by Naomi Martin
“A club?”
She nods eagerly. “It’s kind of an out-of-the-way place,” Olivia adds. “It’s an exclusive, invite-only kind of spot. And, lucky for you, you just happen to know somebody who can extend an invite.”
“It sounds fun–”
“Fun? It’s an amazing club,” she assures me. “Great music and dancing, the drinks flow – and you can satisfy any craving you might have. And I do mean any craving.”
The way she says it tells me every single vice I’ve tried to put behind me – namely drugs and boys – are on tap at this mysterious, exclusive club. And I don’t know that I should even tempt myself with that sort of an environment. I want to do things differently this year. I want to put my past behind me. So plunging back into it headlong seems like an incredibly bad idea.
Not to mention the fact that she’s telling me to blow off my plans with Bonnie. It’s been a few days since our little argument and, on the surface, we’ve both moved past it, but there’s still some underlying tension between us. Bonnie won’t say it, but I know she’s upset by the idea that I’ll allow myself to get involved with Olivia and her crew.
What I’ve been thinking about over the last couple of days, though, is whether what’s bothering Bonnie the most is the idea that I have an in with the popular kids in school and she doesn’t. Bonnie is a great girl, but she doesn’t have a lot of friends. She holds most everybody at arm’s length and doesn’t really have a large social circle. And I know for fact that she resents the popular kids in school. More than that, she lumps them all into one pot. Because Asher did her dirty, anybody he hangs out with is guilty by association. And as much as I sympathize with her, I don’t necessarily think that’s fair.
“And how is it, exactly, that you have access to such an exclusive club?” I ask.
“Because I know the right people.” She grins at me again, arching one perfect eyebrow.
I let out a long breath. “I don’t know about tonight–”
“Shut up. You’re going,” she tells me. “I don’t take no for an answer. Besides, do you know how many of the cows in this school would literally commit murder for the opportunity I’m handing you on a silver platter?”
“I would imagine more than a few.”
“Damn straight.” She looks at me pointedly. “So, I’ll pick you up at say, nine?”
I am completely torn between two worlds right now. The first world is the one I’ve been building with Bonnie. It’s safe. Comfortable. Despite our differences on the issue of Olivia and her friends, I love Bonnie. After a horrible year, she represents the path I should be on – the straight and narrow. The path that will help get me back on track to achieve everything I want in life.
But the second world, the one that’s tempting me as hard as any siren song tempted sailors out at sea, is the one represented by Olivia. The idea of going to a club, having a few drinks, and really cutting loose sounds so good to me. Having a group of friends like Olivia – the upper crust of Sapphire Bay High – would be rarified air for me. I’ve never been part of the popular cliques. I’ve never been one who people looked upon in awe and tried to emulate them. The idea that I could move into that clique and be part of that crowd – well, it’s tempting as hell.
I feel like I literally have the angel and devil on my shoulders right now.
“So? You gonna go spend a night nerding out with Bonnie shut away in Geek HQ?” Olivia presses. “Or are you going to take the opportunity to improve your position in Sapphire Bay High’s social hierarchy?”
I pull hard on the end of my ponytail, the pressure of the decision weighing heavily on me. I know if Bonnie ever finds out I blew her off to go out with Olivia, of all people, she’d absolutely lose her shit. But if I don’t go out with Olivia, will I come to resent Bonnie for holding me back from possibly making new friends? Will the guilt she makes me feel for not being on the “Olivia is evil incarnate” bandwagon and shutting this girl down completely gradually build anger toward her inside of me?
“If you need me to sweeten the pot, did I mention that Owen is going to be there?”
I laugh and slap her arm. “Why would I care whether Owen is there?”
She smirks. “Please. You’re all he’s been talking about the last couple of days,” she confides. “He’s practically begged me to put you two together.”
I feel my heart spinning like a pinwheel and heat rushing into my cheeks. I look away from Olivia, doing my best to avoid any and all eye contact since it would undoubtedly give my feelings away. Olivia doesn’t miss a thing, though.
“Clearly, you have a thing for him, too,” she observes. “So, why don’t you come to Blackjacks and hang out tonight? It’ll be good for you.”
I pull on the end of my ponytail again as the smile slides across my lips. “I’ll go,” I tell her, then hold up my finger. “But just so we’re clear, I’m going to hang out with you, not because of Owen.”
She quirks a smile at me. “Sure, babe. Whatever helps you sleep at night.” She grins like a fiend. “I’ll be by to pick you up at nine. Make sure you wear something nice and get yourself all pretty.”
“See you tonight,” I say, doing my best to maintain my dignity and not squeal like a child on Christmas morning.
Olivia flounces away, moving down the hallway with a sinuous grace. The girl seriously seems to float on air when she walks, and there’s a sultry little shimmy in her hips that seems effortless but makes jaws drop as she passes by. I know she’s got to feel every single pair of eyes on her ass, and the small smirk on her face tells me she’s just eating it up. Honestly, I would kill not only for that easy grace, but for the sense of confidence she exudes from every pore.
“What did the Queen of Hell want?”
I turn and find myself face to face with Bonnie, who looks none to pleased to have seen me consorting with Olivia – which raises all of the questions I’ve been having in my head all over again.
“She just wanted to chat,” I tell her.
“About what?”
I shrug. “I dunno. I wasn’t really paying attention, to be honest.”
I feel a small stab of guilt knowing I’m being anything but honest with her. I can’t meet Bonnie’s eyes and, perhaps thinking about our argument the other day and not wanting to reopen that particular can of worms, she doesn’t seem willing to push me and thankfully decides to drop it.
But I know I’m going to need to come up with a plausible excuse for bailing on her tonight. I mean, all we really had planned was to sit around, eat junk food, and watch movies. But I know that if I cancel it for anything short of being on my deathbed, she’ll take it personally. Living next door to her is going to make it even trickier.
There is part of me that thinks I should just be up front with her and tell her I am going to go out with Olivia tonight. It might start a fight between us and will definitely cause some issues in the here and now. But maybe it will show her that she can’t pick my friends for me, and that my life is my own. Maybe it will show her that I can still love her and have other friends, too.
But I really don’t want to deal with the drama right now. Especially not here in the middle of the hallway. I don’t want to create a spectacle of myself.
“Anyway, I picked up the movies for tonight,” Bonnie announces. “Can you bring–”
“Hey, I need to get to class. I have to speak with Mrs. Ford before we get started,” I cut her off. “I’ll talk to you about it after school, okay?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure,” she says. “I’ll talk to you after class.”
“Cool. Thanks.”
And with that, I turn and dash down the hallway, heading for my classroom and away from all of the awkwardness I was feeling. I know I’m going to have to come up with something convincing, so I can use all the extra time I can get.
Chapter Seven
Looking at myself in the mirror, I make some last-minute adjustments to my hair. I’m used to just throwing it back into a ponytail, s
o wearing it down is different for me. I brush it down over my shoulders and purse my lips. It’s not as stylish as Olivia’s, but I guess it’ll do.
I check my reflection in the full-length mirror that hangs on the back of my closet door and frown. I’m wearing a black skirt with white tights underneath, and a white button-down shirt. It’s cute, but as I stare at myself, I realize I look like a schoolgirl. Like, there is no way anybody is going to look at me and think I’m anything other than a high school student.
“Great,” I mutter to myself.
I think about changing into something else, but a glance at my phone informs me that, somehow, it’s almost nine. I don’t have time. Olivia is not somebody I want to keep waiting.
“You look beautiful.”
I look up in the mirror to see my mom standing in the doorway behind me. I give her a small smile.
“You’re biased.”
She scoffs. “Believe me, I’d tell you if you looked like crap. You don’t think I’d let a child of mine go out looking like hot garbage. That reflects on me, too, you know.”
“Well, we can’t have me looking like a hobo, for your sake.”
“No, we can’t.”
We share a laugh as she steps up and wraps her arms around me, squeezing me tight. I lean back into her and relish the closeness we share. I know it’s not cool and most kids my age would feel stupid about being close with their parents, but my life experience has taught me to cherish that relationship. I just hate like hell it cost me so much to finally have it.
My phone buzzes in my hand with an incoming text. It can’t be anybody other than Olivia. I know I need to get going, but I need to take a minute to make sure my mom is clear on my instructions.
“I need to get going. But remember, if Bonnie calls or comes over–”
“You were really sick and you’re already in bed sleeping.”
“Perfect.”
She arches an eyebrow at me. “You know, I really don’t like this lying to Bonnie thing,” she tells me. “She’s a really nice girl and–”
“I know, Mom. But she and Olivia don’t get along – like, at all – and I really want to go out tonight without all the drama,” I explain – again. “You know I love Bonnie, but I think it’s also very healthy for me to have a wide and diverse group of friends. Don’t you?”
She purses her lips. “It’s only because I want to see you have more friends and be less isolated that I’m agreeing to this – this one time,” she tells me. “But I’m not going to lie again, so you’ll need to figure out a way for Bonnie and this Olivia to get along or you’ll just have to stop lying.”
“I will, Mom. I promise,” I respond. “This was just last minute and–”
“I know, I know. You already told me,” she cuts me off. “Now go. Have fun and be safe.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say and kiss her on the cheek. “You are the best.”
“Yeah, I’m aware of that.” She smiles.
I grab a sweater and dash down the stairs, hustling out the front door and onto the porch. I look nervously over at Bonnie’s house and breathe a sigh of relief when I remember that my front walk is shielded by a quirk of its design – the walk and driveway are set almost on the opposite side of our house as Bonnie’s – and the high screen of bushes that line it. She would have to be physically standing on the sidewalk in front of my house to see me.
I quickly dart out and into Olivia’s BMW that sits idling in front of my driveway, quickly closing the car door behind me. I hold my breath for a long moment, waiting for the interior light to dim, which it finally does.
“About time, bitch. I’ve been out here forever.” Olivia giggles.
“You texted me, like, two minutes ago,” I point out, silently urging her to put the car in gear and get us out of here.
“Yeah, well, that’s like two hours in dog minutes.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Oh my God, shut up and drive.”
* * * * *
Blackjacks is well outside the city limits of Sapphire Bay and is as strange a place as I’ve ever been in. Granted, I haven’t been in many clubs, but I figured there would be a stage with a DJ, laser light shows, lots of loud techno music, and frenzied kids bouncing and grinding on the dance floor. This place, though, it’s more like some sort of a lounge than anything. Oh, there’s techno music bumping from overhead speakers and a small dance floor, but the pace in here is – staid. It reminds me of the kind of bar businessmen go to after a long, hard day at the office.
The mix of bodies in here is eclectic, to say the least. There are a lot of kids my age – mostly girls, it seems like. But there are also college-age people and some people who are like my mom’s age and older mingling around. About the only common thread I can see to tie all of these different people together is money. Everybody in here seems to either have it or come from it.
“Come on,” Olivia says, dragging me over to a booth in the corner.
The inside of the club is decorated in dark woods and darker colors. It’s dimly lit, and I can smell the heavy odor of cigars in the air. A stunningly beautiful woman about my mother’s age glides towards us, her eyes locked on mine. The way she moves is effortless and reminds me a lot of the way Olivia struts the hallways at school. The woman is wearing a black evening dress of crushed velvet that hugs her incredibly alluring curves really well and her hair is done up in an elegant style. She comes to our table a couple of moments after we take our seats.
“Nice to see you again, Olivia,” she greets us. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Winter,” Olivia replies, then turns to me. “Winter, this is Jacqueline. She owns this fine establishment.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say.
“Likewise.” Her eyes slowly wash over me. “I have to say, you are a beautiful girl. You’ve got a real wholesome, girl-next-door appeal.”
The heat from her gaze makes my cheeks flush. “Thank you.”
She and Olivia exchange a look and share a small smile. I’m obviously not in on the joke and I can’t figure out what they just communicated with each other – but I know it was something, and it makes me feel a little nervous.
“What will you girls be having?” Jacqueline asks.
“Two cosmos,” Olivia tells her.
“Coming right up,” the older woman says and then favors me with a smile that sends a jolt of electricity shooting through me. “It was very nice to meet you, Winter. I do hope we’ll be seeing more of you.”
“Th-thank you,” I stammer. “I hope so, too.”
Smiling, Olivia looks at me as the woman departs. “She likes you.”
“She seems very… nice.”
She shrugs. “She can be. Just be sure to stay on her good side, because she can be a real jackal when you piss her off.”
A moment later, a waitress in a short black skirt and black midriff-baring button-down arrives with a smile. She sets down two drinks in front of us, then departs without a word. Olivia picks her glass up and raises it towards me, so I mimic the gesture.
“To the start of a beautiful friendship,” she says.
Clinking my glass against hers, I repeat the words. I lift the glass to my lips and take a drink, and the moment the chilled liquid hits my tongue, my eyes widen in surprise. I quickly swallow it down and put the glass back on the table.
“There’s real vodka in here,” I announce.
Olivia laughs. “Of course there is. That’s how cosmos are made, silly.”
I look at the glass like it’s a snake, coiled and ready to strike. “No, I mean how are we being served actual drinks with actual booze? It’s not like I even have a fake ID.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “What did you think – I was bringing you to a kiddy club?”
“I-I didn’t know.”
“Blackjacks was built on Indian tribal land. The cops can’t come onto tribal land without the permission of the tribe elders, or something like that,” she explains. “But Jacqueline ha
s a deal in place with the tribe. They get a fat cut of the profits and Jacqueline can run her club as she sees fit. Or, so I heard. But whatever, it just means we get to party here whenever we want.”
I cup the glass in both hands, still wary. Getting caught drinking would be bad. Mostly because I know how disappointed my mom would be. This is supposed to be our fresh start, to leave the poor excuse of a human being I’ve been for the last year behind. If she knew I was out here partying it up like I did after my dad died, she’d be upset. To say the least. And I fear it would damage the relationship between us – the one we’ve been rebuilding and the one I am finally enjoying again.
But then, everything I did the year after my dad died was done as a means to escape my pain. I was in a really dark place and used alcohol, drugs, and boys as a way to feel better. It never lasted, of course, but for a little while, I felt happy. Or less miserable., anyway Which was the root of the problem. I was so utterly miserable, everything I did was just a way to escape.
Now, though, I’m in a much better place. Obviously, I’m not as happy as I was before he died but, mentally and emotionally, I’m doing a lot better. This, what I’m doing here with Olivia, isn’t me trying to escape anything. This is just me trying to make friends and have a good time. I’m trying to be more social and build on the progress I’ve made. It’s a different situation and I’m in a totally different – and better – frame of mind.
“Relax.” Olivia laughs. “We’re in a safe space here. Nobody’s going to bust us.”
I give her a smile and raise my glass. “Well, then – cheers.”
“That’s the spirit.”
She taps her glass against mine and we drain the first of our drinks. The empty glasses are quickly replaced by fresh ones and the alcohol starts to do its work. It’s not long before I start experiencing that pleasantly hazy feeling I remember so well and let myself loosen up a bit.
“So, how’d you get out of nerdfest with Bonnie?” Olivia asks.
“I told her I was sick,” I reply. “I feel bad for lying to her, though.”