Page 6 of When Midnight Strikes
5
Danny
Imanage to go two hours without thinking about my hot-as-sin neighbor; then I run into him at the grocery store. I can already tell I’m not going to be able to dodge him the way I usually do, especially after he saw me turn his way. His eyes land right on me before a smile spreads across his face. Once he catches sight of me, he begins to head my way, so instead of taking off like I normally would, I meet him halfway with my own cart and am able to find my words this time. We have an actual full-blown conversation, and it seems like it would have lasted longer if we weren’t standing in the middle of the grocery store. I slide my sunglasses over my head since he already knows what I look like anyway, and my scars didn’t seem to faze him before.
Most people ask me about them right away or keep staring at my face as if they were trying to figure out exactly what they were looking at, but not him. No, his eyes go to mine first thing and never quite leave them. I go home afterward, waiting for seven p.m. to roll around and for Vivian to arrive at my apartment. A knock comes to my door at six p.m., and standing outside my door is my neighbor Melanie dressed in a bright red cocktail dress and strappy black heels with her hair styled in an updo. She looks perfect as usual. Her gaze moves from me to inside my apartment. “Where are your party clothes? Why aren’t you dressed? You’re still coming, aren’t you?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, Melanie, I’m still coming. It’s only six, and the party doesn’t start until nine, and no one is ever there right when it starts.”
She pushes her way into my apartment, and I don’t put up much of a fight because there really isn’t a point. She takes a seat on my couch, her body flopping down hard against the cushions. “So, show it to me.”
At first, I have no idea what she’s talking about until my eyes fall to the bag sitting on the kitchen counter with my mask inside. I pull the mask out and hold it up so she can see it. She gasps and quickly gets up from the couch to pull the mask from my hand. “Oh, my goodness Danny, I love it! It’s perfect! I can’t wait to see you in it tonight.”
She hands it back to me, and I slip it back inside the bag before tossing it on the couch. “So, where’s your mask at?”
She grabs her clutch purse from my couch and pulls out a small red-and-black sparkly mask. She puts it on and strikes a pose with her hands framing her face.
“Very nice. It goes with your dress perfectly. Is your boyfriend wearing a matching one?”
She crinkles her nose in disgust. “Ugh no, he insisted on wearing this bright hideous green one I begged him to take back because it wasn’t his color. He hates being one of those couples who matches all the time.” She shrugs. “Oh well. At least I will look fantastic. That’s all that matters.”
I nod. “That’s good then, I guess. My friend will be wearing a pink one, so we aren’t matching either. Matching is so boring anyway.”
She smiles. “Well, I will see you later then. Make sure you at least find me when they do the countdown so we can wish each other happy New Year at midnight.”
“Will do,” I say, even though I have zero intentions of doing so. I like Melanie, but her boyfriend not so much. I’m going to dodge them like the plague. I’d much rather not ring in my new year with her loudmouth boyfriend, Paul. I only met the guy once, but once was enough for me. She says he and Cole were practically best friends, which made me wonder if Cole was the same way. Hopefully Paul was just having a bad day. I’m friends with Melanie and we are like night and day. I’d much rather ring in the new year with a complete stranger than with some mushy couple making out in front of my face when the ball drops.
After she leaves, I hop in the shower before tugging on my black form-fitting slacks and black button-down top. I pull my gold and black vest from the closet and slip it on over my shirt. The next knock that comes at my door is more aggressive and so loud it’s like the person is trying to break the door down. I know right away that it’s Vivian. She is the only person I know who knocks on my door like that.
I open the door to a spinning Vivian in a tiny black glitter dress that outlines all her curves, perfectly paired with a pink pair of stilettos that almost make her the same height as me. “So, do you like? Will I be the belle of the ball?”
I take her by the hand and twirl her toward the inside of my apartment. “Sweetheart, you would be the belle of any ball. That outfit is perfection on you.”
One hand holds a cute pink clutch and pink masquerade mask; the other holds a large bag of takeout food. I grab the bag from her hand and set it down on the kitchen counter. My stomach is already growling from the smell of soy sauce and fried rice. “Shall we eat, then? Maybe I should take off my vest in case I get it dirty while eating.”
She pulls the containers out of the bag. “We could always get you a bib instead. Knowing you, you will somehow manage to find a way to stain black clothing.”
I laugh. “I would argue with you if you weren’t right.” I open my container of food and moan at the first bite of Mongolian beef that enters my mouth.
Vivian laughs and shakes her head. “Geez, save it for that sexy stranger you’ll be making out with at the party tonight.”
I wave her off. “Sorry, I haven’t eaten since this morning. I was too busy running around and getting distracted by my hot neighbor at the grocery store. Can you believe we had a real conversation this time? Also, he confirmed he is indeed going to be at the party or, he said he was going to ‘a party.’” I didn’t want to tell him what party I was going to. I couldn’t handle running into him there and embarrassing myself again. I also didn’t want him to ask me what color mask I’d be wearing.
She slams her hand on the counter. “No freaking way. Tell me everything. Who walked up to who and who talked first? Did you ask what color mask he would be wearing?”
I shook my head, still wishing I had asked but then he definitely would have known I would be there and I’d have to tell him what color mine was. “We kind of met in the middle, I said hi first. And no, I didn't ask, because then he would ask me about my mask.”
She nods, and her phone goes off with a text message from Connor to meet us there. Her focus shifts from me to her phone, and I’m thankful for the distraction and change of topic. Talking about Cole has just made me more nervous at the idea of running into him at the party. Melanie did mention Paul’s house was huge, so maybe I wouldn’t run into him at all. Even if I did, how will I know unless I go around asking every guy who approached me to take off his mask? Besides, if I knew it was him, I would definitely be wanting him to take off more than just that.
