To Caress My Day

As the week of Seth’s Halloween party drifted along, Twigs began to see less of her boyfriend than she wished to. She and Simone didn’t spend much time at his house like they wanted to because of the decorators hired to remodel the mansion into a haunted one had arrived to achieve that task. And so, they had to leave early in the morning only to return late in the evening to keep the knowledge of their existence in Seth Macfarlane’s house a secret, so no one would find out that Twigs was affiliated with him. In the meantime, Twigs and Simone took their time to explore Los Angeles by taking advantage of the warm beaches and stores lining both sides of the busy streets. It seemed like ages until the night of Halloween party was set to begin which meant Twigs would finally be reunited with her workaholic lover. Texting and calling on the phone wasn’t the same as being around each other in person which was exactly what she was craving to be, around her man.

Since they still weren’t allowed back in the mansion on Halloween because of the caterers, Twigs and Simone were invited to get ready for the party at Derek and Odette’s house in LA. They took their time applying their makeup in order to catch up with Odette who revealed that she and her husband were attending the party in a couple’s costume set instead of their own. They both thought the idea was quite romantic and were soon interrupted by Derek who informed them that the last-minute details for the Halloween Party had been completed and that they were now allowed access back into the mansion again. Twigs was relieved and then touched when Derek insisted on taking them there himself. Outside the night was fresh, and everyone around them was dressed up in some form of made up character. The drive to Seth’s mansion felt like the longest ever, but soon they made a turn onto the bumpy road where the grand structure stood in sight. Before Twigs could marvel at it for the millionth time, Derek drove right on past it, making her frown, and then panic. “Derek, what are you doing? The mansion is back there.”

“I know.” Derek answered, not looking back as he made a turn, continuing to drive on before slowing to a complete stop. “I just didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea still. Events like these always made me nervous at the thought of one day dropping you off to them. There’s too many people, and cameras that gather out front every time. It’s still my job to keep your identity a secret from the world, and yet he invites you into one of the most heavily publicized celebrity parties in all of California!”

“Aw, don’t worry about all that, Derek.” Twigs tried to assure him as she reached forward to place an encouraging hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure Seth wouldn’t have invited me here if there was an ounce of doubt in his mind that I’d be discovered.”

“Yeah, he’s crazy about my girl here.” Simone seconded with a gesture of her head towards her roommate.

“If only you knew how crazy he was…” Derek whispered to himself before cringing at the memory of his employer getting it on with Twigs in the backseat of his car in the parking lot of a public diner. “Anyway, you guys better get on in there before the paparazzi start showing up and trust me they aren’t too far behind us.”

“Aye Aye, captain.” Simone grinned, giving him the thumbs up sign before opening her door and slipping out.

“Thanks for the ride, Derek, and I hope you and Odette will join us soon. I can’t wait to see your costumes!” Twigs raved as she too got out of the car and closed the door. She walked around to join Simone at the curb just as Derek rolled down his window to give them one last wave goodbye before driving off into the night.

“So, you ready to party, honey?” Simone asked her with a beaming smile as they linked hands together and began to walk down the sidewalk back towards Seth’s mansion.

“Kind of…I’m mainly nervous about all this even happening, but also strangely excited at the same time.” Twigs confessed as they rounded the corner see a line of luxury cars making their way through Seth’s gate to park in his driveway. “I think the excitement is because I finally get to see Seth tonight.”

“Of course, it is, woman! It’s been centuries already since y’all knocked pelvises together.” Simone pointed out as they walked through the open gate that had very little security that oddly not checking anyone off of a long list of guests attending tonight’s party, not that they had a list to begin with.

“Whatever, girl!” Twigs giggled, nudging her roommate with her elbow. As she continued to look around, she found it odd that security wasn’t trying to stop anyone from entering the mansion…except for the party-goers that ignored the rules of attending the function in full costume. Those individuals were immediately sent off to go find a costume to put on or to go somewhere else entirely. This was the first party her boyfriend had invited her to, so she had no idea if entry to his place was as laid back as it appeared. Shaking it off, Twigs tightened her hold on Simone’s hand as they joined in the line of whimsical characters streaming through the double doors of Seth’s home. Twigs could feel her heart pounding in her chest in a panic, and her eyes enlarged as they darted around the place. The decorated mansion was just as incredible on the outside as it looked on the inside. Whatever team he hired to spruce up his home definitely went above and beyond to make the place the ultimate haunted mansion. Twigs hoped her boyfriend paid them handsomely for it too.

Simone looked up from where she was texting with one hand, having trust Twigs to guide her safely through the place without bumping her into anyone. “Neon Jungle landed twenty minutes ago and said they’d be here soon after they get dressed in their costumes.”

Twigs nodded before turning her eyes to her roommate who was dressed as a witch doctor. Her face was painted in tribal designs topped with a masquerade mask to conceal her face from recognition…not that she needed to because she wasn’t a celebrity at this point in her life, but still, she wanted to support her friend Twigs by keeping her identity concealed as well. Simone wore her long dreads out with a brown full-length dress that had a slit that went up mid-thigh and a corset around her waist. Her arms also had tribal markings that led down to short fingerless gloves that look to be sewn on the top, and a thick bracelet with long fake plastic claws. To complete her look even further, Simone wore two necklaces: one a multilayered design made of beads, feathers, and tiny skulls, and the second one made of the same beads and fake claws as the bracelet. To add some more flair to her costume, she wore intimating black leather boots and a voodoo tied around her hip that had pins stuck in it. “I’m sorry I have to rave about this again, but you look beyond incredible! I mean it, sweetie, my mind is still reeling from being blown away by your creativity.”

“Tahliah, have you not looked into a mirror as of late?” Simone asked her as she eyed up her costume. Twigs went with more of an Egyptian style consisting of a black wrapped dress with matching fake gold collar and belt. Her gold arm warmers had sheer iridescent fabric that added a royal flair to her costume. With a gold headdress, a gold snake arm cuff on her right upper arm and a gold ring with a large black stone on her finger, Twigs costume was complete with matching golden heels. Naturally of course, she wore a fake gold mask that had a high flat crown, and a cobra at the top with fake gems to shield the upper part of face and conceal her identity. “Believe me, when your boyfriend sees you, you won’t be wearing that dress for long.”

“Oh, god!” Twigs whined with embarrassment, hiding her smile behind her hands. Her skin glistened beneath the light with a gold body highlight sheen she covered all her exposed flesh with. “Why do you have to say things like that, Simone!”

“Cause it’s true!” Simone argued playfully as their backs gravitated towards the nearest corner to watch the party take place from afar. In a flash, a zombie butler came by to offer them champagne which they graciously took and sipped on as they waited for their friends to arrive. It seemed like hours as they whispered to each other about other people’s costumes, pointing and rating them for their excellency. It was clear they were the only two in that room that had cheap costumes on.

Twigs saw thousands of Egyptian Queens wearing REAL gold and REAL gems unlike her cheap plastic ones. She tried not to let that dissuade her because in her mind’s eyes Seth deserved an Egyptian with such rich fashion wares instead of plastic jewelry. This was honestly a party she was certain before that she wouldn’t enjoy and was dreading it’s opening because of it. This was her boyfriend’s party, she was expected to have the utmost fun there, and as luck would have it, she did. It came as a shock to her, in fact, that she turned out to actually be having a wonderful time. She wasn’t sure if it was because she had one of her close friends there at her side, or not, but it was rejuvenating and filled with fun. Whenever a song would come on that they were familiar with, they’d begin dancing privately in their corner together, making each other laugh with their silly moves. Not very many people approached them except to compliment Twig’s moves or ask either of them to dance which they politely decline; Twigs because she just wanted to be with Seth, and Simone because she wanted to stand by and support her roommate. Twigs had just finished a spin when she let out a surprised gasp of wonder. “Oh my god, look at them, Simone! They look so perfectly matched together, don’t they?”

Simone followed her eyes to see Odette and her husband Derek walking into the foyer and then heading to the living room where they stood in the corner by themselves. Derek was dressed as a medieval knight of black and grey. He had the black pants, boots, cloaks and even a shield and sword! On top of his head was a gold crown made of branches that demanded a level of authority. His wife Odette was clearly his Maid Marian in a light blue velvet dress with puffed shoulders that weren’t overwhelming as they led down to slit sleeves that revealed a deep red sleeve beneath that trailed down to her dainty wrists. A matching red velvet belt was tied around her hips and trailed down her long skirt that even had a train in that back that graced the floor with a light caress! Odette looked like a real-life princess with her long golden tresses trailing down her back, with a real gold headdress place on top, real gold weave bracelets around her wrists, and a real Parisian gold and black lace fan with matching gold slippers. “Perfectly matched? They looked like they came out of a medieval romance novel!”

Watching from afar, Twigs gazed happily at the loving couple before her smile slowly fell as the couple stepped forward to greet the host of the party…with his sister on his arm. On the flight to California, Simone had looked up a picture of Rachel MacFarlane because Twigs had never seen her before nor ever sought her photo out on the internet. She was honestly too shy to even gaze upon a photo of the beautiful woman!

Seth was dressed as a simply cowboy, but in Twigs eyes he might as well have been wearing nothing but butt chaps, because he looked so damn sexy to her. All he was wearing were some dark blue jeans, black cowboy boots and matching hat, a white long sleeve button up shirt, and an old western styled black leather vest. Tied around his neck was a red bandana, and a gold badge was pinned to his vest. He had just tossed his brown faux leather duster coat at one of his butlers who caught it and carried it off to another room where all the coats or extra costume props were stored while the guests partied the night away. Twigs watched with lust deep in her eyes as Seth and his sister quickly greeted Odette and Derek before hurriedly walking away to another part of the house. That entire time Seth had been unaware that his girlfriend stood in the next room openly staring...and becoming sick with anxiety. “Shit…there I go getting nervous again.”