It Could Have Been Anyone - Chapter Three
By Cal Bishop
Author's Note
Once again, this picks up right where the previous story left off.
I have plans for at least three more chapters after this. After that, it'll depend on if there's anything interesting to say or do with the characters.
At the Masquerade
They had an early dinner of Thai takeout on the 9th. Alicia picked at her food and excused herself first. She went to the bedroom and tried to figure out what to wear.
Halter top? Short skirt? No way, it's forty degrees out!
She thought.
And there's no point in dressing for some wild party when we probably aren't staying anyway
.
In the end she picked the jeans she was already wearing and a tight black-and-white sweater. It highlighted her curves but was modest and respectable. It would have been a little too casual for her office, but fine for, say, a dinner-and-a-movie date.
She considered a necklace with a silver vampire bat, a nod to the Halloween party where she had met Gene and Vivian, but decided to keep it simple. She wore no jewelry except stud earrings.
I hope Ben isn't too disappointed. This black bra will have to be racy enough to satisfy him when we get home.
She wasn't sure what to do about the recommendation that they bring bathrobes. She didn't have one, except a silk kimono, and she couldn't imagine bringing that. In the end she brought a normal pair of baggy flannel pajamas.
If I want to get a little risquΓ©, I can unbutton some buttons. If I want to get really nuts, the top is big enough to wear without the bottoms and not show too much. But I'm probably not getting them out of the bag, so who cares
?
Her one preparation for something racy was trimming her pubic hair. Normally she'd let it go for weeks and only trim it when they had a hot date planned or she was going to wear a bikini. But she figured she might as well be ready to flash someone or give Ben a treat after the party and shaved a careful landing strip on her mound before getting dressed.
Ben wore jeans and a button-down shirt. They took an Uber to the party. They considered asking the driver to wait for them to evaluate the surprise, but decided they should give Gene more of a chance than that, and Uber wouldn't make it easy.
They arrived at 8:13 PM. They noticed something different as soon as the door opened.
"Welcome, whoever you are," Gene said theatrically as he beckoned them in. He was wearing a dark brown bathrobe and a mask covering half his face, from his nose up.
The mask was gray, shiny and smooth, probably meant for a masquerade ball. The pointed ears, jagged muzzle, and canine nose evoked the stylized image of a wolf. Paired with the bathrobe showing some chest hair it looked comical, like the laziest possible version of his werewolf costume from the Halloween party.
"I'm sure you're wondering about this." Gene pointed at his mask. "This is a new idea we're trying. There are several newcomers to the party and we thought this would help get everyone on an even footing."
"You'll find a mask for you on the table by the basement stairs," he continued, waving to the table. "Masks are required in the party room - the basement - for all attendees, and the party is staying there. We recommend taking one now, changing out of your street clothes before going downstairs, and putting it on then. That would also be a good time to put on a wig if you brought it. You may also want to use temporary tattoos on the table by the masks to add a sort of smokescreen, or just for the fun of making your body a bit different for the night."
"The bathroom right here is free, but if you'll need a while to get ready, you might want to use the upstairs bathroom or guest bedroom instead, so there's no risk of running into other guests before they're ready. Any questions?"
Gene dropped his arms and continued more casually after that. "OK, so I prepared that speech for everyone, but obviously it's mainly for you two. You aren't the only newcomers here, but you aren't even in the lifestyle and the others are, so we thought this would, you know, make you more comfortable. Faces will be hidden and we're trying to disguise other identifying details too. Just like the Halloween party, but without anything that would get in the way of this sort of party. What do you think? Want to give it a shot?"
Alicia and Ben looked at each other. "So if we say yes, what happens?" Ben asked slowly.
Gene shrugged. "You take your clothes off, put your masks and robes or whatever on, and go downstairs. I guess you can even go down in your street clothes if you want. I hope you'd want to join the fun with other people, but if you want to just watch the show - it probably has already started - then you can just watch for a while and go home with each other whenever you feel like it. No hard feelings."
Alicia tried to think of a problem with the plan but couldn't.
If anyone recognizes me, we leave. If my mask slips, we leave. But if nothing like that happens, then maybe
... She gave a small shrug. Ben copied her and said, "Well, sure, we'll give it a try. Thanks for thinking of us."
"Great! You two might want to change upstairs, then," Gene said, looking at his watch. "You were a couple minutes late, and the next guests should get here soon. Take the masks."
Ben motioned for her to go first. Alicia proceeded, second-guessing everything.
Chivalry? Checking out my ass? Having a private talk with Gene?
But Ben came upstairs just a few steps behind her carrying masks and followed her into the guest bedroom. He did a double-take when he saw her pajamas. She shrugged. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't.
Good
, she thought.
She stripped quickly and put the pajamas on. Ben took all his clothes off except his boxer shorts and put on the light blue bathrobe he had brought. One of the masks was a wolf mask, like Gene's, and Ben handed her the other. Like Gene's, it had pointed ears and cheeks with a fur pattern, but the ears were rounded and the nose was smaller. A fox, she guessed. She wondered if the choice of animal meant anything.
They stuffed everything into the duffel bag except their shoes, carrying them loose. In the hall they heard Gene talking to someone downstairs and waited until it finished. They crept downstairs. "Great!" Gene said when he saw them. "You can leave the shoes by the door and the bag on the couch in the living room. Go ahead down to the basement."