fell from the stool when he said his name. If it wasn't for Ivan catching me on time I would kiss the floor right now. 

"Hey, easy there." He chuckled as he let go of my waist. "I know I'm hot, but I didn't know that you would fall for me so soon."

I scoffed and adjusted my mask before turning my attention back to him. "You don't recognize me?" 

"I don't recognize anyone here, darling. It's called a masquerade ball for a reason." 

The handsome bartender came back to us and handed us our drinks. "A margarita for the lady and a martini for the gentleman." 

"Thank you," I murmured, immediately taking a sip of the margarita.

"So, care to introduce yourself?" Ivan asked flirtatiously.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Amari Vasilios, you dumbass."

This time it was Ivan's turn to be taken aback. He sat there, staring at me, completely and utterly shocked when he heard my name. His eyes widened and the look on his face was priceless. "Amari, is this you?"

"The one and only."

"Jesus, you look...different. Hot, sexy, breathtaking." his eyes wandered from my body to my face. "He's going to be in so much trouble."

"What?"

"Nothing," Ivan said and gave me one of his dazzling smiles. "How have you been? Haven't seen you in a long time."

"Yeah, I'm busy with the company. You know." I told him. "What about you? Still hooking up with strippers?"

Ivan laughed and shook his head. "Nope, only hooking up with the famous and rich. Seeing you from across the room I thought that I would get lucky tonight." He chuckled and continued. "But I was wrong. Because first of all we are friends and second of all you're so off-limits."

"Off-limits? What do you mean?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"You know." Ivan took a sip of his martini. "Bro code and stuff."

"Heeeyyyy!! Prestoooonn!!" Alex screamed as he walked towards us with Angelica by his side. Judging by his disheveled hair and Angelica's lipstick smudged all over her face and mask I knew that they had done it in the bathroom. Gross.

Angelica came next to me and pinched me in my upper arm. "What do you think about the party so far?" She asked.

"It's fun," I told her. I grabbed a tissue from the table and handed it to her. "Wipe that lipstick off your face. No one needs to know that you sucked his dick in the bathroom."

Angelica's face turned a dark shade of red and she immediately grabbed the tissue from me. "Is it that obvious?" She whispered horrified.

"Yes, next time just use the mirror in the bathroom to fix yourself up, yeah?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but Alex interrupted her. 

"Hi, I'm Alex. Angelica's boyfriend. Who are you?" Alex stared at me, waiting for my answer. 

I looked at Angelica who just shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Babe, this is Amari." 

"Amari!" Alex exclaimed, his eyes turning wide as saucers. "Damn, Californian dick must be good huh?"

I choked on my own saliva. "What?!" I sputtered out. 

"Alex!" Angelica gave her boyfriend a stern look. "Must everything that comes out of your mouth be sexual?"

He winked at her. "You know it, baby. Seeing pussies all day, every day makes me kind of--,"

"What?!"I interrupted him as I stared at Angelica wide-eyed. "He's cheating on you?"

"No, I forgot to tell you. But Alex changed his career path. He's studying to be a gynecologist."

"A gynecologist?" I stared at Alex who grinned and nodded his head at me. "So when did you decided to... watch vaginas all day?" I questioned, making Ivan choke on his drink.

"Well..." Alex shrugged his shoulders. "I found it really interesting. And for your information, I don't watch vaginas all day."

"Okay, let's talk about something else okay?" Ivan said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "So, Amari. You're going to be at Milan's wedding right?"

"Yup, the only reason I'm here," I told him as my attention shifted to someone in the middle of the dancefloor.

Wearing a red suit jacket and a black mask that covered almost his entire face except for half of his nose and lips, he sure caught everyone's attention in the room. He was tall, his red tie matching with his red suit, as he made his way through the dancing crowd. 

"Who's that?" I asked Angelica, pointing at the hot male in the middle of the room. 

"Huh? Who?" Angelica asked confused as she stared at nothing but dancing people.

Just like how fast he entered the dancefloor, he disappeared again into the crowd. 

"He's gone." I put my glass down on the table and jumped off the barstool. "I will get some fresh air. I'll see you guys later."

I made my way through the busy dancefloor to the rear balcony outside. It was a chilly night, but being away from the crowd felt refreshing. The balcony had a beautiful view of the backyard. 

The last time I came here the backyard was just mud and grass, but now instead of mud, there were street tiles, beautiful flowers, a water fountain, and a bench in the middle. 

It was breathtaking. 

"You're here for the moon too?" 

I turned around to see who the mellifluous voice belongs to. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw that it was the same handsome man I saw earlier on the dancefloor. It killed me to not see his entire face. The stupid mask hid everything pretty well. 

But then again, mine does too.

"Moon?" I asked confused as I watch him come closer.

"Yeah, there will be a lunar eclipse tonight." He walked past me and leaned on the balcony, staring at the sky. "Why are you out here dressed in...that." he glanced at my outfit. "It's chilly out tonight."

"Just wanted some fresh air," I told him, watching him getting lost in his thoughts as he stared at the sky. His cologne was so strong, I almost wanted to bury my face in his suit jacket.

"Me too." He turned his attention towards me and gave me a lopsided smile. "Lunar eclipse." He mumbled soft but loud enough for me to hear. "What I have heard about it is that it is a time when we are forced to change inwardly. For example, If you've been longing for a relationship to improve by waiting for the other person to change, the lunar eclipse will present you with the facts; that you either need to accept the other person, or change yourself."

"Wow." I breathed out, staring at him. "That's... kind of deep."

The stranger chuckled. "Yeah, I know. For someone with no history of serious relationships, I do give pretty good advice."

"What? Really? No serious relationship? I thought someone like you wouldn't have trouble finding a girlfriend."

"Yeah?" He laughed and turned his head towards me. His laughter immediately died. "Your eyes."

"My eyes?" I questioned as he stared so deep into my eyes that I felt like he could see my soul.

"They remind me of someone." He breathed out and ruffled his hair. "Every time I see someone with beautiful blue eyes like yours I get this memory of this person I loved...still do."

"She must have meant a lot to you." 

"Yeah. But I was stupid you know." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Anyways." He opened his eyes again and laughed. "Why am I boring you with my life story?"

"No, it's okay. I--I think I will go back inside. It's getting colder." I told him and he nodded his head at me. 

"See you around, beautiful."