Chapter 2
Chapter Two
“Happy birthday, dear Lilly! Happy birthday to you!”
My best friend Dana sings at the absolute top of her lungs.
Dana is sweet as can be, but her singing voice is best kept a secret, only her shower should be privy to.
She continues as if she’s on repeat to the point that I’m convinced the entire neighborhood now knows my age, my name, and how my life is going.
“It’s my birthday, Dana! Today is the day I am ready to take over the world. Or at least take over the bar, and then tomorrow we can take over the world.”
“Okay, as long as I get to still be Pinky!” She laughs.
“Always the Pinky to my Brain!” I hug her, and we giggle our way into Ember's, a popular bar downtown that always smells like cleaner, spilled beer, and bad decisions. You can feel the thumping of the music before you even get inside the building.
I start to feel the eyes on us as soon as we walk into the bar.
“What is everyone looking at?” I whisper loudly.
Dana rolls her eyes, “You, me? Take your pick! We’re young, hot, and dressed to kill!”
She’s not wrong, but I won't ever tell her that.
I gave her free rein in my closet, and the part of me that likes to wear sweatshirts and leggings still isn’t emotionally ready for what I’m wearing.
We’re both in dresses that show off more legs than I knew I had, but mine is a purple satin baby doll style dress, to her pink one.
Both of our dresses hit mid-thigh. Dana is as comfortable as ever, but the amount of skin showing leaves me feeling like a different version of myself, a version who likes wearing lipstick and flirting with strangers.
I tug at the hem of my dress in a nervous habit. “Dana, I think you left half of my dress in the closet.”
Dana smirks. “You look hot, just say thank you.”
In response, I flip her off. “Let's go get some drinks,” I say as I drag her over to the bar.
I let Dana order for both of us. I’ve never been much of a drinker.
During high school, when everyone was going to parties or sneaking out of the house.
I always had my nose in a book. Things didn’t change much after graduation and going to college.
Honestly, I became even more focused on getting the grades I needed to graduate quickly, so nothing was holding me back from leaving the family responsibilities I was required to fulfill.
So my experience with drinking is pretty much null.
While we wait for the bartender to bring us back our drinks, I look around the bar and breathe a sigh of relief.
I’m finally of age, as far as my trust is concerned, and can access what my dad left me without having my mother criticize every decision I make like she’s an underpaid warden.
I can leave.
I can move into my own place.
This is the beginning of my new life.
“So, Miss Lilly, how are the wedding plans going?” Dana teases me.
I groan, knowing she’s bringing this up on purpose. She knows it's my least favorite subject, but somehow, she thinks it's funny to bring it up at least once every day.
“Fine,” I grumble. “Mother has picked out the dress, she’s planned it out to the point that I only have to show up for hair and make-up. I wonder if she’ll take my spot at the altar, too?”
Dana snorts. “Oh, that's doubtful; there's no way he’d say yes if she were walking down the aisle. She scares the life out of me with just one look. Maybe he’ll run away once he sees his future mother-in-law?”
“I just don’t understand how a wealthy man wants to marry someone he’s never met before,” I say quietly.
“Do you think he’s hiding something?” I whisper.
“Lilly,” Dana sighs. “I love you, but not everything is from a gothic romance novel. He’s not going to be the dark romance murderer you’ve been building in your mind.”
“So…mafia man?” I grinDana rolls her eyes, grabs our drinks, and moves to a table by the DJ. I move in her direction, and then suddenly, I feel a cascade of icy liquid going down my back.
I freeze mid-step.
I slowly turn around with eyes wide in shock.
I watch as the culprit, who seems to be a little older than I am, with brown eyes that look completely terrified at this moment, turns pale under the lights of the bar.
“Oh man, I’m so sorry!” he says in a rush, he starts hastily grabbing cocktail napkins from the bar and pats my back down.
“It was an accident, I didn’t see you, are you okay? ”
As the shock fades a little more, I move away from him and slowly back away. “It’s fine, I didn’t like this dress anyway,” I say while glancing around for Dana, who is completely oblivious to what is happening behind her.
“I’ll get my friend to help me.” As I start to walk away, my arm is gently grabbed, and I hear a deep voice belonging to someone else…
Turning, I find myself looking into piercing blue eyes. A shiver runs down my back, and I try ever so slightly to distance myself from the newcomer.
“You’re shivering,” he murmurs, the corner of his mouth moving up into what I believe is a ghost of a smile.
“I’m fine, I promise,” I say with a quick smile. “My friend is just over there; she can help me.”
“My friend just spilled his drink on you, the least we can do is make sure you’re okay,” he softly replies while shrugging out of his jacket.
“Here,” he says as he drapes his jacket around my shoulders before I can say anything more. “Put this on, and we’ll call it even for now.”
“Deal,” I say while slipping my arms into the sleeves and trying not to be obvious as I take in a deep breath of the cedar and vanilla that seems to be embedded in the fabric.
I walk towards the table where Dana is sitting, who, at the moment, is still completely unaware of what just happened.
I sneak a quick look behind me, and neither of the guys is still there.
It’s like they disappeared into the crowd. Shrugging, I sit down in the empty chair and drink my drink in less than a minute.
“Where did you get that jacket from?” Dana asks.
“It’s a long story,” I say. “The short version is I’m wet, and I need dry clothes.”
“Can we go to your place for now? I just want to go watch some movies, eat popcorn, and drink some cider in our pajamas.”
After a brief pause, looking like she wants to say something more, Dana shrugs and agrees.
As we walk out the front door, I feel that same chill down my back, similar to the one I had when the drink was spilled on me.
I look back. And I swear I see blue eyes watching me from the dark.