46. Naina
Chapter Forty-Six
NAINA
When I was a kid, I wanted to be an F1 driver, for about five seconds.
I wanted to marry rich
But mostly I wanted to be a lawyer, which I was, for about five seconds.
“We’re going to the clurb,” Kat announced, shimmying her shoulders.
“We’re going where?” I laughed.
“The clurb.”
I closed my book and set it on the nightstand.
“I thought you didn’t go to the clurb anymore.”
Sami looked up from where she was painting her toes in the chair by the windows.
“I don’t, but you’ve been in a funk since you got out of the hospital, and we need to do something fun. So put on your sluttiest outfit cause we’re going out.”
I wanted to argue that I hadn’t been in a funk, but it would have been futile.
Of course, I was in a funk.
Just when I thought I was falling in love with my husband, he tore my heart out and handed it back to me.
Already, the memories we made together were starting to fade, a hazy film covering them in my mind.
There weren’t going to be any more memories.
I was never going to hear him laugh, we were never going to drink coffee together, never sleep wrapped around each other.
The death of a relationship wasn’t just in all the time spent together. It was also in the moments that would never happen.
An entire future that disappeared right in front of my eyes. It didn’t matter that future was only going to be a few months. It was gone now.
“Yeah, okay. Let’s go to the clurb.”
“What about me?” Sami asked. “Can I come?”
Her eyes alighted with excitement for the first time since she came to Chicago.
“Sure, yeah,” I said. Kat didn’t drink, I wasn’t allowed to drink. We could keep an eye on her.
I would rather she go to the club with me for the first time than with someone else. I was going to get all the points for being the cool older sister.
“Do I need a fake ID?”
Kat waved off the question. “Don’t worry, I’m great at flirting with bouncers. I can get you in.”
Sami squealed and clapped her hands in excitement.
“I’m going to raid your closet,” she said, rushing into it.
“Ask Vera if she wants to come,” I said.
“Excellent idea.”
Kat pulled out her phone, texting Vera.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
I walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I’d taken a quick shower this morning, but I felt absolutely gross.
The only thing that could make getting my heart broken and getting a concussion worse was having it on my period. At least that was over now.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Vera’s in!” Kat called. “I’m going to my room to get dressed.”
I turned off the water and dried off, vowing to not think about Kash for the rest of the night.
My make-up was spread out on the countertop from when I used it while getting ready for the brunch. It was hard to believe that was only four days ago.
I plugged in the hair dryer and dried my hair before using a round brush to roll it and put it in rollers. Once it was up, I slipped on a bathrobe and walked into the closet.
Sami pulled out all the dresses Gia sent and was holding them against her as she examined herself in the mirror.
“This one,” I said. I held up a mauve dress with a corset style bodice.
“Ooh, I love it.”
I picked a silver and gold dress for myself. I hadn’t tried it on yet, but I was sure it would fit perfectly. Sami turned on our favorite playlist and we walked back into the bathroom, dancing and singing along to the songs as we did our make-up.
I swiped on red lipstick and got dressed in the bathroom while Sami dressed in the closet. My dress didn’t call for a bra because it had built it half-shelves that did wonderful things for my tits.
The top of the dress hugged my torso and there was a slight flair at the waist that gave my body more of an hourglass shape. And it was short. If I sat down, the skirt would ride up and reveal the tattoo high on my thigh.
I removed the rollers, brushing my fingers through my hair before adding finishing oil.
“Okay, I’m ready,” I said.
Sami walked out of the closet, one hand on her waist, the other arm up in the air, her shoulders curved forward.
Her dress was strapless, longer than mine, but the corset style pushed her boobs up. That, and the make-up, made her look older than she was.
“Maybe you should stay here,” I said. “I don’t want you around creepy, drunk people.”
“Please, you know as well as I do that Grayson is going to follow us like a shadow.”
That was true. He was still parked outside the room. I only left early this morning to grab breakfast with Kat and Sami, and then we came right back because the two of them were mother henning me.
“Okay then, let’s go get out of this funk.”
I’d been to the clurb only one other time in my life, and that was when I was trying to get Kat out of one.
I didn’t do well in crowds, and in my bid to get out of the hotel, I almost forgot that fact.
Thankfully, Vera was just as bad with crowds and she had gotten us a VIP room in Chicago’s premier club. The sounds of music were dulled here, and I could actually hear myself think.
“Vera, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way,” Kat began. “May I objectify you for a minute?”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Vera stiffen slightly. I would say an almost friendship had developed between us in recent days. If at any time she thought I was after Sutherland money, she didn’t now.
“Sure.”
“You have the most spectacular tits I have ever seen,” Kat said. “Seriously, anyone you’re with should worship them.”
Vera looked startled, a surprised laugh leaving her. I had to admit, Kat wasn’t wrong. Vera was wearing a black dress, and the thin straps appeared to be working overtime to hold up her spectacular tits.
“What are those, like double D’s?” Kat asked.
“Oh my god, Kat!” I exclaimed.
“Sorry, didn’t meant to embarrass you,” she said to Vera.
It was too dark in the room, but I thought Vera’s cheeks colored red.
“Thank you, and you didn’t embarrass me,” Vera said. “I mean, you did ask for my permission. I’m not used to getting compliments on my body.”
There was something in her tone that was almost like sadness but also bitter, like she had swallowed something disgusting.
Vera was fat, and I didn’t mean that in a derogatory way.
I meant it for what her body was. She was a plus-sized woman.
“Well, those people are idiots because damn,” Kat said, shaking her head. “I don’t how it’s possible.”
“How a fat person can be beautiful?” Vera asked defensively.
“No! How your family can be so evil, yet so hot.”
Vera’s mouth tilted into a wistful smile. “Kash and I used to joke it was because the Sutherlands sell their children’s souls to the devil before we’re even born. That’s why we’re emotionally unavailable and utterly useless. Everything good about us was taken away.”
She raised her sparking water to her mouth and took a sip.
What must they think of my childhood? It was boring, average. Loving parents and a warm home.
We were never forced to do anything we didn’t want, my parents never commented on my body and told me I was too fat or too thin.
They had expectations like every parent, but expectations I could meet. They weren’t obligations their love hinged on.
“You should have run away,” Kat said.
“Kat, stop advising people to run away.”
She shrugged. Running away hadn’t worked out for her as well as she thought it did. It hadn’t worked out for me, either. All it had done was made me force the trauma down until I thought I had outrun it.
Samira came back into the room just as my phone chimed text tone after text tone in my purse.
“There was a huge line for the bathroom,” Sami said, her cheeks faintly pink.
I pulled my phone out of my clutch and unlocked it.
Where are you?
You should be resting.
How come your sister and best friend hate me but think it’s perfectly fine to take you out?
Naina, answer me.
I rolled my eyes. Why did he even care where I was?
We’re out. We’ll be back later.
“Who wants to go dance?”
Vera eyed my phone, perhaps guessing correctly that it was her cousin.
“Yes, that is exactly what I am saying,” Sami said. “The men are the problem.”
Oh, I was that obvious. My phone chimed again and I dropped it back in my purse.
“It’s girls night. Let’s go dance.”
I left my phone up in the VIP lounge as the four of us climbed down to the main dance floor.
Poor Grayson had no idea what he was supposed to do, but he sure as hell wasn’t getting on the dance floor. He stood on the edge of it as the four of us danced our way to the middle.
I let myself get lost in the loud music. The floor seemed to vibrate with it. When I closed my eyes, I could hear their laughter, feel their bodies against mine, the dancing neon lights casting shadows behind my eyelids.
My body and mind seemed to disconnect. I felt hands on my body and suddenly, I was pulled away, the music growing fainter.
There was an arm wound around my middle, holding me up and against a hard body. I arched up, my legs flinging, trying to get out of his grip.
“Kash, let go of me,” I cried.
He didn’t say anything, just carried me through the throng of people. Cold air hit my bare legs as we exited the club, my ears still ringing from the sudden silence followed from the loud music.
What kind of club was this?
A woman could get kidnapped off the dance floor and no one did anything. I tried to turn around and see if Vera, Kat, or Sami had noticed anything.
Kash pushed us into a waiting limo and the door slammed shut, plunging us into darkness.