Chapter 14
Nikita
Three rounds of tastings have been completed, and I can feel it bubbling inside of me. It’s a tasting with choices from various regions, letting us try the different champagnes of Italy, Spain, and France so far. The local Portuguese sparkling wines are up next, along with a couple of honorable mentions from New Zealand, South Africa, and another country I can’t remember. I’ve been taking full advantage of the free drinks, great music, and surprisingly pleasant company.
After moving through a few groups of people, I’ve already met most of Kenneth’s groomsmen as well as the bride, Britney, who is way friendlier than her sister. The one person that is still nowhere in sight is Violet. I’m not nervous about seeing her, but I have taken notice of how Calvin keeps scanning the room. Probably thinking he is doing it subtly, but it’s anything but. The waiters bring out the next round of tasting as the volume of the music increases, turning this into a full-on beach party as we all watch the sun disappear on the horizon. Seeing the waiter approach with the next round has me bringing my current glass to my lips, downing what is left of it before the next round.
Calvin’s laughter buzzes from beside me, “Easy there, princess.”
I wipe the corner of my mouth and put my glass down, not being able to stop a smile from forming. It’s the kind of smile that will only make an appearance when there is alcohol in my system. I keep an eye on my intoxication scale, and it is well on its way up.
“Whoops.”
Calvin shakes his head and slides his newly filled glass over to my side, joining the one that I was given. He insisted on ordering his bourbon from the bar, which is why I am experiencing double of this tasting. I look at the glasses of sparkling pink-red hue colored bubbles, looking exactly like something I will enjoy.
“Murganheira is one of the prominent producers of sparkling wines in the country…” The guide starts to take us through the next explanation, but the reflection of the last of the sun on the horizon catches my eye, giving me a chance to soak it in before it disappears for the day.
Calvin is chatting away to the man - Stuart, if I remember correctly - sitting next to him, and while I could have joined, I don’t feel like discussing the stock exchange right now.
Or ever.
My gaze scans the room, observing the other guests. On the opposite end of the long table we are all seated at, is the happy couple deep in conversation with Paul. Whom I had been forced to meet earlier. The resemblance between the two brothers is noticeable, but only when they are next to each other. While Kenneth’s hair is an in-between blonde, brown color, Paul crosses over into red-head territory. Both Kenneth and Paul have freckles dusting across their cheeks barely reaching the starting point of their beards. They are the same height, but Paul stands out - and I mean physically stands out - thanks to his rippling muscles through his chest heading up over his shoulders and down his arms. His arms fall to the side with so much space between his forearm and torso thanks to said muscles.
Calvin was also right about the whole ‘Paul being a major flirt’ thing. He has already tried to get me to have a drink with him numerous times. An activity I politely decline. I would much rather staple my nipples than engage in further conversation with that man.
My hand rests on the back of Calvin’s chair. He leans back, but still remains inches from my fingertips. A movement in the distance of my peripherals catches my attention and I turn to see Violet walking through the restaurant.
She looks exactly as she did in the images that Calvin had shown me. I can’t remember her face from that one time where I apparently met her. Either she isn’t much worth remembering or that did not happen because I didn’t recognize the photos at first. Seeing her now in person still doesn’t unlock any memory of her.
She doesn’t walk across the room, she glides with a fresh aura of sophistication. Her deep blonde hair brushes just above her shoulders, shaping her face on either side. The last time I saw this many blondes in one room, I was walking down the Barbie aisle when I was eight.
Even the sleeveless lilac dress wrapped around her tall, overly tanned frame, makes me think she resembles a doll more than a real person. She struts towards a couple at the end of the table as I shift my chair closer to Calvin’s, brushing my fingertips against his back. He turns to face me and I use this as the moment to step into character, while still keeping tabs on Violet’s movements.
I lift my hand, curling my fingers around the back of his neck, slowly dragging my nails against his skin. “Don’t move.”
He immediately tries to look around but I stop him, “You’re terrible at following instructions,” I say with amusement in my voice.
His dark eyes find mine, a flash of intrigue in them. “Is she-”
“Here? You bet.” My hand disappears into his hair, leaning closer to invade his personal space and careful to be out of earshot of anyone. His eyes widen slightly with realization and I use my hand already in his hair to keep him from moving.
“Uh-uh.” I quickly glance in Violet’s direction, who is in the distance behind Calvin. Her attention snaps towards us, and my eyes jump back to Calvin’s, “She’s looking this way.”
“She is?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Can I turn-?”
“No way,” I scoff, “As if that wouldn’t be obvious.”
Violet moves around the table greeting people along the way before heading in our direction. I reach for Calvin’s hand and place it on my thigh, brushing up against the bottom of my dress. His eyes jump to the contact between us, the feeling of his warm skin seeping beneath mine.
“It’s PDA time, Rhodes.”
His hand relaxes against my leg as he starts to slide it further down my bare skin to find a new spot over my knee. My breath catches in my throat at this, and I only realize afterwards that I need to exhale.
What the hell was that?
There is no time to ponder on that thought as Violet stops by us, her hand reaching out for Calvin’s shoulder. Her eyes drop to where his hand rests on my leg before she snaps her gaze towards him, “Hey, Cal.”
Calvin gets to his feet, his hand leaving my skin. This action annoys me. Why is he leaping out of his chair so desperately? Get a grip.
He rubs the back of his neck, nervously. “Hey, Violet. It’s good to see you.”
She leans in for a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and lingering in that embrace a bit too long for my liking. She breaths him in, exhaling a quick satisfied sigh. Not in an overtly sexual way, but more in the way that she suggests there is some longing.
I bring myself to my feet. “Hi.” Violet pulls away, her gaze falling over me as a smile forms, “Oh-hi! I’m Violet.” Extending her hand to me.
“We’ve actually met before.” I shake her hand quickly, plastering a fake smile on my lips as my role demands.
“We have?”
I nod, “At my brother’s birthday a couple of years ago.”
“Really?” Her brow raises, “Who is your brother?”
It doesn’t surprise me that she didn’t remember Jay, but then again, I can’t judge because I don’t remember her either.
“Jo?o Da Silva.”
She pauses in thought, her eyes narrowing as she pulls at her lips, “Doesn’t ring a bell.”
“You know, Jay, Vi,” Calvin jumps in, “One of my best friends from college - the sports journalist.”
“Oh, that Jay!” Her eyes widened, but I will bet my non-existent salary that she still doesn’t remember him. Her hand rests on Calvin’s arm, that overly sweet demeanor making an appearance again. “You know me, sometimes my memory needs to be jogged a little.”
Calvin and my brother have been friends for over a decade. Good friends - the best, actually, and the fact that Violet can’t recall Jay just proves how far removed Calvin had been from him. I now understand a little more why he and Mario didn’t want Calvin to come alone.
“Jog my memory of your name again,” Violet asks, that fake smile sinking further into her face, exuding an unmissable passive-aggressive energy.
Oof, this woman.
“Nikita.”
“Nikita,” she repeats after me while dropping her hand from Calvin’s arm, her blue doe eyes on me now as she presents the illusion of innocence and sweetness, “Spanish?”
“Portuguese.”
“That’s lovely!” She exclaims, “I used to take Spanish lessons back in high school.”
“That’s… nice.”
Thankfully, she turns back to Calvin because there is no stopping the confusion pulling on my face. “I heard you had brought a date, Cal. That’s great, really.”
“Couldn’t leave my… girlfriend behind.”
This man is a terrible actor.
“He’d miss me too much,” I jump in, tossing my head back in that fake small-talk laughter that I can’t stand as I slip my hand into Calvin’s, leaning into him. Although she boasts a bigger smile, there is a shift in Violet’s demeanor.
“You guys are adorable!” She clasps her hands together, her small bag resting between her arm and body as her eyes jump to Calvin’s, “I’m happy for you, honey.” There is not a drop of sincerity in her words. I watch as Calvin falls victim to her. He clears his throat, ‘Th-thanks, Vi.” This time he’s the one to reach out and give her arm a squeeze, “And you look great, as always.”
I turn towards the table, glancing down to release the eye roll begging to make an appearance. If this is going to work at all, Calvin is going to need to climb out of her ass.
They launch into a catch-up, and I find myself observing the way they move with each other. There is a clear familiarity between them; Calvin hangs on her every word. This man clearly forgets that it’s the reason I’m here in the first place. She uses ample opportunities to touch him in some way, and no matter how brief, I notice them. People watching is one of my favorite hobbies, and the dynamic between these two is as clear as day. The question is: why? Why is she showing so much interest in the man that she dumped?
“What do you do, Nikita?” Violet asks, dragging me into the conversation.
There is nothing I hate more than small talk. It’s one of the major cons of my profession, but thankfully I have had enough practice to step into these conversations without thinking.
“I’m a flight attendant.”
“Wow!” Her eyes widen disingenuously, “We do all love our sky waitresses.” She laughs, reaching out and giving my arm a squeeze as her attempt at offending me sinks deep into my stomach.
This bitch.
It’s proving difficult to be the one that doesn’t give in to that kind of energy. I have to fight the part of me that wants to tell her off in every combination possible.
Calvin looks over at me, and for a moment, I think he’s about to say something about her comment, but he remains silent.
I am not sure what is holding his skeleton up, since the man is spineless.
I join with my own fake laugh, the one I have spent years perfecting, refusing to give her the satisfaction she is so desperately seeking. “What is it that you do, Violet?”
“I’m a real estate agent.”
“Violet works under Britney’s father’s company a-” Calvin starts to explain as I lean past to grab my glass of champagne, cutting him off and making it abundantly clear that I don’t care.
“I need to get another round of this.” I sip on the drink allowing the semi-sweet taste to coat my tongue, “I think this has got to be my favorite.”
I lift Calvin’s drink to offer it to Violet who shakes her head, “I don’t drink.”
“Vi’s not big on alcohol.”
“Violet can talk for herself,” I mutter low through my teeth with a smile on my face, trying to mask it as a joke, but also hoping Calvin would get the message I’m sending his way.
This guy is fucked.
Violet appears to have wound herself so tightly around him that she has the power to call him back at will and he’d go running. I find it truly fascinating, considering I can barely find one thing about this woman that I can liken to a trait that might be worth being interested in her for.
Violet lets out a soft chuckle, “Cal’s right. It all tastes terrible to me.”
“More for me.” I down the rest of it before placing my glass down, “Hate to cut the conversation short, Vi.” I adopt the nickname disingenuously, “But I need to steal this one over here.”
I grab Calvin’s hand, not bothering to give him a choice in whether or not he is coming with me. The sheer force of my grip on him snaps his attention back to me before he offers an apologetic smile to her. This only makes me want to knock him over his head.
Slipping my fingers between his, I pull him back inside to where the main bar is.
“Where are we going?” he asks with a flicker of irritation in his voice. I stop at the end of the bar, careful to stand close to him, but revealing I’m a bit too close as my leg brushes up against his,
“Right here.” I make sure to have him standing with his back to the party so I can be on the lookout. Violet is standing with Britney now, her attention, in no way, in our direction. I use that as an opportunity to shove Calvin’s shoulder, “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Ow.” His hand flies up to his shoulder. My eyes roll at how dramatic he is. “What was that for?”
“You looked as if you were ready to eat the crumbs at Violet’s feet.”
He scoffs and straightens up, “I did not.”
“I can see why my brother and Mario were concerned. She has you wrapped around her finger.” I make a circular motion around my pinky before I notice Violet looking in our direction.
“She does not.”
I look at him, dumbfounded by his sheer oblivion, “She absolutely does, you just don’t want to admit that to yourself. You can do so much better than her.”
“You don’t even know her,” he mutters defensively.
“That one interaction was enough, thanks,” I respond dryly to his reply.
It baffles me how Calvin can be friends with someone like my brother - a down-to-earth, caring, downright good guy - and then also be friends with the current crowd we are surrounded by. The pretentious, entitled, pompous energy emanating from everyone here is palpable in the air, and even though Calvin isn’t my favorite person - I can recognize he has some questionable traits himself - he seems out of place amongst this crowd.
“If I wanted your opinion on Violet and I, I’d ask you.”
It’s clear that I’ve struck a nerve, and if I had been a little more sober, I might have thought twice about my response, “There’s no Violet and you, Calvin.” His eyes turn into a full-on glare at me right as I notice Violet looking in our direction prompting me to step forward, his lips closing as I do, his sentence ceasing to exist.
“She’s looking.”
Even though I am becoming increasingly frustrated with him, there are people around and with Violet looking this way, we have to remain in character. “Is this something you’re going to do every time she looks this way?” He asks, his voice dropping low.
“Pretty sure that’s the whole reason I’m here in the first place.” Champagne pulses through me and my heart beats rapidly against the walls of my chest. Invading Calvin’s space is foreign, and unusual, but also captivating enough for me to continue. His fresh cologne invades my senses, taking me by surprise at just how intoxicating it is.
“You smell good,” I blurt out, reprimanding my tongue for going rouge.
“Oh?” He raises an amused brow, “This is the same cologne you complained about.”
I slowly slide my hand further up his chest, “Only because I was choking on it.” My eyes jumped to meet his. “That’s not the kind of thing you want a woman choking on.”
Am I flirting with Calvin? Yes. Do I know why? No.
“What should they be choking on then, Nikita?”
He is flirting with me too!
I pull at the inside of my bottom lip, the alcohol in my system turning my thoughts dirty. And with Calvin brushing up against me, he is starting to get tangled up in them. My eyes dropped down to his lips, noticing them for the first time. Full, smooth-looking lips that have me wondering what he will taste like.
I shake my thoughts away, remaining where I am but switching the conversation back to the original one at hand, “Why her?” His eyes narrow with confusion. “Violet. Why her?”
He opens his mouth to respond but quickly closes it, I can see the thoughts turning in his eyes. I wonder if part of his connection with her is familiarity. Calvin doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who welcomes change.
I feel Violet’s eyes on us again, prompting my response, “While you think about that, we can show her what she’s missing.”
The ball is in Violet’s court right now, but I had seen a crack in her demeanor when she realized that Calvin’s with someone else. There is jealousy there, even though she tries to mask it through her duplicitous happiness for him.
“Is this us trying to make her jealous?” His tongue peeks out running over his bottom lip, pulling my gaze towards it before I realize what I’m doing. My eyes lifted to meet his, only to find he’s already looking at me.
“Yes.” My fingers lightly graze the top of his collar, “You can’t tell me that a part of you wouldn’t get great satisfaction from it.”
His eyes blaze with intrigue and there is a spark of electricity in the air, an unexpected breeze of tension surrounding us. I feel his hand slip around my waist, my eyes dipping before reaching him as I welcome his touch.
Why does that feel so good?
Why in the hell is there a buzz of attraction between us? No, I can’t be attracted to Calvin. It has to be the champagne.
That’s enough alcohol for the evening.