I'd never before thought of work as a source of potential fun. Come to that, I'd never thought of anything much as a source of potential fun because, despite what follows, I have always been painfully shy. Well, okay, not exactly shy but very, very reserved.
I am, or at least thought myself, an average kind of girl. People don't yell running from a glimpse of my face or use my photograph as a way of keeping their children away from the fire, but there again I never have guys swooning at my beauty or other women getting all hissy when I'm around their men because I'm perceived as a threat. I'm slender, athletic enough for a thirty year-old, fine-featured and would maybe, at a push, claim my long black hair as a plus point on the looks table. Other than that, though, I'm miss average, and not even my slightly unusual job -- a copywriter for websites -- moves me out of the 'middle of the road' category.
Usually I sit on front of a computer and pore over sheaths of notes from the owners of websites and come up with riveting copy for them. Things like 'this site offers a totally unique...', 'click here for a once in a lifetime...', 'the cheapest rates anywhere...' -- and a thousand other lies. But just occasionally, the owner of a site will invite me along to have a look around their premises (I can't even begin to count the number of kennels I've visited -- and no funny comments, thanks) or to attend an event that displays their services. It was one of these latter -- and very rare -- invitations that prompted the events of that wild night.
Everyone thinks that the internet is made up mostly of 'adult' sites, but that's really not true. When you add into that equation the fact that what adult sites there are tend not to rely heavily on colourful prose to advertise and promote their whores... sorry, wares, then it shouldn't surprise you to be told that I haven't many such clients on my books. The invite I received from this particular site was, therefore, a surprise -- and it was its rarity value that stopped me from throwing it straight into the bin. Even then it would have made a fairly swift journey to the shredder had it not been spotted by Maddy, my best friend and perennial advice guru.
"You should go to this one, Lily," she waved the card at me.
"Maddy! It's a fetish party for goodness sake! Hardly my scene."
"So? It will do you good to see how the other half -- the other ninety percent -- lives, and it can only be good for sourcing material for the site's next release."
"All well and true," I told her, "but you seem to be forgetting that I'm not exactly the fetish party type."
"Maybe you should try it, then," Maddy grinned, "Broaden your horizons."
"Just chuck it. There's no way I can ever get that broad. And what if there was someone there who recognised me? I'd never live it down."
"Quite apart from the fact that whoever might have recognised you would be even more ill at ease, it says here," Maddy went on, undeterred, "that it's a masked party. No one need ever know it was you there."
"They might still recognise me another way."
"So dress wild and different. No one who knows the prudish Lily would ever suspect it was her."
"I am not a prude, just-"
"Shy. Yeah, I've heard it all before...."
The debate raged on through the rest of the bottle of Merlot we were sharing, and right through the next bottle and a half as well. It also started its own little side-show debate in my own mind, and that particular discussion went on long after Maddy had tottered off to her taxi and I had climbed into my occasionally lonely bed. It was still rattling around the next day.
Maddy's comments about how anonymous I could remain behind a mask and in unusual attire kept plugging away at my shyness all day, and despite my best efforts, I was totally unable to come up with any arguments that would beat them. By the time bedtime came around again I was even starting to look for holes in the logistics...
And so it came to pass. After another few hundred internal debates, and another dozen conversations with Maddy, I finally made my decision to attend the party. The invite wanted replies from anyone choosing to turn up, but I wasn't going to risk any chance of being identified so chose to turn up out of the blue instead. The only other choice I had to make was what to wear, and that was a much harder one. Thanks to Maddy, though, I did at least have some assistance. And some suitable items, borrowed from her far less inhibited wardrobe than mine.
The debate on my attire was even longer than the one about whether I was going to attend, and it was the devil's own job to get Maddy to let me wear things that wouldn't get me arrested. Even then, the final choice left me feeling less than comfortable -- a micro min leather skirt over fishnet stockings and see-through knickers, and a silky blouse, half-unbuttoned, over... well, over me. If it hadn't been for the full-face, snug-fitting, silky 'diamond-eye' mask, I would never have been able to leave my apartment. Oh, and the full-length raincoat. And Maddy's words of encouragement. And five vodkas. And a lift from her.
The next test of my resolve (or possibly, stupidity) came when I finally entered the large house where the party was being held and I had to remove the raincoat. Given that I'd never as much as showed off too much leg in public before, revealing my outfit to the smiling host and his girlfriend (or wife, or extremely talented transvestite boyfriend) felt more like stripping on national television.
But here's a confession for you. I had been resolutely pushing any thoughts about how things might actually feel to the back of my mind, and the unbuttoning of the raincoat acted like turning on a tap. Albeit slowly, the first tingles of excitement came trickling into my veins, and when the hosts just gave an admiring nod or three, I was surprised at the frisson of excitement that I felt.
Oh, and the mask? That suddenly became my security -- and my licence to enjoy myself.
Despite my new-found (albeit it masked) confidence, I grabbed a large drink from the bar, downed that, grabbed another, and then made my way into the main room where the noise was louder and punctuated by the comforting sound of laughter.
I had imagined that there would be a hundred people in there -- and it certainly sounded loud enough -- but there was barely a third of that number, and the first thing that struck me was that, if anything, my oh so daring costume was really rather tame compared to most of the other outfits on display. The crowds' focus was firmly fixed on a male-female couple in all-leather gear currently giving an impromptu performance of Paradise by the Dashboard Light, complete with gesture and actions that Meatloaf and Ellen Foley probably wouldn't have considered in even their wildest fantasies. Quite apart from being a rather fun show, it also gave me the perfect opportunity to take up an inconspicuous position towards the back of the room.