masquerade ➳ michael b. jordan

000

NYC, 9:30 pm.

Taessa Bellarose

"Why can't I Theo?" I impatiently tapped my foot at his bedroom door as he fixed his bow.

"Because you're not old enough to go. There's gonna be mature people there." He chuckled. "Plus, I don't have time to be watching over you. You know you're needy." My face turned into a low scowl. Seventeen is not young.

"Haha, you're so funny. I'm not needy." I slumped my usual perfect posture at his response.

"I lied, Whatever. I wanna have fun and not worry about some guy groping my sister in the middle of the dance floor, thinking it's cool cause he has a mask on and nobody knows who he is." He paused, getting frustrated with his bow tie. I walked over to him, slowly. A sneaky look laced my face.

"Why are you having it in daddy's hotel if I'm not allowed to go." He was looking at me like he knew what I was thinking.

"Dad's hotel, has nothing to do with it. Sneak in if you want. I don't really care. I'm just gonna say... For the record, if dad asks; I was totally against it and I told you not to go. Deal?"

I finished tying his bow together with a cheeky smile. "Happy 21st Birthday Theodore."

"Thanks baby sis." He said before kissing my forehead. "I gotta go, Michael is waiting in the ballroom, along with everyone else."

My face twitched at the mention of Michael's name. I tried to conceal it in front of Theo because that's his best friend. He had always suspected that I had a cheeky child-like crush on Michael just by the way I would stare at him. Those moments when he would come up the elevator to my family's penthouse to greet Theo, I would have to contain my smiles. Those moments when he would flash that perfect dimpled smile at me. It also helped that he was the heir to his family's business; J Corp. His dad is one of the most successful media moguls in the country. He basically controls a lot of what normal people watch on Tv because he owns most of the channels.

My family isn't as rich as his, but we come pretty close. We own a chain of hotel's all over the USA. The Bellarose Suites is the most sought after hotel for NBA/NFL players, Celebs, Businessmen that are in town and many more.

Having hotel's to run around the country means, our dad is almost never around. I use to resent him for it, but as I got older I realized that it isn't his fault. He always made sure me and Theo were taken care of. As for my mom, she died in birth; with me. I always snuck pictures of her just to see how beautiful she was. Even though Theo resembles her more with his caramel skin and bright green eyes.

I can't help but feel at blame for why me and Theo don't have a mother and how my dad probably won't fall in love again.

"Bye sis." Theo said, placing his mask on and stepping into the elevator. "See you soon? I suppose." He chuckled as the elevator doors closed. All I could think of was, Dress! Shoes! Mask!

I walked into my room, to see a single peachy colored mask lying in the middle of my bed. I smiled real big, because I know who left it.

Opening the wardrobe that contained dresses I skimmed it carefully, trying to find the perfect peach colored dress to match the mask in the sea of dresses I had.

~~

Stepping into the elevator, I held the diamond encrusted clutch close to me, while I pressed the button to the bottom floor. I checked the time quickly, then I slid my phone into a hidden pocket on the inside of my dress. I wore the clutch to every fancy event because if I lost it, my initials were embedded on the inside; making it easy to find. I never kept anything valuable in my purse, only some lip gloss and a tiny mirror.