31. Kinsley
31
KINSLEY
W hen I walk through the entrance of Limelight , I’m immediately blinded by strobe lights. Loud rock music blares from the speakers around the room, and it’s no surprise that crowds of bodies are dancing to the heavy beats in the center of the room on the makeshift dance floor. The stench of stale beer, body odor, cigarettes, and cheap perfume assault my senses as Sadie drags me through the crowded room with Matt hot on my heels.
When we finally reach the bar after pushing through hordes of people, Sadie orders us our usual cocktails and Matt orders himself a beer.
I want to tell him the drink will only add to the unpleasant beer smell hanging in the air, but I don’t. The last thing I need to be is a party pooper when my best friends are taking time out of their night to spend it with me.
I smile at Sadie when she hands me my drink and the three of us patrol the room for the table she booked. Matt manages to find the empty table in the back of the room. Being tall certainly has its perks.
Once we’re settled at the table, I sip on the cocktail and sigh with relief.
Oh, yeah. This is what I needed.
“Thanks for taking me out tonight,” I say to my friends over the music. “I needed this.”
Sadie leans across the small circle table to rub my forearm gently. Her tight brown curls are styled neatly around her face. “Anytime, Kin, you know that. We could tell you needed some cheering up, so what better way to put a smile on your dial than to take you out for drinks?”
“For the record, I suggested we go out for lunch, but Sade was adamant about taking you to Limelight so she could get you drunk,” Matt says with a shrug.
Sadie’s eyes widen before she slaps Matt across the shoulder. “Hey! That was supposed to stay between us.”
I can’t help but chuckle as they continue to banter with each other. Being away from the silence of my house and focusing my attention on something that isn’t Nash Beck related is working as a great distraction.
I know I can’t hide from the reality of the situation forever, but at least I don’t have to worry about it for one night.
It is a problem for future me tomorrow morning.
“The only rule for tonight is no talking about Nash or the scandal,” I say when Sadie and Matt finish arguing. Sadie opens her mouth to protest, but I hold my hand up to stop her. “Please, Sade? I don’t want to talk about him or our relationship tonight. Just for one night, please?”
Matt offers me a nod of agreement, but Sadie sighs dramatically. I watch silently as she contemplates my request, twirling the ends of her hair as if she were in a tense battle between wanting to agree but also needing to know the details.
After a long moment of silence, she exhales slowly and nods. “Okay, fine. I promise I won’t bring him up, but you owe me.”
I hold my glass in the air and wait for them to tap their glasses against mine. “To having a good night with no drama.”
“Cheers!” Sadie and Matt chorus before we all take a long sip from our beverages.
As we delve into catching each other up on our lives, it feels nice to not have to talk about my relationship with Nash. I can focus on filling them in on my modeling jobs and future plans for other projects. It’s also nice to hear about what is happening in my friends’ lives, too.
Sadie is still having issues at work with her boss and having to take on extra workloads. She’s confident she can sort that out soon.
Matt’s restaurant is flourishing. It’s now one of the best five-star restaurants to visit in Los Angeles, and more and more celebrities are flocking through his door, hoping to snag a table.
The smile on my face as I listen to them talk about their accomplishments and dreams is filled with admiration and joy. It’s nice to see my friends succeeding in life and doing everything they have ever dreamed of.
We spent countless hours talking about our futures during lunchtime at school and after class. Back then, it felt like such a stretch to make all these dreams come true, but we have proven if you work hard enough for what you want, anything is possible.
“So, Matt, are you seeing anyone?” I ask. I twirl the plastic straw around the glass of my third cocktail while I wait for his response.
Matt raises a brow at me. “We can’t ask you about your love life, but ours is fair game?”
I feign a look of innocence as I shrug. “Sorry, Mattie, but rules are rules.”
“Yeah,” Sadie interjects, clearly excited to see Matt on the chopping block. “Spill everything.”
He playfully rolls his eyes and chugs the remainder of his fourth beer. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he sighs, defeated. “Okay, fine. I am seeing someone.”
Sadie and I lock eyes from across the table, and moments later, a squeal of excitement erupts from our throats. Sadie grabs Matt’s forearm and gazes up at him. “What’s her name? How did you meet? Is she nice? Is she?—”
Matt chuckles and presses his finger to her lips to silence her. “Jesus, Sade, calm down.” He pulls his finger away and Sadie’s cheeks flame with embarrassment. “Her name is Jennifer and we met a few weeks ago when she was dining in the restaurant. I noticed her at a table alone. After thirty minutes, I realized she was still alone so I went over to see if everything was all right. She told me she had been stood up and apologized for wasting my time.”
My eyes widen with anticipation. “What happened next?”
Matt rubs the back of his neck, his cheeks turning a deep red as he recalls the next part of the story. “Well, because I felt so bad for her, I told her to stay and that dinner would be on me. She tried to refuse, of course, but my persuasion made her stay. Throughout the night, I found myself sitting down to talk with her over a glass of wine before I was rushed off somewhere to help. And I don’t know, we just… clicked, I guess.”
With a knowing smirk on her face, Sadie twirls her finger in the air at Matt. “You player. But I have to give credit where credit is due because that is one way to pick up a lonely woman.”
Matt playfully swats Sadie’s finger out of his face. “It wasn’t like that, I promise. I felt sorry for her that she got stood up and wanted to make sure she still had a good night. That was my intention. But then it turned into something more because we had so much in common, and my God is she fucking beautiful.”
I smile at my best friend, swooning at his love life. “That’s so cute. I’m happy for you, Mattie.”
“Will we get to meet her soon?” Sadie asks with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Matt rolls his tongue in his mouth thoughtfully before he shrugs. “Maybe. She knows about you both, and although she is keen to meet you, I want to make sure she’s prepared. You two are… a lot.”
Sadie feigns hurt at his words while I laugh. It’s nice to see him so happy. He hasn’t dated anyone in two years since his last girlfriend cheated on him. I’m glad he’s finally healed from that situation.
“Actually, Kin, now that I think about it, when are we going to meet this Travis friend of yours? You mention him every now and then, but we are yet to meet him.”
My hand instinctively rubs the beaded bracelet around my wrist. “Well, he’s busy with whatever project he’s currently working on. We don’t get much of a chance to talk as it is, so getting him out of the house to meet you guys will be a tough feat.”
“He sounds like a nice guy,” Matt comments. “At least from what you’ve told us about him.”
“That’s why I want to meet him.” Sadie sucks the last of the liquid in the glass through the straw and smacks her lips. “I hope you tell him about us.”
“Y-yeah, I do. All good things, I promise.”
I smile at the memory of writing my first letter to Travis when my family moved to Los Angeles. It had been my first day of freshman year, and I couldn’t wait to relay everything that happened with Sadie and Matt to my best friend. I wanted Travis to know all the good things happening in my life so he knew I was okay. Given the darkness that had formed deep inside our souls, we found comfort knowing the other was okay and enjoying the small things in life.
Travis had responded with a letter filled with support and excitement for me, as well as good news of his own. He said he couldn’t wait to meet my new friends so he could thank them for making me happy.
I blink back tears forming in the corner of my eyes. Needing to collect myself and gather some air in my lungs, I clap my hands together. “Well, I’m going to order us another round.” I stand from the stool with wobbly legs, but manage to right myself with the help of Matt. “I’ll be back soon.”
Limelight is even more crowded now it’s later in the night and all the party animals are out. I have to fight my way through drunk gropers and couples locking lips on the dance floor before I reach the bar. The two bartenders working are run off their feet as they frantically race around the space making drinks.
Wrapping my arms around my waist, I wait for my turn to place my order. But with how busy they are, I could be waiting a while.
With a sigh, I turn to look over my shoulder at the people dancing in the middle of the room. I can barely make out faces in the crowd because of the dark lighting. Fluoro shirts and jackets glow under the blue light, creating a sea of bright colors as everyone moves to the beat of the music.
As I turn back to the bar, hoping to catch the eye of one of the bartenders, I feel a warm hand at the base of my spine through my black leotard. Sadie told me to wear my sexiest clothes, so I went for a leotard with a little black denim skirt and knee-high black boots. It was one of my only options that didn’t include a sweater or jeans.
“Hey there, pretty little thing. Can I buy you a drink?”
I gaze over my shoulder to see a man a little older than me smiling smugly. His skin is dampened with sweat as if he had just got done busting a move on the dance floor, and the blonde strands of hair hanging over his brown eyes are slicked with sweat too.
I fight the urge to gag at the overwhelming scent of body odor mixing with whatever cheap cologne he sprayed on his skin before leaving his house tonight.
With a forced smile on my lips, I ignore my skin crawling where he’s touching me and shake my head. “I’m good, thanks.”
That response isn’t a good enough answer for him.
“Come on. I can buy you any drink you want.” His hand slides down my back enough to where half of his hand is resting on the top of my ass.
My body freezes at his touch, sending icy waves of dread across my warm skin. My heart is in my throat when the man leans down to whisper in my ear, “I’d be happy to take you home too, if you’re up for it.”
My mind is screaming to get his hands off me, but all I can do is stand motionless as his hand drags lower to rest firmly on the curve of my ass. My heart just about leaps out of my chest when he squeezes roughly, eliciting a strained yelp from my throat.
“Oh, you like that, do you?” The excitement and pleasure in his voice are evident as he continues to invade my space and my body. My stomach knots with nausea. “Well, aren’t you a good girl?”
Blood rushes in my ears as his words repeat painfully in my mind before morphing into a much sinister memory.
Always such a good girl for me, Kinnie. Now, I wanna see how much of a good girl you are for the others.
I open my mouth to scream, but no sound comes out.
Across the bar, I lock eyes with one of the bartenders as they come over to order my drink. I do my best to beg with my eyes for their help to get this fucking guy away from me, but with the loud music and dim lighting, he doesn’t pick up on my pleas for help. He can’t see the man touching me without my consent.
Instead, he moves along to the next waiting person when I don’t speak.
Oh, Kinnie. Don’t you know I love it when you cry? Your tears are so pretty.
If I wasn’t so paralyzed, trapped by the memories of my past and the man standing behind me, tears would be streaming down my face.
The man squeezes my ass again, and a voice sounds from behind us. The deep notes send a shiver racing down my spine.
He’s here .
“If you don’t get your fucking hands off my girl, then you’re going to have a serious problem on your hands. One that ends with you fucking losing them.”