Page 17 of The Noisemaker

“I’m sorry,” I apologized as I got halfway down the staircase. “I couldn’t get my hair to do what I wanted it to do so I had to try something new and…” My sentence trailed off as I took the last step and found Desmond there staring at me. “What?” My voice was soft.

He stared at me with a look of awe and adoration. My stomach fluttered as he took me in. “Wow.”

My makeup was shimmery but light. The gold flecks in my eyeshadow made my brown eyes shine. The deep crimson lipstick was matte and smear proof. My hair was braided on the sides and corkscrew curls graced the middle. It took an hour and a half to achieve the look, but it was worth it. My gold hoops, gold bangle bracelet, and gold hair clips were the only jewelry that adorned me. My makeup and hair made me feel regal and beautiful. But the dress made me feel sexy.

The gold sequin gown fit me like a glove. The color complemented my brown skin and, in some places, looked painted on. The material highlighted my full hips and rounded ass, but also showed off my back. The neckline wasn’t too low, so I went braless. The material rubbed against my nipples, causing them to stay hard. The length covered my shoes when standing, but each time I took a step the sexy, metallic gold pumps with the five-inch stem heel showed. The leather strap around the heel looped around twice and had chain detailing. Holding the skirt of my dress up, the shoes stole the show.

Grinning, I slipped on the crystal black and gold Venetian mask with black feathers that stuck out from the top left side of the mask. It was elegant and complemented my hairstyle and my dress. I turned in a circle so he could see my entire look in full. “You like what you see?”

“You already know I do.”

I touched the side of my hair, the opposite side of the feathers, waiting for him to make his usual sexually charged comment. “Good.”

“Aria.”

He said my name so soft that I almost didn’t hear it.

My eyes flicked up to his.

He wasn’t quite smiling and there was a slight tremor in his voice. “You look beautiful.”

I searched his eyes, and I couldn’t read his expression. “What’s wrong?” I wondered.

“Not a thing.” He looked me up and down as he approached. “Not one thing.”

“You look incredible, baby,” I gushed, eyeing him in his black tuxedo. I ran my hand over his lapels before I pushed up on my toes and planted a kiss against his lips. “I’m sorry I took so long.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. “It was worth the wait.”

I tilted my head and gazed into his eyes. “Well, I’m sorry I made you wait.”

“I’ve waited my whole life for you.” He brought his forehead to mine. “What’s forty-seven more minutes?”

Heat spread through my entire body. “Des…”

I swooned.

Letting me out of his embrace, he took a step back and intertwined our fingers. “You ready to go?”

“Yes.”

He hit a button on his phone. “I got us a ride, so we don’t have to worry about driving. It’ll be here in five minutes.”

“Oh nice! That means we can enjoy the open bar.”

“My thoughts exactly.” He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed it. “Even though I hate to cover you up, where’s your coat?”

We grabbed my heavy black peacoat and he helped me slip in it. When I was bundled up, he ran his hands down my arms. “Okay, let’s head out.”

“Oh! I just got to get one more thing.” I went to the kitchen and grabbed the little bag of twenty-four seedless grapes and placed them in my black clutch. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Desmond had on the masculine version of my mask when I returned. There were no feathers or extra adornments, the gold crystal mask covered the entire top half of his head. But lucky for me, his sexy mouth was still fully visible.

His lips spread into a smirk. “You know they have food there, right?”

I giggled. “But they might not have grapes and we need them for one of the things on the list.”

“Okay what do we have to do? Juggle the grapes or some shit?” he asked as we left out of our apartment.

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