Masquerade

Masquerade

Lisle awoke, alone in the bed. She stretched a bit snuggling under the covers, smiling. The soft, silky sheets, smooth as velvet, felt decadent against her skin. She checked her phone, five AM, plenty of time. There was a glass on the bed table with a bit of wine left in it, she sipped it down, wine for breakfast, why not.

Lying there she went over the evening, giggling to herself at how things had worked out. She had gone to the masquerade party because it was a masquerade. As her friend Jen prattled on about it, Lisle realized she could easily slip in and no one would know she was not invited. Meeting Gerald was not even in her plan at the time, just food and drinks, a good time. Thankfully she had not let Jen know she was there before she met Gerald.

Gerald had honed in on her quickly and the more he talked the more Lisle believed this was her destiny. A smile, a masked stranger, a few stolen kisses, he had practically told her his life story before an hour had passed. Lisle knew she would accompany him home well before he thought up the idea.

Her plans finally in place, she got up. Her costume was strewn around the room as it had come off piece by piece by the excited, intoxicated Gerald, all except the gloves, still on her hands. She found an empty travel bag in the closet to pack, tossing in the rest of her costume and the wine glass first. She had convinced Gerald that leaving her gloves on was part of a game last night, and actually, it was. The game of leaving no fingerprints.

Stepping over Gerald’s body on the floor, she got to work.