Smacking her laptop shut, Lana's eyes stared at the door as it swung open and in came her friend Jessie. Her long blonde hair curled over her shoulders, her blue eyes staring into Lana's with a mischievous glint lurking inside them.



''You're watching porn!'' Her brow lifted while a smirk planted itself onto her lips. Although Lana felt better about the fact that her friend didn't suspect anything about her secret online duties to a mysterious man, a part of her wished that she could tell her.



''You caught me.'' Lana forced a smile. Her mind drifting off to the conversation she was having with the unknown stranger behind the screen. He had told her that they'd be meeting soon, he'd told her to be ready and yet she was anything but ready.



''Hey, Jessie..'' she wandered off, not entirely sure if she wanted to bring this conversation up but it had been eating away at her for the longest time and she needed some answers. Answers that she couldn't seem to find.



''Yes?'' Jessie walked over and took a seat on the bed, although the smirk had never left her expression, there was a hint of concern somewhere deep within the blue of her orbs.



''I was wondering, did you see me with someone, anyone, at that masquerade party?'' Her heart was pounding and she couldn't help but fiddle with the sleeves on her shirt, afraid that she'd give away the fact that, that party, had become her nightmare.



''You mean the fetish party?'' A small laugh escaped her friends throat as she lifted an eyebrow for the second time. Lana had refused to talk about the party ever since that night, avoiding any subject to do with it and now, she decided, it was time to come to terms with her reality and try to fix it. ''The last I saw you at the party was in the crowd, you were dancing with some guy. Before I could get to you, you had disappeared.''



''Who was the guy?'' If her heart beat any faster, she knew for sure she would have a stroke. The conversation had barely started and she was already under the attack of endless amount of thoughts, thoughts that only ended with her having sex with a man she hadn't even exchanged a word with. How she allowed herself to lose herself that much? She had no idea and she sure as hell regretted it.



''I don't know. He was wearing a mask. I didn't get to see his face, why?'' A frown replaced the smirk on Jessie's face as she studied her friend. She'd noticed that Lana had been distant since the party and she'd wanted to know why but she never pushed the matter and now, as she stared at her friend who seemed to be so lost in her own world, she knew that something was definitely wrong. ''What's going on?'' Jessie's hand reached for Lana's, trying to show her that she was there, that she was worried but that didn't stop Lana from pretending as she stood up from the bed, forcing a false smile and heading for the door.



''Didn't you want to introduce me to your new boytoy?'' Jessie didn't miss Lana's attempt at changing the subject but she let it slip by. Getting up and following her out of the room, her worry dissipated and exchanged into an excitement as they made their way out of the house and into the car, she couldn't wait to introduce Adam to Lana. She'd met him a week before the party and he was the one who told her about the party. Jessie had planned to introduce him to Lana on that night but he never managed to make it.



Now, here they were, sitting at a local coffee shop, waiting on him to show up. Lana's eyes searched the door, watching it open and in came a tall, built, handsome male. His brown tousled hair matched the brown in his orbs. Sharp facial features and a slight bit of facial hair that topped off his masculine profile. He certainly was attractive and she shunned herself for staring at her friend's man.



Pulling herself together, she shot a smile towards Jessie along with a small wink to show her approval, however that approval went under the question as Adam took a seat on the table, with his eyes, fixated on her. Swallowing the lump in her throat and ignoring the uneasy feeling she had in her gut, she introduced herself to the man sat before her.



The time went by slow and painful, her sense of safety was evaporating in the small confined space of the coffee shop. She wanted to be happy for her friend, to make Adam feel comfortable and continue to approve of their relationship but something didn't feel right and he sure as hell wasn't making her feel comfortable either.



''So, Lana. Do you go online often?'' The same words that left his mouth were the same words that got stuck in her throat, choking her, making her gag on the coffee that she was finding difficult to swallow down as the realisation of what he had just asked sunk in. Online. The word itself was making her skin crawl with goosebumps, let alone the actual question or the meaning behind it.



Was she being paranoid or had he just hinted something to her? She sat frozen in her seat, her skin paled out, her mind a foggy mess. She had forgotten for a second that Jessie was also sitting with them until she heard her friends voice.



''Online?'' Jessie asked, just as confused as Lana.



''Yeah like Skype, put on a show for online men.'' The more he spoke, the more she felt suffocated. Unable to form the words to respond, she sat there stunned, refusing to participate in the current conversation anymore. Bile had rushed to the surface of her throat, making her head spin with nausea. ''I'm kidding, I meant online as in online gaming. I feel like I've heard your voice on an online game before.'' Jessie relaxed at his answer, turning to face her still in shock friend.



Although he seemed genuine about what he had said, Lana found it hard to believe. She wasn't sure if it was her paranoia or she was actually right to feel so wrong about this guy. Pretending to feel sick, Lana excused herself and headed to go back home. Although it wasn't all completely a lie, she really did feel emotionally sick. She hadn't said a word after his question.



And she was afraid that he really might be the one.