Chapter 28
Nikita
Just when I think I can tolerate Calvin, he reminds me of the many many reasons why that is not possible.
I thought that we had a breakthrough during our little interaction in the early hours of this morning, but when the sun came up, apparently that meant that Calvin had returned to his dull, dickish personality. This is bumming me out since he was revealing that there are parts of him that I am starting to enjoy, but thank god I snapped out of that. The last thing I need is for any complicated and unexpected feelings to get involved.
Now, I’m sitting on the patio area of the hotel restaurant sipping on bottomless mimosas.
Okay, they aren’t actually bottomless, but I’m drinking on Calvin’s tab and since he decided to annoy me this morning, he is going to get a nice little surprise. The breakfast buffet has been laid out inside with guests filtering in and out while they dish up. While I could have eaten, my flaring anxiety is the reason I couldn’t stomach anything other than drinks right now.
I am sitting outside with a beautiful view of the beach - gentle waves against the shore, the sun glimmering against the water with the blue skies stretching for miles but my attention is focused on my laptop screen where I have multiple tabs open to possible job applications for other airlines. While I am aware that this holiday is supposed to be an escape, It’s difficult to ignore the looming countdown that is above me.
I’m usually open to taking risks and allowing the chips to fall where they may but I also know that I have responsibilities that require an income. My savings will only get me so far and if there is one thing that sends my anxiety into a spiral, it is something as uncertain as not knowing where my next paycheck is coming from. Andrea tried to see if there is a position available at her airline, but that spot has already been filled. Not only do I need to worry about my employment, but I have to figure out where I am going to live.
I tilt my head back, the champagne-orange juice taste sliding across my tongue and down my throat. Bringing my head forward, I lift the empty glass signaling my waiter - Walter - to keep them coming. I have since made friends with him so he gives me a thumbs up and disappears to the bar.
I can feel the alcohol warm my bloodstream. I tap my nails against the table, glancing around as I look to those around me for entertainment. I’m meant to be focusing on the task at hand but my anxiety has grown exponentially since I opened my laptop and I need to distance myself from that for a few minutes. I don’t need the pressure against my chest to get any worse than it already is.
I am sitting in the corner underneath an umbrella to shield me from the sun. I have the perfect seat, I get to look at people instead of being the one that is looked at, Kenneth and Violet catch my eye and I slide down my seat even though they can’t see me. From where I am I can see them walking through the lobby, both of them gesticulating as they… argue? It definitely doesn’t look like they are enjoying their conversation, but it’s a difficult interaction to dissect from this distance.
They continue arguing or whatever it is they are doing, as they move further from me. My curiosity gets the best of me, I lift myself up to try and see if there is anything more that tells me what they are arguing about.
“Here you go, miss,” Walter’s voice has me jumping out of my chair, causing me to nearly knock the glass over if he didn’t take a step back.
“Oh! Walter, sorry, I didn’t see you there!”
“That’s okay, miss.” He hands me my mimosa as I place it down on my table. I give him one last smile before he turns around and disappears.
I straighten in my chair and look back at my laptop, realizing that this is a losing battle. No more job hunting. I am going to use this holiday to relax.
I shut my laptop as an excited Britney jumps in front of my view, catching me by surprise.
“Nicole!” Britney exclaims, opening her arms and bending down to give me a hug.
“Nikita,” I correct, confused.
“Silly me!” She pulls away, eyeing the drink I have just picked up, “Oh, honey, you are speaking my language.” She turns, lifting her hand and shouting across the restaurant, “Kendra, come, drinks!”
Without warning she pulls out the chair across from me, dumping her bags on it as her sister struts over to join us. Britney calls on a different waiter and orders another round of mimosas for the three of us.
“W-what are you guys doing?” I ask, glancing between the two of them as they both take a seat around the table.
“We were on our way to the beach, but those mimosas look too good to ignore,” Britney says.
“They are pretty good,” I admit.
“For twelve euros a pop, they better be,” Kendra adds her two cents, my head whipping around to her.
My eyes widen, “I’m sorry, how much?”
“Twelve euros,” she repeats, dropping her chin to look at me over her glasses. Britney rolls her eyes and waves her hand dismissively at her sister, “I don’t care how much it is. We’re here to enjoy ourselves.”
Walter returns with our drinks and hands them to each of us. I don’t want to sit with two full glasses in front of me so I quickly down the one in my hand. I pass the empty glass to him along with a look that silently asks him not to judge me.
“So… you guys were going to spend the day on the beach?” I need to fill the silence. I’m confused by their choice to sit with me. They can easily have gotten their own table and left me in my own company.
“We were actually supposed to go and get our nails done, but they are fully booked for today,” Kendra huffs, clearly annoyed by that fact. The two of them are physically similar in many ways but their personas couldn’t be more different.
Britney shakes her head and leans closer to me, “Ignore her. She’s a buzzkill.”
“You know I can hear you right?” Kendra mutters.
“You are. So, we couldn’t do our nails today, big deal. We’ve got an appointment for tomorrow - get over it.”
I have no idea why I have to be present for this interaction, but there is none of that sisterly love that made an appearance during the champagne tasting.
“Where’s Calvin?” Britney asks, dismissing whatever her sister is about to say. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Kendra rolling her eyes as she sips on her drink, clearly frustrated.
“Calvin’s, uh… He’s still sleeping.”
“I don’t blame him. I contemplated staying in bed today.” Britney leans back taking a sip of her drink, “You know, I’ve been on this extreme bride’s diet, watch - two more of these and I’ll be singing like a canary.”
I laugh, “Someone’s a cheap date.”
“The cheapest, honey.”
I can feel that I am becoming more intoxicated - it is a slow, gradual increase, but the more I drink and don’t eat, the further I move from being sober.
“You better not be drunk when Dad arrives,” Kendra chastises, straightening up in her chair and resting her one leg over the other.
Britney rolls her eyes as I ask, “When is your dad arriving?”
“This afternoon,” Britney answers. “He and his lovely new wife will be joining the wedding party from tonight,” she says, distaste dripping from her words. Kendra scoffs, which has Britney’s gaze snapping to her, “What?”
“When are you going to start being nicer to Janice?” Kendra asks her sister.
I lean further back into my chair, becoming increasingly more aware of the hostility between the two of them.
“The real question is why are you being nice to her at all?”
“Mom is the one who chose to leave dad, Britney.”
This whole situation is making me uncomfortable so I just sit back and sip on my drink - watching all this unfold.
“Because he was cheating on her, Kendra.”
That declaration takes me by surprise and I choke on said drink, the alcohol jumping up my nose, burning my airwaves. Placing my glass back down, both of them checking to make sure I’m fine.
“Sorry, wrong pipe,” I say, trying to keep my voice as unaffected as possible which I fail at.
“Don’t mind my sister,” Britney says, looking at me, dismissing Kendra. “She’s just in a mood because her date isn’t coming to the wedding anymore.”
“I told you already, I am not mad about Colin.”
Kendra is most definitely mad about Colin.
“Whatever.” Britney leans forward, resting her forearms on the table as she peers at me. “Tell us more about you, what do you do, Nikita?”
“I’m a flight attendant.”
An unemployed one, but I leave that out.
“Ooh! I’ve always thought that would be a nice job to have. Do you like it?”
I shrug,”I don’t mind it. It pays well and I get to travel, but I’m away from my family a lot and it’s difficult to maintain a relationship.”
I know that I wouldn’t be sharing what I am if it wasn’t for the alcohol in my system. I am usually a closed-book but the mimosas have me opening up.
“You and Calvin seem to have made it work,” Kendra comments, reminding me of my current reality - the fake one I have adopted while here.
“We do our best,” I lie.
“I must say, I never expected him to move on so quickly,” Britney says, surprising me by finding that amusing.
“No one did,” Kendra pipes up, looking at me. “This thing between you guys, it must be new right?” She doesn’t wait for my response, instead looking at Britney, “Violet dumped him, when? A month - two months ago?”
If I thought I was uncomfortable before, it’s only getting worse now that the focus is on Calvin and I. I swear they have to be the most confusing people I have ever interacted with. It is as if there is a new version of them every new time you speak with them.
“Something like that.”
“It is new,” I answer, “But we’ve known each other for many years. He’s best friends with my brother.”
“Oh?” Britney’s eyebrow raises, “I thought Kenneth was his best friend.”
“Isn’t Kenneth supposed to be your best friend?” Kendra asks.
Britney’s brows furrow. “Kenneth’s not my best friend.” She downs the rest of her mimosa, quicker than I have any of mine before bringing her head forward and gesturing to the first waiter who walks past her to bring another. “He’s going to be my husband, not my friend.”
That is some warped logic.
I always figured that when I get married one day, it will be to someone that is my best friend. Someone I can completely be myself with and never try to shield any part of myself from.
“My sister brought all of us here to marry someone she’s not even friends with,” Kendra says dryly, looking at me while she speaks, making no effort to hide that she’s unimpressed with her sister.
The judgment oozing off of her has me wanting to disappear and it isn’t even directed towards me.
“At least I’m getting married and not jumping from relationship to relationship.”
Kendra’s eyes narrow into slits, “I do not jump from relationship to relationship.”
Britney scoffs and turns to me. “She does. Her longest relationship was four months with some guy in her first year of college. That was almost six years ago.”
There is more animosity between the two of them than I had expected. They carry themselves incredibly well in crowds, never giving away anything, but now that it’s just me they are exposing their true feelings.
“It’s not my fault all men are tools.”
“If you’re looking for a man who isn’t one, you’ll be looking forever. You need to find someone and make it work, right Nikita?”
“Hmm?” My eyebrows jump, realizing I am being included in the conversation again. “I missed that.”
Kendra waves her hand, “Doesn’t matter. No one should take relationship advice from my sister.”
I eye between the two of them, not thinking before I ask “Do you two not like each other?”
They both shrug, neither of them answering, which is an answer in itself. Kendra downs the rest of her drink and jumps to her feet, placing her handbag over her shoulder, “You’ll get this, won’t you, sis?”
She doesn’t wait for a response before she takes off towards the lobby, leaving a cloud of tension behind. Britney scoffs and takes a big sip of her drink before leaning back in her chair.
“Isn’t it lovely that it’s my wedding week and I have to deal with her and her moods? “ Britney asks, rhetorically, bringing her glass to her lips again. I am not sure why Britney is speaking to me and not the countless friends that she has.
“She seems mad.”
“Oh, no, that’s just her personality.”
“How… nice.”
Britney chuckles, running her free hand through her thick hair, “Between her and Violet, they’re both driving me crazy.”
This piques my interest more than it should, but what can I say? I’m nosy as hell.
“Oh?” I open the floor for her to elaborate.
She shifts her chair closer to me, the metal dragging against the floor and making me cringe.
“Sorry.” She sits closer, on the border of my personal space as she rests her elbow on the table. “Enough about me. You - tell me more about you.”
“What do you want to know?”
“How long have you and Calvin been together?”
“Uh, it’s still very fresh between us.” I want to avoid giving away any real details that could be crossed-checked with an oblivious Calvin since we haven’t discussed specifics. I wonder how this is going to go since I can feel the alcohol sinking deeper into my system, wiping my anxiety away and moving me into a more intoxicated state.
“But you’ve known him for long?”
I nod.
“I bet you’ve always had a crush on him. Isn’t it always that way with brother’s best friends?”
I snort. “Maybe in books. I definitely did not always have a crush on Calvin.”
In fact, there were very few moments where I could actually tolerate the man. I did, however, always find him attractive. Even though that is something I will never admit to him or anyone else.
“I did think he was cute though.”
Nevermind. I am, apparently, more than happy to admit this to Britney though. I fear I am not the one in charge of what I will or will not share anymore. The lack of food in my system, the heat and the continuous flow of the champagne are to blame.
“I shouldn’t like you,” Britney admits, “Violet will be mad.”
My eyes narrow, “Why is Violet in charge?”
“In charge,” Britney repeats, an uncontrollable snort-laughter leaving her, forcing her hand up to cover her mouth, “It’s funny ‘cause it’s true. It’s just always been like that.”
I am starting to realize that Britney is not nearly as clueless as she pretends to be. She is a completely different person to the ditzy blonde stereotype she presents herself as in front of everyone. I wonder if it’s a persona she put on.
“It’s never really bothered me,” Britney admits, “I’d prefer not to be the one calling the shots.”
“Don’t you own a company?”
“Not yet, but when I do, I’ll hire people to run it.”
“Smart.”
She shrugs, “Work smart, not hard.”
Yep, this woman is switched on.
“How long have you and Kenneth been together?” I ask.
“About three years now. We got together just before Cal and Vi did. I introduced them to each other, you know?” She looks at me, realizing who she is talking about. “Whoops - sorry.”
I laugh. “I know they were together. No use in pretending they weren’t.”
“Good point. Ken and I haven’t been together for very long, I know that,” she says quickly. “But you know, I’m approaching thirty and I just can’t go into my next decade without being married.”
“Who says you have to be married by thirty?”
“Everyone.”
I scoff, “Everyone should learn to mind their own business.”
Britney laughs a freshly tipsy giggle, her hand resting on my arm. “They should, but they don’t.”
I down the rest of my drink, placing the empty glass on the table as the alcohol attaches itself to the lining of my empty stomach.
“You want to know what I think of that?” I lean closer to Britney, lowering my voice, “I think that’s bullshit.”
She covers her mouth as she giggles, “No!”
“I do. You can be in your forties or your fifties and not be married - hell, what if you don’t want to get married at all?” I ask, my attention being caught by the shirtless man running in our direction in the distance.
“You’re funny.” Britney pokes me, bringing my attention back to her, but that doesn’t last long when I recognize the figure is Calvin. He’s running with a white shirt tucked into his black shorts. While his teenage mood swings piss me off, I don’t focus on that. How can I when my body physically reacts to a shirtless Calvin?
One fantasy of this guy and I can’t shake him. My mouth goes dry and since my inhibitions have come out to play thanks to the alcohol, I can’t stop the fresh arousal from seeping into my veins.
I was convinced I would never fall victim to his charm, but no one told me how sexy he is.
Britney’s laughter snaps me back to her, “Thank goodness that’s your boyfriend you’re gawking at like that.”
Caught red-handed.
My attraction to Calvin has been publicly outed and although that’s normal for everyone who thinks we are really a couple, I, on the other hand, am not prepared for that.
I need to shake this guy before this becomes something it can’t be.
Real.