A Nightstand.

Chapter 3.

He picked his drink to leave, but it mistakenly dropped on the floor and the content slapshed on her thighs.

"I am sorry," he quickly apologized. He took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and asked "are you hurt ma?"

"No, I am not," Isabella checked herself quickly. The broken glasses did not touch her. It was just a drink.

"Thank goodness," he shouted, handing her the handkerchief. "Here, you should clean yourself since I won't be able to do it."

Isabella smiled for the first time. She took it and wiped the little drink on her thighs. It was not bad, so she sat back and thanked him.

"I'm very sorry. I was nervous," he said, moving a bit close so that she could hear him. "Can I sit next to you?"

"Sure," Isabella replied. Why would she refuse him? He seemed like a gentleman. Maybe he might ease her wrestling mind.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Fine, I guess," she replied, avoiding his hot gaze. His green eyes stared at her behind the mask. She wondered what was going on in his head.

"I don't think so," the stranger told her. He turned to the bartender, who took his order again. He asked her if she wanted another drink and she nodded. "You look like you have been crying all day. What happened?"

Isabella was surprised that he asked. The stranger had guts and his boldness surprised her too. "I suggest you take off your mask if you want to know anything about me."

He smiled, biting his lower lips seductively before saying "I wish I could, but I can't. I'm in disguise right now. It is best if I don't show my face to the public".

Isabella's face dropped. So she was going to keep having a conversation with a man she did not know what he looked like.

"But if I'm able to impress you tonight, you will see my face," he added, as if he read her mind.

She laughed at his humor even though she knew what he meant.

"You are not wearing a mask, which means you did not come to my cousin's party."

"Your cousin's?" Isabella asked.

"Yes, it's her first anniversary party, and she wanted it to be a mask party."

"Why a mask party?" Isabella tried to change the topic to anniversaries. It only reminded her of Rodriguez and his cheap games.

"For security reasons. Most of us wouldn't be here if it was not for the masks," he sipped from his glass. "Enough about my cousin. Tell me, what are you celebrating?"

Isabella did not want to tell her life story to a man who she had just met on "my birthday."

"Wow…you definitely look like the birthday girl. It's my grandmother's birthday as well, but she is not here," the stranger told her. They just met and the vibes between them were what she never got to experience with Rodriguez. "We should celebrate it. Come on, let's dance."

"No, thank you. I'm fine," Isabella declined. She was hoping Manuela would show up soon. After a few minutes of silence between them, he broke it off by ordering more drinks.

Isabella wondered if he was not going to pass out after consuming them. They were all alcoholic drinks.

Manulita returned with another stranger wearing a mask. However, the men did not know each other.

Manuela left to dance with her masked guy and, again, Isabella was left alone with the stranger.

She did not want to chat with him anymore, so she took out her phone and saw that there were many notifications and missed calls from her ex-husband.

She ignored his calls and tapped on the notification. Sheila sent her a message.

Isabella wondered how she got her number.

She clicked on it and there it was, a picture of her and Rodriguez at the hospital. There was another picture of her baby bump, reminding Isabella that she could not take in, after four years of marriage.

Quickly, she switched off her phone and put it in the bag. Luckily for her, the stranger was still sitting beside him. "Can we dance?"

He was surprised but he answered "sure."

They got up from their seats and moved towards the crowd. After an hour of dancing, she embraced him all of a sudden and asked "how about we spend the night together so that I can see your face by morning?"

****

The stranger kept glaring at her. Her offer must have baffled him. She thought he was naughty, but his reaction proved he was nothing to compare with hers.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Luciano's hand slid behind her back. He drew the lady closer to him. The heat emanating from her body warned him of the step he wanted to take.

"Yes, or I won't ask again," Isabella smiled. She was not sure if she was making the right decision. The alcohol was draining her slowly, yet she wanted this.

"How do you want this night to be?" Luciano bit his lower lips and ran one hand through his long hair. He would have looked like a cowboy without that mask on, she guessed.

He smelled nice and Isabella bet that the perfume he used was very expensive.

Luciano brought his lips closed to hers. When they met, she did not resist them. Instead, she opened up to him. He was the sweetest thing that had happened to her that week.

He played with her tongue before letting go of it. Luciano stopped the kiss. The mask was stopping them from doing whatever they wanted to do at the moment.

He excused himself and called one of the guards who stood in the corner. After a time, the guard left. He returned sooner than expected and whispered something to the man.

"Let's go upstairs," Luciano said to Isabella, who was dancing to the beautiful rhyme.

Like a student following her teacher, Isabella Rodriguez…no, Isabella Jimenez followed the stranger upstairs.

Due to the tension, she could not tell the exact floor nor what the suite he booked looked like.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," Luciano said, as he closed the door behind him. He was drunk, yet he knew what a beautiful woman looked like and the creature standing in front of him was surely one.

A light blush swept across her face as he turned and gazed at her. "What's your name?"

"No names now. I might scream them to you when…" he stopped, and brought her knuckles to his lips. He kissed them softly "when I'm also making you scream."

Cold shivers ran down her spine when his cold lips touched her skin. Isabella knew at once that the night was going to be long and unforgettable.