Page 86 of There's a Way
The Masquerade des Arts happens in the upstairs of a world-famous restaurant, and the masks only covered our eyes and a little of our cheeks, so we could eat in them. Our tickets included dinner in a special room of the restaurant, which we were led to as soon as the staff scanned the QR code on Master’s phone.
A waiter was right behind the hostess, and he asked for our drink order seconds after we took our seat.
Will spoke to him in French and ordered for all of us. I assume he and Razor had discussed this, because it’s odd for one Dom to order for another, but I don’t guess Razor wanted to learn the French necessary to do so.
When our drinks arrived, Master, Sir, and Matty had one kind of wine, I had another, and Razor had beer.
“I can’t drink a whole bottle of wine by myself, Master.”
“It’s fine,” he told me. “Drink what you want, leave what you don’t.”
I wanted to argue, but I knew better, so I sipped my wine and wondered what Master would order me for dinner.
* * * *
Will
Only Razor knew the plan for later.
Micca and I agreed from the start that we couldn’t ask Davy to keep a secret from the other Master, meaning I couldn’t tell him something he can’t tell Micca, and she can’t ask him to keep something from me. We amended that, so he’s allowed to keep gifts a secret, — birthday, Christmas, or other — and this probably would’ve fallen into that category, but it felt best not to tell Davy or Matty. They might not’ve meant to give it away, but there’s a good chance Micca would’ve picked up on a little extra excitement and figured it out.
Those bear senses of hers tell her alotabout what’s going on. It’s usually not a problem because I don’t lie to her, and it’s helpful because she knows right away when something is bothering Davy, but it’s a pain in the ass when you have a big secret like this.
We finished dinner and went out on the balcony to sit with our wine and beer after dinner, and finally made our way to the grand ballroom.
And wow, was it something else. There were deep red sofas scattered around, and tables where one could order drinks or fancy snacks, along with plenty of dancing all over the place.
And the room was full of beautiful bodies, moving and writhing to the music.
We spent about forty minutes dancing, and it was time for the big moment.
“Come. I’ve rented one of the platforms, and it’s nearly time for our slot,” I told them.
The platforms rise up above the crowd so no one can see what’s happening on them. There’s what they call a bench in the middle, but it’s basically a twin-sized bed without any fabric. It’s a hard surface that gets disinfected between use, because I guess they figure everyone is fucking while they’re up there. There are Lucite walls so you can see all around you, but there’s no danger of falling, even if you’re drunk and stupid.
Still, you have to sit before they’ll send the platform up. It goes up slow, making a ten-minute circuit of the room before it stops for thirty minutes at the top, and then takes ten minutes to go back down.
We put Micca in the center of one side of the bench. Three on our side, two on the other, so Razor and Matty had some time kind of alone, and the three of us did as well.
We looked down on the crowd dancing below us while we went up, and once we were at the top, I stood in front of Micca and motioned Davy to stay put.
And I went to my knees before Micca and said, “Micca Barone, you have completed us. You turned what Davy and I had from a couple to a family, and I love you more than words can say.”
I grinned at her reaction, a huge smile and watery eyes I could see through the mask’s eyeholes. “And I’ve tried. I have pieces of songs I’ve tried to put together, but none of them canget across how very much I love you.” I pulled the little bag with the ring in it from my pocket and turned it inside out like the jeweler had shown me. As promised, it was velcroed in, so I only had to give it a tug to pull it lose. I held it up so she could see it and said, “Miccalena Francesca Barone, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
She nodded yes, took a breath, and said, “Yes. Fuck yes. Oh, my god. I can’t believe you managed to surprise me with this! Yes. Yes I will marry you!”
She held her hand out so I could slip the ring on, and I was beyond grateful that Jacob had been able to give me the exact size of her ring after he measured her for the dress. It slid right on, a perfect fit, and she held it up to look at it.
“It’s entirely too much, but I don’t care. Stand up! I need you to kiss me now, and Davy, and…” She looked at Davy. “Did you know!?”
He shook his head, and I told her, “Neither did Matty, so don’t even think of being upset with him for not telling you. Razor’s the only one I told.”
Matty came over the top of the bench and hugged her before I could kiss her, but that was fine. These two are best friends, and Matty was clearly happy for her.
Every groom should be happy when his bride’s best friend is happy with their relationship.
I pulled Davy to me and kissed his forehead. “You don’t get an engagement ring, but you’ll have a wedding ring. Kneel and kiss Micca’s ring, slave.”
