"It's so great to see you Stephanie, it's been too many years," Nicole said, truly meaning her words. It was nice to see another familiar face in a crowd of strangers. Stephanie gave her a hug.
"Don't let this party intimidate you, Jasmine would never invite anyone who was too horrible," Stephanie reassured her.
"I know but I feel too old to be at a dance," Nicole told her self-consciously.
"Seriously you need to live a little bit, once in a while is my philosophy. I remember from school you were far more likely to study than attend a dance, so let go and pretend you have no responsibilities for a night. Most people won't even recognize you and you look beyond gorgeous, so stop worrying about things and allow yourself to have a great time," Stephanie told her.
Nicole knew Stephanie was right. What made anyone in the room any better than her? Ryan was insisting she hang on his arm at certain events like arm candy so she'd better get used to it. Besides, just because the other people in the room were blessed with more money than they needed didn't make them any better than her.
A lot of the people were from money and hadn't worked an honest day in their lives. She didn't mean Jasmine and Derek. They were the nicest people she'd ever known. She could see from the looks of some of the guests it was all about who had the most expensive things and that was a huge turn off for Nicole.
"I'm off to find some sexy man to whisk me off to paradise," Stephanie told her. "I'll look for you later, it really was great to see you," she added and hugged Nicole.
Stephanie took off in one direction and left Nicole to wander around to a quiet corner. She grabbed a plate and swiped some food. She was starving and the smells from the food were making her stomach growl. She was used to eating top ramen, or a good soup, when she was really lucky, so the table full of delicacies' was making her practically drool.
She was still living each day as if she was on her last meal. It was how it had been for too many years to remember anything different. She loaded her plate to overflowing, then snuck off to a corner and started shoveling it in, praying no one noticed her. She was certainly not acting like any of the other women who'd never eat at a function, in fear of gaining a pound or getting something stuck between their teeth.
Ryan was standing in a group of people, desperately trying to keep up with the boring conversation but his eyes were following Nicole everywhere she went. He was trying to maintain some distance from her but the second he'd spotted her in the figure hugging gown, his groin had jumped to life and he'd known he was far better off to avoid her for a while. He certainly approved of whatever the girls had been up to the night before.
He half listened to what his companions were talking about. He nodded where he was supposed to and uttered a comment here and there but his eyes never left Nicole. He felt his lips tilt, as he noticed her flick her eyes around the room guiltily, then fill her plate to overflowing. If he had any doubts she wasn't one of the high society women normally at the parties her full plate would've clued him in. He was thinking he was going to play a game with her that night.
Why not start from scratch and pretend to be strangers? He could romance her and add some mystery to their relationship. Nothing else seemed to be working to keep her mind off her worries, so why not spice things up, he thought. He was getting more excited by the moment, imagining how things were going to end that night.
Ryan watched as she glanced around again and seemed to sigh a bit as she didn't think anyone was watching her.
He couldn't believe he'd almost refused to come to the masquerade. His mood lightened up considerably. As he looked around he noticed all the women wearing their usual skimpy designer dresses and ostentatious jewelry.
Even though it was a masquerade and everyone was supposed to disguise themselves, the women wanted to be noticed and most held masques on sticks, so they could move them aside. He was personally wearing a Zorro mask but it hadn't taken the barracuda women long to figure out who he was and they were swarming him. They would be shocked to find who he chose to take home with him. Most of the people in the room knew nothing of his past.
"Ryan, you didn't hear a word I just said," the grating voice of the current female trying to hold his attention said to him. She'd been giving him signals for months she was readily available and looking for her next husband to keep her in the lifestyle she was so accustomed. He hadn't wanted to be rude to her but he had a feeling he was going to have to spell it out in black and white, he wasn't interested.
"I'm sorry, my mind was on business," he easily lied, soothing her feelings. She gave her best fake smile and rubbed her barely covered br**sts up against his arm. He felt nothing from the touch. "I'm sorry to leave you ladies but I'm going for a bite to eat, then I have business to discuss with Tom," he said, as he pulled away from the group.