Since I’ve been in New York, I’ve stayed true to myself. I’ve made a couple of friends. I’ve explored the city as much as time allowed, which truth be told, hasn’t been much. Between work and school, there just isn’t a lot of free time available.
I’ve been okay with that though. It’s kept me focused on my goal. I’ve got a lot of work to do if I planto goto France to study. Everything else is a distraction.
Ryder and Maddox have been nothing but a distraction since I laid eyes on them. If after ten minutes as their waitress and five minutes outside my dorm they have me this preoccupied, I can only imagine what they’ll do to me if I actually spend any length of time with them.
“I can’t go,” I groan, throwing myself across my bed.
“You are going,” Heidi tells me, watching me from the vanity mirror.
“I can’t, Heidi. This is trouble.Theyare trouble. I can feel it.”
She burst into raucous laughter. Her pale eyes light up with mischief. “What you feel is the urge to climb them like a tree. Thank God for that, by the way. I was starting to think that you were dead. Besides, everyone loses it eventually.”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” I snap irritably. “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.”
“Quoting Elvis are you. Get up and get dressed.”
“I don’t wanna,” I whine dramatically.
“You do wanna. That’s what the real problem is. Now, get. Dressed.” I fold my arms across my chest defiantly. Her eyes narrow before a smirk slides across her face. “Or don’t. You might wake up to two hot teenage millionaires waiting outside again.”
“Fine,” I huff.
I move back to my closet grabbing my favorite jeans with a plain black tank. I pull on some over the knee boots that give me a few extra inches of height and pair it with the matching brown leather jacket. I give my lavender hair a fluff in the mirror before I turn around.
“This is all anyone is getting out of me,” I inform her with a glare.
“Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing? Girl, you’re fucking hot. Like a rock and roll Tinkerbell.”
“Because I have no idea what’s expected of me in a club,” I tell her honestly, rolling my eyes so hard it hurts. “I assumed it would be slinky dresses and six-inch pumps and blond hair piled to the sky.”
“Not this club. This is more of the rock music type of place. You’ll fit in perfectly.”
“Not trying to fit in,” I scoff like a petulant child.
“Whatever.” She waves me off as she stands, giving her long, dark curls a fluff of their own. She tugs on the sliver of fabric she calls a skirt then pulls on her own leather jacket over her Led Zeppelin t-shirt. If I look hot, she is a temptress.
Forty-five minutes later, we’re standing in line with two other friends of ours, at what looks to be an off-the-beaten-path club. Off-the-beaten-path means the line does not extend around the block, but it is still long.
I chew nervously on my thumbnail as we continue to inch our way to the front door. Garrett and Louis, two of our friends I invited as more backup, talk amongst themselves. Heidi flirts with some guy standing behind us.
When I notice the man at the door checking ID, I feel all the color drain from my face. I grabHeidi’s arm in a lethal grip halting her. Garrett and Louis both stop, turning to look at me in confusion. “Why is he checking IDs, Heidi?” I ask even knowing the answer. I feel stupid for not thinking of this before. It would’ve been the perfect excuse to get out of this disaster waiting to happen.
She looks at me like I’ve grown a second head. Seems to be her thing today. Or maybe it’s mine. “Because it’s a club, Ven. You know, eighteen and older. Just show them your fake.”
“Fake?” I squeak. “Heidi, I don’t have afake. I’ve never needed one.”
“Why didn’t you say something, Ven?” Garrett asks. “I could’ve hooked you up.”
“Because I wasn’t thinking about IDs,” I grumble but look at this as my chance to run. “We should just go. Right?”
“Hell no,” Louis tells me. “We got you out, we are staying here until they tell us to hit the road.”
“I go out with you guys,” I huff.
“You’ve gone to the movies with us. Twice,” Garrett points out. “Every other time, you’ve always had a project or work.”
“Well, pardon me for having goals.”
