BALL GIRL

The party was scheduled for six p.m. that evening. It was to hold at Cubana's Luxury and all the classy, rich, fun lovers would be there, including tourists who visited the city on weekends just for the sole purpose of enjoying the inexhaustible recreational activities it has to offer.

Annie was a thirty three years old independent, city, young woman. She was tall as a few shorter people would describe her. In fact, she was about 5.4ft tall and weighed about fifty seven pounds. Slim, fair, chocolate skinned, and a figure to die for.

Annie visited her hair stylist, and got a make over. She preferred for this weekend that her lush black hair be packed all the way to the top and wrapped in a huge circle on the top of her skull. She had her lashes fixed, her hands manicured with nails as thick and long as every twenty first century young lady liked it.

She was mostly a loner, living alone in a one room self contained apartment on the twenty third floor of a victorian building. The weekends were usually her escape from a long, tedious week of working. A time she struck an attempt to mingle. 

She was thirty three, she was long over due for a serious relationship and her life of a loner was becoming a burden.

It was with the high hopes of finding a handsome, responsible, promising young male that she stepped out of her building, and hailed a taxi.

"Cubana's Luxury," she hurriedly said, as she took a seat behind the driver.

"Looking good, ma'am," the young driver said, admiring her through the rearview mirror.

"Thank you," Annie responded, hurriedly smoothing over her makeup. She was running late as usual and these high profile parties were said to have a time for closing their doors.

"And smell nice too," the driver added. 

"Could you please keep your eyes on the road?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Annie relaxed a little. She was constrained in her mind, there was the feeling of bad, bad, child lurking somewhere within. A feeling that always troubled her whenever she was doing something an adult would freely do: like have a boyfriend, or visit him at home, not to talk of letting him touch her. Or going to the club or parties, or functions holding at night. 

She'd been raised with the sin mentality, her father had been the kind to hold a morning and night devotion every night and morning as she grew up. In her thirty three years of life, she'd never seen it defaulted. The fact that she wasn't attending the mini morning and evening church in the family's home right now was because she was now living on her own. During these moments, her father took his time to read and explain the Bible, he gave more emphasis to the the ten commandments: thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit fornication. 

Her father's voice was usually loud in these moments, shouting-in all the Dos and Don't a young woman must live by. It was a sin to go to the club, a sin to have a boyfriend, a sin to have sex, in fact, no relationship that involved the two having sex would lead to marriage. "Any man who sleeps with you will never marry you," he would shout at the top of his voice. 

The man was a pure fanatic. 

Even now, at a ripe age of adulthood, Annie could never get her father's voice out of her head. She couldn't freely live like every other young adult did, as a matter of fact, her life of a loner was due to the way she was raised. 

She'd visited one of her high school classmates one evening, accompanied by her elder brother. When they returned, her father dragged her to the seating room and flogged her using a three mouthed whip, made from the skin of a cow's tail. He also punished her brother, but her punishment was worse. 

"So he told you to bring your sister to his place, so you two will exchange sisters?" he shouted. Annie heard from her room, her whipping had ended and he was punishing her brother. 

Annie was never allowed on any circumstance to leave the house without a good reason, and was to return at an appropriate time if she ever did. She got used to living out her days in the comfort of her own room. 

Her father painted the picture of a righteous man, he was one of the leaders of the church. He was always on the altar in every church Annie's family attended. He was regarded as a pastor, and Annie was called a pastor's daughter by her mates in school, she always took her time to explain that her father wasn't. 

To the public, he was a picture of the man who kept the ten commandments as a perfect child of God would. Annie always knew something was off, she just didn't know what. 

* * *

Gray, as his friends called him, was the handsome last son of a billionaire shoe maker. He was studying medicine at MIT and had succumbed to incessant pestering from his friends to attend the huge ball that evening. He was tall, dark and a little bit on the huge part. He had eyes that sparkled in the darkness. He was attending the ball accompanied by three of his friends, Teddy who was with his girlfriend, Joey and Michael. They were a group of lookalikes, as if they'd chosen themselves based on physical appearance. Even their eyes sparkled alike. 

Gray was standing with the founder of a trending dating site, who was also a student of MIT, whom he'd never had the chance to meet in person. He was sipping from a glass of champaign and chatting away, when he spotted a pretty young woman coming up the wide stairs leading into the ball room. She was dressed in a green, skin-tight, mermaid gown, that was slit all the way to her waist, exposing her long right foot. Her hair was wrapped round on the top of her skull, making it look like she was carrying a tippy fat upside down bucket. She clutched a matching small purse, was on three inch heels and glided towards the right wing of the hall, away from him.

He'd been transfixed watching her and was jacked back to the moment when he noticed she was walking away in stead of towards him. 

"... She smelled rusty. Actually I don't know why some ladies are daft in their choices of body spray or perfumes. Personally, I would tell you..." Chimdy, popularly known as Chimmy - after the name of his dating app - was saying. 

"Excuse me for a minute," Gray interrupted as he absent mindedly handed him his now empty glass, which Chimmy received with his free hand as he was also clutching a glass of champagne, and watched in awe as his one audience hurried away. 

* * *

Annie was gently approaching a waiter carrying a loaded tray of glasses of champagne, she was a little cranky not yet able to shake off the bad, bad child feeling that had accompanied her to the ball, she understood she needed a few drinks if she was going to enjoy being here. She grabbed a glass and was about to take a sip, when she felt a gentle touch on the side of her abdomen. 

"Hello, pretty," a nice male voice said behind her. 

Annie was very ticklish, the touch had both shocked and triggered her. The wide spread glass was at the tip of her lips and she turned around quickly. A little too quickly while trying to catch her breath. She spontaneously blew out air, the champagne went crazy and sprayed all over Gray's face and clothes. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Annie spurted, she turned around and replaced the glass on the tray, opened her purse and found a handkerchief, she began trying to help Gray dry himself up. 

"Don't worry... I got this, I got it..." Gray spurted. 

"I'm sorry, you startled me,"

"Yeah, I noticed. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to,"

"It's okay," Annie said, still helping him clean his expensive looking suit. 

Gray finally got himself together and gently took Annie's hand off from where she was sporadically dabbing at his shirt and held it. 

"Shall we talk a little?" he questioned, looking directly into her startled eyes with a charming smile. 

"Yeah, of course," she spurted. 

"It's too rowdy in here, come," he said, gently pulling her along as he made his way towards one of the large balconies. 

* * *

By twelve thirty a.m. Gray and his entourage were ready to leave the ball. Joey was so drunk he was staggering, Michael was doing his best to hold him up, he was singing jibberish at the top of his crackling lungs. Teddy was holding up his girlfriend by the waist and Gray was clutching the reluctant Annie.

"I have my own place," she was saying.

"I understand. I just want you to spend a few of your time at mine,"

"I'm not the type to follow a strange man home after..."

"Am I still a strange man, Annie?"

"Not really, but..."

"Don't worry, you'll enjoy every bit of your stay."

"But..."

The Limousine had arrived and Teddy was helping his girlfriend in. Gray gently shoved Annie after them. Joey and Michael got in and they rolled out of the parking lot.

A few minutes later, they arrived at a one story duplex condominium. As far as Annie was concerned, it was located in the middle of nowhere. 

The ride towards the building had taken about thirty eventful minutes. Teddy and his girlfriend had gotten into an argument about a certain vacation plan and Joey and Michael had shocked her by shamelessly making out passionately. She had no idea they were a couple, the gentle explanation by Gray did nothing to help her amazement. It was the first time she would witness a thing like that. She couldn't also get her mind off the fact that all the men's eyes sparkled in the darkness. 

"Contact lenses," Gray explained. 

"Oh." 

* * *

When they arrived at the condominium, the different couples took a different turn.

Gray escorted Annie towards his own apartments. 

The room she stepped into was the prettiest she had seen in a while, not that she was visiting a lot of homes, anyways. 

There was a large, colorful aquarium at one corner taking the whole space of one wall from top to bottom, with different sizes of fishes swimming around. There was a large, transparent center table, the largest television she'd ever seen covered one wall. She'd noticed because Gray had turned it on while she'd been admiring the aquarium which made her swivel to its direction. Really expensive medieval couches were strategically placed around the room, and there was a very elaborate mini bar at one corner.

That was where Gray stood. 

He was pouring the contents of a bottle into two glasses. He lifted them and began walking towards the really amazed Annie. A gentle music filled the room, she couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"Champaign, me lady?" Gray said.

"Oh, this is too... Too much..." Annie spurted. 

"What is too much?"

"How are you able to afford all this?" 

Gray gave a throaty laugh. "Don't let us be talking about money right now, me lady." 

"Okay, but just know you're going to tell me all about it,"

"Very well, me lady, very well," Annie accepted the glass and the evening resumed.

The duo danced at some point, ate something very nice that Gray got from the vast kitchen and eventually retired to bed with Annie sleeping on the bed and Gray on pillows on the floor as Annie had insisted. 

* * *

About two hours later, Annie was awakened. Actually, she wasn't sure if she was awake, dreaming or still sleeping. 

There were muted voices coming from somewhere. She could see a gapping door towards the area she'd thought was leading to the walk-in closet and subsequently to the bathroom. She thought she got up and glided gently toward the gapping door. 

She looked outside and saw Michael tightly grasping Gray. He was holding him in a tight bear hug around his abdomen. It seemed as though Gray was struggling to break free. 

At first, Annie thought it was the same thing she'd seen Michael and Joey doing in the back of the Limousine. 

She saw Gray steal a sparkling glance at her but yet it was as if he wasn't seeing her. He looked so much like someone in excruciating pain. He was naked except for the short he'd changed into before bed. His diamond earrings sparked on his right earlobe. 

Joey who was now not so drunk, was very composedly standing beside them, with his hands in his pockets. 

"Should I get the acumen?" he gently questioned. 

Gray stole another glance towards the gapping door, "Yes," he groaned. 

Annie watched as Joey disappeared briefly and returned toying with a small container. She saw him bite his wrist and place it over the open container, she saw something dripping into the container, she saw him pour the contents into Gray's open mouth. 

Gray suddenly fell off Michael's grasp and landed on the floor. He was wreathing in pain. 

"Why, why now?" Michael shouted at him. "Why lose your immortality over this strange woman?" 

"You should be asking why her," Joey attuned. 

"I thought he'd brought her here because he was hungry," 

"So did I." 

"She's an Alpha's daughter," Gray groaned. 

"What?" both Joey and Michael said in unison, turning towards the  gapping door. Annie retraced her steps and found herself back on the bed. 

* * *