For the past few years Simon and Sophie had spent New Years Eve at home. Things had been hectic since Sarah was born and the couple found it hard to get time to themselves. However, this year Sophie's parents had insisted on taking Sarah for the evening.
They hadn't held back, choosing to go to a black tie masquerade event. Simon was dressed in a black tuxedo with a bow tie to complete the outfit. Standing at 5'11" with his short blond hair he thought he didn't look too bad when admiring himself in the mirror whilst getting ready. Even though he had put on a few extra pounds since Sarah had been born he still had an average body and wasn't a complete dad bod yet.
Sophie wore a stunning backless black silk dress with 4 inch heels which made her nearly as tall as Simon which was a shock to him. When she first walked over to him the large thigh length slit in her dress waved at him as she glided over to kiss him. Her arms bare with thin shoulder straps stretching down to a low v neckline. She wore her black hair in a tight bun that held her long hair neatly. Without it her hair would have stretched down to the middle of her back.
Simon's mouth simply fell open as he saw her and she smiled back at him whilst she placed her hands on his shoulders and gave him a peck on the lips.
"I know." She said with a chuckle before handing him a white plain masquerade mask as she placed a gold one, covered in lace and a few feathers on her head.
Taking a few steps back she placed a hand on her hip and bent out the leg that the slit of the dress fell away from and showed her entire leg to him before doing a twirl and the dress spinning out widely.
"Do you think this is good enough to wear?" She said once again in her little chuckle.
Simon could barely let out a "mmm...aaarrgggh....yessss" between large gulps and wishing they didn't have to go out and that they could just go straight to the bedroom.
Looking up at the clock on the wall Sophie walked over and peaked behind the curtains. "Oh shit, The taxi is already here. Let's go!"
The couple quickly grabbed their things and walked out of the door, bundled into the taxi and made their way to the venue.
Walking in through the front doors Simon was shocked at the size of the main hall. It stretched out infront of him with a large dance floor in the middle which was currently unoccupied. Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling and giant paintings covered the walls. People were milling around and drifting in and out of rooms around the sides.
At one end of the hall was a large staircase covered in red carpet that sprawled out to the left and the right and winded round to balconies either side of the main hall. People were leaning over each side and he could see further rooms behind it.
"Shall we get a drink?" Sophie asked and the couple started making their way around the maze of rooms which all seemed interconnected until they eventually found a bar.
It was only 9pm and when they arrived it wasn't too busy but they wanted to make the most of their child free night and the tickets were all inclusive so all their drinks were on the house.
The evening speedily raced away and by 10:30pm the place was getting busy and by 11pm it was packed. They mingled with other guests and met other couples in similar situations and others just starting their lives. It seemed that people from all sorts of life had come to the event and it was refreshing to get out of their small child bubble.
The only problem with the place getting so packed was that they kept losing each other. As it came to 11:30pm Sophie suggested Simon go and get them two glasses of champagne ready for midnight and she would try and find a toilet.
It took 15 minutes for Simon to eventually get served and as he walked to the main hall where they had been before he started peering around trying to see Sophie. He had realised that they should have agreed on a place to meet. As he continued to flick his head around he caught the a flash of black on the staircase and a woman stood on the corner in a long black silk dress with her black hair tied up in a bun and a gold lacey face mask.
He couldn't tell at first if it was Sophie but she stretched her hand out directly towards him and beckoned with her fingers for him to follow before disappearing around the corner.
Simon started heading up the stairs and as he got onto the balcony Sophie was at the far end of the corridor with her hand pushing open a door which had been shut. She beckoned at him to follow before slipping through it and it closing behind her.
Quickly he headed down the corridor and reached the door. It had a red velvet cord hanging next to it with a sign which read 'no entry' on it.
He glanced around quickly. People weren't hanging about this far down the corridor. Most people were downstairs and people on this level were generally leaning over the balcony to watch the ballroom dancing in the main hall below.
Simon pushed at the door and walked in. This room was much smaller than all the other rooms he had been in so far. It seemed like a small study with a desk against the window ok one side and a chair with a small table next to it on the other.
But he couldn't see Sophie. It was then that he felt two hands on his shoulders.
"There you are! Where have you taken us! I don't think we're meant to be in here."
"Sssshhhhh" she responded as she reached up and took off his mask.
Simon went to spin around to look at her but she held his shoulders and gave a light tutting noise so Simon stopped trying to turn, wondering what was going on. Before he felt some silk fabric run over his face as his vision went black and the fabric was wrapped around his head as a blindfold and tied at the back of his head.
