THREE
Alicia
C
ain had been a test of my patience to say the least. I had taken him through the basic physiotherapy rehabilitation for what one could have expected for an MCL injury at six weeks. Now I knew why the Hard Knocks Gym had wanted me for a week straight. I was either going to prove that I had what it took to start the healing process on Cain’s knee, or they would Tnd someone else. It was not only the test of my medical knowledge that was stressing me either.
Cain was a client, and a client that had been at me throughout the week.
-here was usual practitioner and patient banter, but Cain took it to a whole new level. I had only been seeing him for three days and Tnally had a moment to myself in the clinic. Could all of the would?be sports stars in the city stop getting injuredE I was grateful for every client that came to see me, but nobody had told me that managing my own practice would be so much work. Avery new client was more paperwork, the potential need for a new oRsider and was obviously more time that I needed to put into the business.
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-hrow in Cain and the few other clients that I would drive to each week, and I was stretched thin. I was not mad about it though. It had been a lifelong dream of mine to operate and practice, but it was just a lot of work and I was exhausted all the time. “ut it was better than being locked in behind a desk for eight hours a day. Now that I had a moment to myself in my oYce, I appreciated the rare reprieve between clients. ”ith -ammy around, being alone was next to impossible, and it was always like she knew just when I was settling in and pounced upon the opportunity like a lion would pounce upon its prey. -hankfully for me, there may have only been one of these impromptu meetings a week, and usually they always revolved around the same thing.
-ammy’s redhead shot around the corner of the door and I sat up, half expecting her to want something important. -he moment I saw her face, with the 4ashy, all too cheesy grin, I knew that it was nothing that I needed to take too seriously.
qPes, -ammyEz
qHi, how are you going, my busy worker beeEz
I stopped and groaned for a moment. “usy worker bee was one of her
catchphrases and nicknames for me, if I was not the boss already. If she was throwing that out so early in the conversation, I was about to be grilled for something that was not work related. Bhe was my friend after all and I still indulged her. ”hilst I enjoyed nothing more than sending a client on their way early after they had proven to me that they had successfully overcome their injury, the time between the shorter appointments was meant for catching up on work and not chit chat.
q“usy, -ammy. Is my four?thirty here yetEz
-oday, -ammy was her usual bubbly and chatty self, as I had come to expect from these meetings. If she was in a bad mood and not talking much, then I needed to be worried.qNo, not yet. I was just wanting to see if you had anything planned for this weekend.z
W! M.D. SDOKA, MD-- MAMAMDO3
-he way that she chewed the end of her pen irritated me. It was ob? noxious to say the least, but also annoying. Ds for the way she was staring at me over her glasses, I knew she wanted something. ”hy -ammy, why could your curiosity not be Juiet for just one dayE I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my eyes. I was on my feet all day and it was nice to be able to sit down for Tve minutes. 5erhaps if I invested in some headphones, she would have known not to approach me. I just wanted peace.
q”ork, -ammy. ”hy’s thatEz
qI wanted to see if you’d be up to going out on the weekend of course. I want to get my dancing shoes on. Go for a boogie, you know.z
I rolled my eyes and tried to keep the gesture hidden from her, but there was no escaping her ga*e. qI have work to do, -ammy. Invoices to pay. 5aperwork to do.z
q3h yeah, speaking of that when am I getting my pay rise.z
I sat up laughing. -here was no way if she thought with the liberties that she took and with how much stress she brought me that she was going to get paid more. q”hen you work harder.z
-ammy peeled away the pen that sat behind her ear. ”hy did she need to carry twoE Bhe answered my Juestion in the next heartbeat by launching it across the room at me. I tried to dodge it, but I was too slow. It was harmless as it clattered oR my shoulder, but it still annoyed me. I loved her, but there was no other word to describe -ammy than a pest.
qBee, this is what I mean6z
qPou’ll get over it. 7ust let me live a little6z -ammy turned to exit the oYce with a laugh. I wanted to throw the pen back at her, but there was
no doubt that she would keep it and I needed one right now. Bhe was right
though, I would get over it. It was just harmless fun in the moment, and
one that meant I was more than likely going to be getting my dancing shoes
on for the weekend. Bighing, I let -ammy walk out as she kept laughing.
qI’ll see you at the usual place, Baturday night, yeahEz
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-here was no point in arguing with her. Bhe was set in her ways, and if I did not drag myself out on Baturday, she would come and get me. -ammy was not one to take no for an answer, much like someone else that had just entered my life. Dnd if by some miracle I did manage to avoid her at all costs over the weekend, she would never let me live it down. -he most exciting thing would happen and it would be all that she would talk about for the next month.
qPes, -ammy. I’ll see you Baturday.z
FFF
Baturday night was here and now I had to face the music. I stood in front of the mirror in nothing but an oversi*ed tee that hung oR one shoulder, its faded band logo barely legible after a hundred or so washes. I was not an obsessed fan girl at all. My re4ection stared back at me, with my pupils dilated into black pools. My Tngertips drummed against my bare thighs, and the kind of electric, jittery nerves that only came with a night that promised delicious trouble surged through my body.
It was not the bad kind. -he fun kind. “ut was I ready for itE I had been out on nights with -ammy before, and they ended up with her going home with whatever slea*e ball with slicked back hair that caught her eye. It would not take long before I got bored and went home myself, alone. ”hilst it was not a pattern I hated, I did want something more. Bomething more than the light Tlled nights that ended up with not being able to remember everything I had done the previous evening.
-he city outside my window was already alive and bu**ing. Cars hummed past my open window and out there somewhere I could hear distant laughter drifting up like music that reached my ears. Dll around me, neon signs 4ickered to life as if the world itself was putting on lipstick. Dnd tonight, I was going to match its energy. Aven though it was a girl’s night, this was for me. -ammy would do whatever she wanted to do, but I needed to feel like myself for once.
I ran my Tngers through my hair. “ecause of the occasion, it was washed, still soft as cashmere, and still damp at the ends where droplets clung like tiny crystal beads. -he rich scent of coconut shampoo wafted in my nostrils and was very much the kind that would cost more than dinner at a decent restaurant. It mingled with the vanilla undertones of my leave?in conditioner. I tilted my head forty?Tve degrees, studying the stranger in my re4ection. ”here I was used to seeing for a lack of a better term, a dishevelled mess, I was Juite proud of the result. My eyes were rimmed with smudged kohl, my lips had been bitten pink, and most importantly, my cheekbones caught the harsh bathroom light. “ehind me, the outTt I had chosen lay sprawled across the unmade bed like a Juestion mark. ”ho was I going to be tonightE Dlicia the responsible oneE Dlicia the 4irtE Dlicia the girl who says yes when she normally says maybe or noE My lips curved, slow and knowing. -here was no need to have the conversation with myself. I was ready. I had already answered myself. It was deTnitely the third option.
I padded barefoot across the bedroom, stepping over a pile of clothes that looked like a fashion crime scene. It was my mistake for pouring out my entire wardrobe. -here were my Tnest dresses, heels and even a leather jacket I had forgotten I owned. -hen I spotted a sparkly top that screamed qgive me attention.z I had tried on what seemed like half of my wardrobe already, tossing rejects aside like they had oRended me. -onight had to be dangerous and I was going to look the part.
I pulled a black dress oR the bed. It was simple at Trst glance, but the fabric clung to me in a way that made it feel like it had been designed to ruin someone’s self?control. -he neckline dipped just enough to be a promise, and the slit up the thigh was subtle, at least until I moved. -hinking that it would do me for the evening, I slid it on and watched myself transform. It always ama*ed me how fast it happened. 3ne minute I was a girl in an old tee, the next I was someone who looked like she belonged under city lights, in a crowded bar, with a drink in her hand and with the entire room
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eating out of the palm of my hand. I turned sideways, checking the Tt. It had been a while, but I was now at last stepping back into my feminine side.
q3kay. 3kay, Dlicia. I was not familiar with your game.z
My makeup bag sat open on the counter like a weapon kit, its contents spilling out in a tactical array. -he glass bottle of ivory foundation caught the bathroom light, promising to erase every 4aw that I saw in my face.
-here was concealer in its twist?up tube waiting like ammunition. “ron*er stood in its compact packing, the colour of desert sand. I leaned in close to the mirror as the cold porcelain edge pressed against my hipbones as I applied liJuid eyeliner with the steady precision of someone defusing a bomb. I wanted a sharp wing, one that was clean and conTdent, and one that stood out, as black as midnight against my skin. I wanted it to be the kind of look that said I bite back and leave marks.
My mascara came next, and despite knowing it’s weight, the wand still felt heavy in my hand. My lashes darkened and lifted with each stroke, separating into perfect spikes that framed my now transformed eyes. -hen came my lipstick. Oed was far too predictable. I chose a deep rose shade, the colour that best matched my skin tone and my dark hair. I pressed my lips together and stared at my re4ection again. I looked hot. -here was no other way to describe it.
My phone bu**ed on the vanity. ”ithout even looking at it, I knew who it was. I snorted, grabbing it. Bure, enough it was -ammy, telling me that she was already here. Pou could not rush perfection, and I needed another moment to apply the Tnishing touch to my outTt.
I slipped on my jewelry next. I had laid out thin gold hoops, a delicate chain necklace and a small ring that caught the light when I moved my hand. Bmall details, but they made me feel polished, like I was stepping into a version of myself I did not get to wear often. My heels were the Tnal decision.
I stared at them like they were going to judge me and knowing my luck they were doing just that. My black stilettos stood out to me as the most stunning choice. It was not the best if -ammy just wanted to go out for a boogie, but they were unforgiving. I slid them on anyway. “ecause if I was going out tonight, there was no way that I was going out to be comfortable. I was going out to be unforgettable. I grabbed my clutch, checked my perfume, and sprayed it once at my neck. It was a warm vanilla and just what I needed to complete the Tnal touches. I let the scent settle on my skin like an invitation. -hen I leaned closer to the mirror, just for a Tnal look.
My cheeks were 4ushed. My eyes were bright. My dress hugged me like it knew what it was doing. Dnd my smile looked like I was just asking for trouble. I grabbed my keys, slung my jacket over my shoulder, and headed for the door and towards the waiting city. D single thought entered the back of my mind about whatever or whoever tonight had in store for me. irst and foremost, that was getting past -ammy. My phone bu**ed, and it was her again, but I was already outside.
I spotted the uber that -ammy was sitting in and I saw that it was nothing special as I climbed into it. It was just a black -oyota Camry that had a little too much smoke of its own with not enough perfume.
-ammy budged over, neither of us wanting to sit in the front seat with the driver. I never did anyway, and I would leave all of socialising for whatever wonderful establishment that -ammy was taking us to.
qHi Leash, how are youEz
qGood, good. I’m ready to go.z
qPou look ama*ing6 -here’s going to be a lucky boy for you out there
tonight, I can just feel it.z
I rolled my eyes, not wanting to indulge her. ”e had been out do*ens of times in the past and all of them had ended the same way. Nobody was going to step up to the plate and deliver for me, and yet this time, I somehow knew that this time was going to be no diRerent.