"And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable, distance and up until now
I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness
Because none of it was ever worth the risk
But, you are, the only exception"
~The Only Exception by Paramore
~o~
She came here tonight out of spite. She decided at the last minute to go to the Masquerade Gala because of him...the one who drove her mad. She looked up at the beautiful building in front of her, and his name immediately infiltrated her brain.
Kylo—that damn name. Just thinking it made her grind her teeth and clinch her jaw.
The more she thought of him, the angrier she became, and she wouldn't let him get the upper hand like he always did.
She could still see him on the elevator earlier this evening, smirking at her when he realized she would have to take a ride with him down to the parking garage at the end of the work day.
He was so smug and cocky in his dark blue, expensive suit that she couldn't help but notice how it was tailored to fit his body just so. It frustrated Rey that the man she couldn't stand made her a little weak in the knees. On more than one occasion she'd imagine herself licking the scar that ran down his cheek, and she hated herself for being so weak.
"Staying home tonight with the cats, I assume?" He loosened his silk tie, revealing a glimpse of his skin underneath. She tried not to notice his cologne, but it infiltrated her senses, making her lose her train of thought.
"Um, as a matter of fact, I have a Jane Austen book club meeting," she explained. "Not that I need to tell you." She held her head high, trying to fake her nerd pride.
"How...exhilarating." If a tone of voice could roll its eyes, the one he used did just that.
Pulling her hair behind her ears, she watched the count down of the elevator numbers and cursed its slowness. She should've kept her mouth shut while she was ahead, but that wasn't how Rey ticked.
"So...what do you have planned for tonight, a threesome?" She asked backhandedly, but her voice squeaked in the process of trying to be saucy. Rey hated how she acted around him. She was confident in all areas of her life, except when it came to Kylo. She gulped when he took a step closer to her, leaning down to whisper in her ear.
"I'm headed the the Masquerade Gala tonight. Care to come with me? I'll make it worth your while." His breath tickled the tiny hairs on her neck. Her toes curled a bit in her Louboutin heels from the almost-contact of the man she hated.
Her body screamed yes, yes, Oh God, yes! But her head answered with a definite no way in hell.
"I'm busy, so thanks but no thanks." The hair she tried to keep behind her ears kept falling in her face which aggravated her. The man next to her drove her to the brink of madness.
The elevator finally stopped, and the doors opened. He chivalrously let her exit first.
She watched his tailored suit walk away towards his luxury car she couldn't name.
"Enjoy talking about your fictional characters and avoiding getting into a relationship with a real man. Tell Whiskers I said hi." He remarked before he shut his fancy door and sped away.
As she stood at the bottom of the steps of the Chandrila Centre, she recalled the look she wanted to slap off his face as he drove away. That was when she changed her mind. She cancelled her book club meeting and began her hurried preparations for the gala with no time to think about her rash decision.
Rey had squeezed her body in her gold evening gown she had delivered from Gucci at the last minute and then gently placed the matching jeweled mask on, concealing her face. She made sure she didn't mess up the hair she worked on for almost an hour—about fifty six more minutes than she normally did.
She began her long trek up the steps to the Hannah City Centre. She was determined to find her Mr. Darcy tonight to spite her cocky coworker. The man she would meet would not be fictional. He would be real and amazing.
It would hopefully make Kylo Ren jealous as hell.