Chapter 14 #3
‘So, no,’ she finished for me.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said softly.
‘Don’t be.’ She straightened up and lifted her chin defiantly. ‘I look great, you look great, we should go somewhere where people can see how gorgeous we are.’
That made me laugh for real. ‘You want to go out?’
‘Why not? We might as well. And –’
‘And?’ I prompted.
‘It will be good for us to try to forget about what just happened,’ she said, and how could I possibly say no to her after that?
‘Do you have somewhere in mind?’
‘Yeah, I know a place. Come on.’
There was a cab right at the top of the alley, and I waved at it to make sure it didn’t drive off or pick anyone else up. The driver stuck his hazard lights on while we slid into the leather back seat. It smelled like incense and also like someone’s takeout.
‘Where you going?’ the driver asked, his voice a pure Brooklyn drawl.
Alice gave him the address, and when we pulled away from the curb, I reached over and took her hand.
We headed to Midtown and a club called Hackney that I hadn’t been to before.
When we arrived, I paid the driver and held the door of the cab open for Alice to slide out.
I turned to my left, already resigned to joining the back of the queue, but Alice grabbed my hand and marched up to the security guy on the door.
‘Alice?’ the guy said. ‘Everything okay?’
She nodded, smiling warmly at him, and went in for a hug. ‘It’s good to see you, Ethan.’
He hugged her back. ‘Who’s this?’ he asked, giving me the stink-eye before lowering his voice. ‘Not another bitch girlfriend?’
Alice pulled away laughing, while my stomach was busy doing somersaults.
‘No more bitch girlfriends for me,’ Alice said. ‘This is Kendra.’
‘Hi.’ I gave him a small wave, still reeling from the fact that Alice had once had a bitch girlfriend. Potentially more than one bitch girlfriend.
‘Kendra, this is Ethan. He sometimes drives for us.’
Part-time driver, part-time bouncer. The Mulligans knew how to choose their staff.
‘Can we come in?’ Alice asked. ‘It’s been kind of a rough night. I need some fun.’
‘Of course,’ he said, ushering her past. ‘Let me know if you need anything? I’m working all night.’
‘Thank you,’ she said, and I followed her inside.
Hackney was totally different to Tanoshimu.
Where Wilson’s club was sleek and dark and mysterious, this one was bright and loud and obnoxious – in a good way.
Multicolored lights swung around an enormous dancefloor, reflecting off mirrored walls and a shiny black floor.
People were wearing wild club clothes, not elegant designer dresses, and the general vibe was younger.
‘What now?’ I yelled at Alice over the thumping music.
She shrugged. ‘Want to dance?’
‘Sure.’
I followed her onto the dancefloor and let myself be swept away by the people and the music and the atmosphere. Alice threw her hands in the air and spun around, laughing as the music switched to a Taylor Swift song, and even though I was definitely not a Swiftie, I could get behind the remix.
I closed my eyes and tried to forget about what had happened earlier, while forcing myself not to be self-conscious, because what was the point?
This wasn’t my usual hangout, so it was very unlikely anyone here would ever see me again, and if I was honest with myself, I needed to let go.
Everything had been so stressful and overwhelming over the last couple of months, and I’d almost gotten used to the permanent tension headache that clustered at the base of my skull.
But tonight I promised myself would be different.
Time went fuzzy as I got lost in the music, and I had no idea how long we were dancing for before someone tapped Alice on the shoulder.
I immediately went on high alert, waiting for the next thing to go wrong, but the girl just leaned in and shouted something to Alice over the music, then gestured to a VIP booth.
Alice nodded enthusiastically then grabbed my hand and started walking toward the VIP area.
‘What’s happening?’ I asked when we reached the booth.
‘Ethan sent us a drink,’ she said. ‘And said we could use this area for the next hour while it’s free.’
‘That’s nice of him,’ I said suspiciously, but Alice just laughed and told me not to be cynical.
Well, I guess she had told Ethan she wanted to have a good time, so buying her a drink was a sweet gesture. He was clearly ignoring the fact she wasn’t yet twenty-one.
I grabbed the bottle of champagne and poured two glasses. It was here, it was free, and I wanted a fucking drink. It felt like the first positive thing that had happened to me in a really long time.
‘Cheers,’ Alice said, and I clinked my glass against hers.
The bubbles exploded on my tongue. I’d had sparkling wine before with my family and I’d snuck a few beers with my friends in the park, but this tasted different … better. Much better.
‘Can I ask you something?’ Alice asked, narrowing her eyes at me.
‘Sure.’
She hesitated, drank more champagne, then hesitated again.
‘You are … bisexual?’ she said, squinting like she was trying to read my label.
I snorted with laughter. ‘If you like.’
‘No, it’s not up to me; this is very much something you decide for yourself.’
‘You sound very grumpy about that,’ I said, deciding teasing her about it would be more entertaining than giving her an answer.
‘You could have told me!’
‘What, and steal your thunder? You happen to be a lesbian, remember?’
She playfully pushed me. ‘Hey, I didn’t say it like that.’
Alice silently finished her glass and then held it out for a refill. I concentrated on the glass rather than staring at her lips.
The alcohol, and the bubbles, were already going to my head.