'M' is For: [Ch19] A Familiar Stranger - Part 1

Over the summer, my social calendar filled up with back-to-back parties and events. I’d developed something of a reputation for playing the Mistress of Ceremonies, and I found myself in demand everywhere. In some ways, it wasn’t all that it was hyped up to be; the position was tough to fill because as glamorous as it sometimes was, few people wanted the responsibility that it entailed. Still, I found I enjoyed it as long as I didn’t have to organize the event itself. Tonight, I was out in Brooklyn with the old crew. Edward was enjoying getting intimately acquainted with our Brazilian hostess; Kiara and James were off exploring the set pieces scattered around the 19th century townhouse. I was just wrapping up a scene with a group of enthusiastic subs who moaned and groaned in the most hilariously satisfying ways.

“Ma’am, that…was amazing,” said one of them, picking themselves off the floor, their cheeks flushed. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” I said with a sharp smile, tapping their buttocks lightly with the end of my crop.

Stowing my tools away, I headed for the bar. The bartender recognized me and, unprompted, slid me a White Russian across the counter. I grabbed it gratefully and raised it in a silent salute.

Leaning back against the bar, I savored my break from the limelight. A couple of partygoers came over to say hi, and I chatted with them lightly for a bit before they took the hint and moved on.

“Mal!”

Kiara was coming towards me. Her face was flushed and excited.

“What is it?” I asked her.

“You’ll never believe this, but James saw Thomas at the party. Thomas is here!”

I raised my eyebrows, surprised despite myself. Thomas had always been absent from the parties we’d gone to over the last several months. I’d privately figured he’d either moved away from the city or had quit the scene entirely, now that he didn’t have Missy to cajole him into it. I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed by the knowledge that Kiara was mainly excited on my behalf.

“Is that right?” I said, only to find a sharp elbow in my side.

“Oh don’t be so cool!” Kiara scolded me. “This is it. This is your chance. Now he’s single, and you’re single…” She eyed me speculatively.

“And nothing,” I said firmly. “That doesn’t mean anything. Besides, how do you know he’s single?”

“You’re no fun,” pouted Kiara. “Well, don’t say I didn’t ever try.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek and a little finger wave before she was off, vanishing back into the crowd. I shook my head, smiling ruefully.

I had just raised my glass to my lips when I became aware of a pair of eyes on me. Turning my head, I caught sight of someone familiar leaning up against the wall across the room. Thomas.

He looked good. Really good, in fact. Last I’d seen him, he’d looked exhausted down to the bone. There was no trace of any of that now. His cheeks were covered in a couple days’ stubble, and his hair was longer than I remembered, long enough to curl over the collar of his shirt. He looked fuller, more at ease with his surroundings. He was also wearing his black glasses, which made me wonder about his intentions for the evening. He never used to wear glasses for these sorts of events, not with Missy planning to show him off.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed him. A couple of women had begun to throng him, and although they were too far away for me to catch their conversation, I could feel their sharp interest behind their friendly smiles. Thomas, however, ignored them. Looking at me, he raised his hand in a half-wave, and I automatically returned the gesture.

I watched as Thomas politely excused himself and made his way over to where I sat.

“Hey. I didn’t imagine I’d see you here.”

“Hey.” I smiled at him, my fingers tightening around the glass. I couldn’t believe after all this time, he was right here in front of me again. “I rotate around. Ines and I got connected through a mutual friend, and her place is a pretty easy trip from where I live. How are you?”

“I’ve been okay.” Thomas hesitated, his expression shadowing briefly. “I broke up with Missy.”

“I heard.” From Missy herself, but now didn’t feel like the right time to go into what had happened that night.

“Yeah. It’s been a few months now since I’ve moved into my new place, and I’m just starting to figure out my new normal. Most of my friends were through Missy, as it turned out.” Thomas gave a short laugh. “She was always better at making friends than I was.”

“I’m not sure you’re giving yourself enough credit,” I said with a smile.

Thomas shrugged it off. “But how are you? How’s the new job?”

I took a drink from my glass. “It’s great. Everyone’s been really nice, and I have a lot more latitude to pitch my stories than I was expecting.”

“It sounds like it was a good move for you.”

I felt my cheeks warm. “Definitely. What about you? Are you still modeling?”

“No, I left that a couple months ago. I started taking coding classes in the city, and the hours just didn’t work out.”

“Oh wow… What kind of stuff do they have you doing?”

Thomas’s lips quirked. “I just recently made a game for class that lets you count randomly generated sheep. I’m pitching it as a solution for insomnia.”

“That sounds extremely useful,” I commented. “I would have used the heck out of that when I was in college.”

“It’s really not that impressive,” Thomas said, seemingly uncomfortable with the praise.

A short silence fell. I cleared my throat and set my glass down on the counter. “So, what brings you out here? This is my first time seeing you at one of these parties.”

Thomas glanced across the room, and it was only when his eyes left mine that I realized how intently he had been gazing at me. “I came here with a friend who wanted to try out the scene. He’s pretty new to things, so I figured I could keep an eye out for him just in case.” A trace of bitterness curled his lips. “Not that I think what happened to me would have happened to him.”

“Ah,” I said. An image of Thomas on the floor, his eyes obscured by a heavy leather blindfold with headphones jammed over his ears, surfaced in my mind’s eye. I could tell Thomas was likely thinking something along the same lines, because his cheeks turned a little pink.

“Listen, Mal—” Thomas began, but then an arm sliding around my shoulders caught my attention. I glanced up and found myself looking up into Edward’s face.

“What is it?” I asked him.

“It’s Ines. She’s looking for you,” Edward said lightly. “Is now a good time?”

“Yeah, sure.” I made an apologetic face at Thomas. “Sorry, I should probably go.”

“No worries,” Thomas was quick to reassure me. “I can hardly expect to monopolize the Mistress of Ceremonies.”

“If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”

“Will do, thanks.”

As Edward led me away, I permitted myself a backwards glance. Already, others were beginning to move in to fill the space I had left. So much for being bad at making friends, I thought sourly, annoyed at myself over the feeling of possessiveness that instinctively rose up in me.

“Handsome bastard,” Edward muttered under his breath, and I had to agree.