Chapter Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Kya spent the day floating on an inflated doughnut raft all while drowning in misery. It was her last full day in Miami and Quinn hadn’t reached out. She’d added her number to the note, hoping for a call, a text, anything at all, but it was obvious Quinn was freezing her out. Could she blame her? She’d been kind, and Kya had met her kindness with cowardice. Her remorse was mixed with something else. She missed Quinn. Not in a romantic way – she wasn’t delusional. Quinn would likely end up with Nick, or a Nick equivalent. Kya, a medallist in the ‘will she, won’t she’ games, would never participate in that sport again. It was a waste of time. So, why had she let her feelings bleed into that note?
What was wrong with her? Couldn’t she keep it together?
After dinner, Kya packed her bags then joined Adrian and Hugo on the deck for the last time. She collapsed onto the seat opposite theirs. Lucky immediately leaped from Adrian’s lap onto hers. She cuddled her close. ‘I’m going to miss this little one.’
‘Why are you rushing back to California?’ Adrian asked. ‘Stay another week or two.’
‘Or maybe just one,’ Hugo suggested. ‘We’ve got guests the week after next.’
‘Is this an Airbnb?’ Kya asked. ‘Are you going to charge my AmEx?’
‘Our rates are reasonable,’ Hugo assured her.
‘Who’s coming?’ Kya asked.
‘Sam and Roman,’ Adrian replied.
The names sounded familiar. ‘They got married in Tobago, right?’
‘That was Naomi and Anthony,’ Hugo said.
‘I can’t keep up with all your friends,’ Kya said flatly. ‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ve got stuff to do.’
‘Like what?’ Adrian asked.
‘Update my resumé!’ she cried, exasperated.
‘After college, I postponed grad school for six months,’ Adrian said.
‘Your point?’ she asked.
‘I wanted to be one hundred per cent sure about medical school.’
‘Can anyone be one hundred per cent sure about anything?’ Kya asked.
‘If anyone can, it’s your brother,’ Hugo replied.
‘If you let me, I’ll cover your rent for a few months,’ Adrian said. ‘That way you can afford to take a break and reimagine your future.’
What would she do with all that free time? ‘Hard pass,’ she said. ‘I need to hustle. That’s just who I am.’
Lucky scurried off her lap and rejoined the couple. The highly sensitive animal likely preferred their chill vibes to hers. It was time to go home. She could not be around happy, well-adjusted people or pets.
‘In that case, what time is your flight?’ Hugo asked. ‘If I can’t convince you to stay, let me take you to the airport.’
That was an offer she’d gladly accept. ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘I fly out at five.’
‘In the morning?’ Hugo asked, scandalized.
‘No, man!’ she cried. ‘Are you nuts? Nothing gets me out of bed before dawn.’
Meet me at Club Space for a sunrise set. I’ll leave your name at the door.
If Kya hadn’t been awake, riddled with doubt, second-guessing her decision to travel home, she might have missed the text. As it was, she was awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering if maybe she should extend her stay by a couple of days – if only to placate her brother who was genuinely worried about her. Then the text came through, and Kya was out of bed, kicking off boxer shorts, rifling through her suitcase for her favourite jeans. A shot of bottled cold brew coffee, a quick text to Adrian and Hugo via the ‘A.K.H.’ group chat, and before the break of dawn, she was in a ride on her way to a rave.
She made it to Space with no problems and, as promised, her name was on a list. However, making her way through the club took effort. The doorman pointed the way, but it did not make navigating the dense crowd any easier. To say nothing of the dancers with tin foil for hair or the green-eyed alien balloon volleyed about. Kya was undeterred. She moved with purpose through the smoke-filled room, her eyes on the girl on stage in a silver bomber jacket. She was so sexy, so freakishly confident. With a push of a button or the twist of a knob, she controlled the pulse of the crowd. With a simple text message, she’d got Kya out of bed before dawn, a miracle, and at a club downtown. Kya had no regrets. To see her again was a thrill no smoke show, no laser lights, no giant disco ball could intensify.
A man grabbed her arm.
That man nearly got decked, but then Kya recognized Nick Lambert. Bleary-eyed and dishevelled, yet somehow still handsome after what looked like a long night.
‘Hey!’ he shouted in her ear.
‘Hey!’ she shouted back.
‘It’s you again,’ he said.
Again? They’d briefly met at Smoke, and Kya had quickly dipped, leaving him alone with Quinn. She was anything but a third wheel.
‘You look lost,’ he said. ‘Where are you headed?’
‘To the stage,’ she answered.
‘Need help?’
What was he going to do? Plough a route through the crowd? ‘I’m good. Thanks.’
‘Mind if I ask you a question?’ Nick said.
‘Shoot.’
‘Are you gay?’
Kya pushed away from him, only to have the crowd around them react and bounce her onto his chest. He grabbed her arm again, this time to steady her. ‘Settle down!’ he said, laughing. ‘I’m just curious.’
She was curious about him, too. Like, for example, she was dying to know who he thought he was.
‘Why are you asking?’ she said. ‘Is this a Pride event?’
Nick looked away and raked his knuckles against his stubbled chin. ‘I’ll just come out with it,’ he said. ‘I think we’re going for the same girl. Am I wrong?’
‘You’re wrong,’ she said bluntly. ‘I’m going to meet my friend who is performing tonight, or today, really. I don’t know where you’re going or what you’re looking for.’
‘Kya … don’t be like that,’ he said with a sheepish expression that might work on some, but not her. ‘I’m just sizing up my competition. Can you blame me?’
Kya didn’t bother to answer. She turned and went on her mission to reach the stage. Nothing, not even a tool like Nick, would distract her.