Page 3 of Roxanne

Me: Yes!

I tuck my phone back into my bag and head into the coffee shop. I have about an hour before my next class, and I need fuel.

* * *

I love dancing, closing my eyes and just getting lost in the rhythm. I’ve never been professionally trained or anything that exciting. I just enjoy it. I sneak away to parties or clubs every chance I get, usually with my best friend April. She also loves dancing, but sometimes I think she just enjoys dancing with men.

Sometimes, I blast my music and dance around my apartment as I clean. I take lots of opportunities to dance. And even though tonight isn’t about dancing, I’m almost as excited to get the chance as I am to meet up with Eric.

Tonight, I’m a sexy ballerina, and Eric will be the Phantom of the Opera.

I place my mask over my face and admire the white satin. I look hot. The white one-piece I'm wearing has buttons so I can pee if I need to without having to basically get naked, and the white wrap skirt I wear is slightly see-through, but I wear these all the time.

I’m comfortable with my body and love wearing clothes that I feel cute in.

As I put my red lipstick on, I wonder if tonight will be the night I finally lose my virginity. I’ve kissed a few boys before but never been able to go further than that.

When you have a scary big brother, and he has a best friend prone to extreme violence, everyone steers clear.

No one is innocent in our family. Not even me, but I’m harmless compared to my brother.

I head out of my dorm and make my way to the parking lot on campus. I’m catching a ride share with a few of the other girls who are also heading to the party. Eric said he’d give me a ride home at the end of the night.

It’s nice out in the middle of April in Arizona. At least tonight it is anyway. There’s a breeze, and I look up at the stars, admiring the night sky.

I love it here. I grew up on the East Coast, and it felt like there was always snow, even in summer. Of course, there wasn’t, but still.

I hate snow. It reminds me of a time in my life when I felt helpless. Mom died when I was eleven. To keep me away from his dangerous lifestyle, Papa had me move in with Mama’s brother.

I was with him for four long years. Years that still haunt me.

Now I hate being cold. Any extreme temperature is loathsome. I don’t like less than sixty-nine, or more than seventy-five. Even my showers are barely warmer than body temperature.

“Oh, my gosh, you’re adorable!” one of the girls I’m sharing a car with squeals as I approach the pickup spot.

“Thanks.” I blush, tucking my hair behind my ear.

Thankfully the drive to the party isn’t a long one, and as my nerves kick up a notch, I text Eric that I’m here.

The house is huge with multiple levels and massive windows. It looks like the kind of mansion you see on TV. It’s nice, but it’s too over the top. I wouldn’t want to live here. You’d definitely need to hire people to clean, maybe even multiple people. The kitchen is probably nice. I wouldn’t mind cooking so much if my kitchen was bigger.

Granted, the only reason I’m in my little studio is because that's where I want to live. If Papa had his way, I’d be in a mansion just like this one. But I don’t want that. I don't want to feel like I live in a house so large that three other people could be comfortably living somewhere else in the same space, and I’d never come across them. I feel lonely enough as it is in my studio sometimes, a vast empty palace like this would make me miserable.

I make my way around the side of the house, following the paved path to an open gate, and head into the large backyard. Eric said to meet him by the door to the pool house.

Not many people are out here, so I take a few moments to compose myself as I wait for Eric. Checking my phone I see that Eric hasn’t messaged me back yet. I look up when I hear footsteps nearby and smile.

He hasn’t messaged back, because he’s already here.

“Hi,” I say, smiling at him and waving. I’m more nervous than I’ve ever been. I guessed his intentions when he told me to meet him at the pool house, but now that I’m here…

Eric is tall with black hair and a muscular build. Even though I can’t see his face because of the mask, I know this is Eric. Who else could it be?

He stuffs his hands into his pockets and nods his head to me.

“Hi.” He keeps his voice low, but I don’t mind. It’s sexy. I bite my lower lip and take a step toward him. The elegant black tux he’s wearing looks good on him. His muscles seem larger than I remember, and I thought he was a little shorter, but still. He looks amazing. I just wish I could see his face. “Let's go in,” he says, and at first, I think he means the party, but then he steps toward the pool house door. This is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for. I think.

“Isn’t it locked?” I ask as I step next to him.

---