Chapter Thirteen
Julia
“It’s not a fancy type of club, right?” Chloe asks, trying to get a look out the windows for a sense of where Alex may be taking us. “Because this is the only cute outfit I brought, but it’s not nice enough for the Met Gala or a movie premiere.”
Alex gives her a look. “The Met Gala or a movie premiere? What kind of life do you think I’m living here?”
“I try to be prepared for anything.” No one tells Chloe that the Met Gala happens in May or that movie premieres usually happen in LA.
Alex and I share a look.
“She wants to meet Leonardo DiCaprio,” I stage-whisper.
Alex pretends to gag. “Ew, why?”
Chloe rolls her eyes. “Because I’m in his age bracket, duh.”
I didn’t think Alex could look any more grossed out, but she proves me wrong, and this time pretends to throw up. “Double ew. What is wrong with you?”
Chloe sighs and looks back out the window. “So much.”
The car comes to a stop in front of a nondescript building with a small line already forming out front. Everyone is wearing something different, some in typical club attire: short skirts and high heels. And others in everyday type clothing: baggy jeans, tank tops, and sneakers.
“It’s casual. No celebrities. Definitely no Leo.” She glares at Chloe. “What you’re both wearing is fine. Just like I told you back in my room.”
Once the ride is paid for and we pile out of the back seat, a sign written in neon block letters gives Alex’s surprise away. I’m positively elated. Chloe, on the other hand…
“An eighties club?”
“An eras club. Current music on the main floor, then you’ve got two thousands on the second and eighties and nineties on the top. Surprise.”
I squeal with delight. Chloe throws her head back and groans.
When the bouncer gives Alex an acknowledging nod and lets us in, along with stamps that indicate we’re old enough to drink, I give her a questioning look. She whispers that the bouncer is Trinity’s friend, Rafi, and to play it cool.
“This is amazing,” I say when we walk through the doors.
“This is my nightmare,” Chloe grumbles behind us. “Why did I decide to come again?”
The music gets louder once we pass through the second set of doors, and Alex leads us up the stairs.
A rap song I’ve never heard before fades from the first floor to the next, which is currently blasting Bruno Mars, and finally, we reach the top floor.
It isn’t as crowded up here, and the space is noticeably smaller, but I love it.
Plus, the Spice Girls are playing, which is a great sign.
Alex doesn’t stop moving. She leads us along the edge and to the bar on the other side of the room, stopping at quite possibly the most attractive person in this entire building.
Who proceeds to pull Alex into a searing kiss.
My stomach twists unpleasantly. I get the sense that Alex hasn’t been honest. That Trinity isn’t just some casual girl she’s been seeing. That she’s clearly something more.
When they pull apart, Alex clears her throat and swipes her thumb across the lipstick now printed on her lips. “This is Trinity. Trin, these are my friends, Julia and Chloe.”
Trinity holds out her hand and looks at me with a smile. “Hi, it’s really nice to finally meet you.”
I try to match her enthusiasm. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
Chloe openly checks her out when it’s her turn to shake her hand. “Wow, how’d Alex convince you to date her?”
Trinity laughs. It’s melodic and whimsical. I kind of hate it.
“It was the other way around, actually.” She motions to the bar behind her. “May I buy you both a drink?”
“I’ll just have what you’re having.” Chloe says, and I ask for water, not sure I’m ready to mix alcohol and the forced proximity of Alex and Trinity and the knowledge that they may actually be girlfriends and not just “casually seeing each other.”
“Does she have a single brother?” Chloe asks the second Trinity turns to motion for the bartender.
Alex rolls her eyes. “No, and please don’t be weird.”
Once we have our drinks, Alex orders some sort of local craft beer, and we snag a small stand-up table near the back where it’s marginally quieter. Alex takes her spot by Trinity’s side and slips her arm around her waist.
It stings in a way that I don’t care for. I try to catch Alex’s gaze, but she won’t look at me. I tuck in beside Chloe instead, pressing my arm against hers like a lifeline.
“Alex told me you both like eighties music,” Trinity says and leans into Alex’s side.
Chloe rolls her eyes. “That’s an understatement.”
“Our parents used to play eighties all the time. It just kind of stuck,” I explain.
It’s a simple answer, and she nods like she understands, but there’s no way she can.
There’s no way she could know how many times our sad eighties playlist got us through our grayest days.
Or about all the songs we blasted in the car with the windows down or our curated playlists for trips we’ve taken together.
She doesn’t know how we used to sing along to Roxette using our hairbrushes as microphones.
Or how we’d belt Bon Jovi at the pool during the summer before jumping off the diving board to try to impress the lifeguards.
It isn’t just a common interest. It’s something that’s been woven so deep into our relationship that it’s become a solid part of our friendship.
So, no, there’s no way she can understand.
“Do you have a favorite singer?”
“Bruce,” Alex and I say at the same time.
Finally, Alex looks at me.
“We used to go into the bathroom and turn off the lights and dance around to ‘Dancing in the Dark.’ ” Her gaze remains locked on mine, and I swear, her eyes start to sparkle. And suddenly, we’re ten again on a rainy day, hidden away in her bathroom with the doors closed and music blaring.
“Remember when you stubbed your toe on the base of the toilet?” I ask her, the noise of the club fading away.
Her lips stretch into a slow smile. “I thought I broke it.”
“You made Mason give you piggyback rides for days.”
We both chuckle. And for a brief moment, things go back to the way they were before. Before we walked a blurred line of best friends and the possibility of something more. Before we started pulling away from each other.
At least until Trinity says, “That’s really cute.”
It’s not condescending or mocking, but it’s enough for Alex to put her mask back up. To fall back into the present day and to redraw those metaphorical lines between us.
“So…” Chloe must also notice the switch in mood because she drags the word out in order to keep the conversation going. “You met at the gym?”
As much as I don’t want to know the details, I’m kind of dying to know them, too.
The bits and pieces I managed to get out of Alex weren’t enough to paint a full picture.
And I haven’t pushed because Alex keeps her dating life close, and I wanted to respect that.
But Chloe thrives on details. And if Alex won’t give them, maybe Trinity will.
Now I’m not so sure I want to hear them.
“Yeah, I was there a few times a week, and then one night, I saw her. She looked so cute in her polo, and I just couldn’t stay away.” She grins and steals a kiss. I clench my jaw.
“Alex said your latest gig is for a start-up lingerie company,” Chloe presses.
Trinity gets excited and launches into facts about the company and the contract she just signed with them.
But I’m not really listening. Instead, I watch as Alex slips her arm back around Trinity’s waist as if she’s proud.
Her hand moves higher and stops along Trinity’s ribs, and her fingers press into her side somewhat possessively.
Like she wants everyone to know they’re together.
The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach twists into something else. Something that feels a lot like jealousy.
“You play field hockey, right?”
It takes me a moment to realize the conversation has shifted back to me.
“She’s really good,” Chloe answers on my behalf. “She got into Penn on a scholarship. Academic and sports.”
Trinity nods. “Oh, that’s right, I remember Alex telling me that. High school valedictorian. Very impressive.”
Alex has told me so little about Trinity that it surprises me to learn that Alex has been telling Trinity about me. I wonder what else she’s told her. If Trinity knows anything about our night at the hotel.
Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” comes on, and Alex and I share the same wide-eyed, excited look, everything else forgotten.
“Whitney.” We both say her name like she’s a siren calling us to the dance floor.
Alex’s hand drops from Trinity’s side, and she whispers something in her ear, then ushers me out to dance, leaving her startled girlfriend behind.
About four songs later, we take a water break, but next thing I know, Trinity is pulling Alex back out on the dance floor and taking my place. My heart sinks when Alex doesn’t look back.
Chloe finds me soon after and orders us two shots. “Thought you’d be out there with Alex. Isn’t this one of your songs?”
I knock back my shot instead of answering and order a gin and tonic.
Chloe asks for a mojito and leans on the bar, slightly out of breath and just a little sweaty.
For someone who claims to hate the eighties, she sure seems to be having a good time.
“Well, Trinity is a babe. Pretty sure they’re more serious than we were led to believe.
” The bartender hands me my drink, and I take a long sip, wincing a little as it goes down. “You okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I hiccup thanks to the quick intake of carbonation.
“For starters, you just downed a glass of bottom shelf gin and tonic.” I hiccup again. “And you’ve been staring at Trinity like she just kicked your cat.”
I glare. “Leave Celine out of this.”
“Are you upset that Alex is dating someone? Or are you upset that Alex is dating her?”