I went to the hall and shouted for Kelly, “Did you go in my room while I was gone?”
Her “No” came fast, and it was followed up with a question, “Why?”
All I shouted back was, “Never mind.” Maybe I was losing my mind a bit. It wouldn’t be the first time—then again, anytime I’d gone out with Lola lately, even sometimes during the day here at school, I felt like I was being watched. Like someone was nearby, their gaze heavy on me. I felt it at the concert. I felt it now.
Kelly wasn’t home all weekend. Someone could’ve broken in… but why? My first thought went to Tessa, but the woman hadn’t shown her face in five months, and she wasn’t the type of person to be sneaky. She went hard for whatever she wanted, never one to take the slow and steady path.
Hmm. Maybe it was all in my head and I was making it up. Maybe I did leave the drawer open and I just didn’t remember. Lola and her guys would know if Tessa showed up in the city, wouldn’t they? Maybe it was paranoia.
In my life, though, my suspicion had been warranted. Would it be the same this time, or was I making a big deal out of nothing? Only time would tell.
Chapter Four – Laina
Classes were boring as usual, but I was there, present, learning… I guessed. College wasn’t something I enjoyed, and as much as Kelly tried to drag me outside of my comfort zone, I found I preferred to hang out with Lola in the city rather than go clubbing with her.
Somehow, though, Kelly wore me down during the week, and I agreed to go with her and her friends to the clubs in the surrounding area on Friday night. My guys were sad at the revelation, but Mike and I had a date planned for Saturday, so I couldn’t go too hard with Kelly.
Maybe going out and acting like I was a normal college girl would get my mind off feeling I was being watched… or maybe it’d make whoever it was doing the watching make a move. Either way, I’d be ready. It’d be a public space, I wouldn’t go to a secondary location alone with anyone—and if I did, I was certain my guys would raise hell to find me, just as they had before.
Kelly and I got ready together. She helped me pick out a dress from her closet, the slutty side, that went well with my hair and my colored contacts: a light pink number that was both tight and revealing, with cute little flats to go with them. While she went all-out when it came to her makeup, I stuck with the basics, wanting the focus to be my eyes and my blue and pink hair. Eyeliner, mascara, and just the barest hint of eyeshadow to give myself a faint smoky look.
All said and done, I looked cute, killer cute. Just to tease my guys, I snapped a picture of myself in the floor-length mirror of my bedroom once the look was complete, sending it in a group message with the caption:Going out with Kelly tonight.
As I waited for Kelly to finish, I sat on my bed and grinned at my phone. Seconds ticked by, and the first response camealmost instantly, from Fang, of course:You look delectable, Princess. Have fun.
I could see when the others viewed it, because a moment later, Kieran was quick to respond with,But not too much fun.After that, a second message from him popped into the chat:He’s right, though. You look good. You sure you guys don’t need bodyguards tonight? I’d hate for other men to think they could have you.
His jealousness made me smile harder, and when Mike finally responded to the group chat, I had to stifle a laugh:Why. Not even with a question mark. Just a period. Now, whether he was asking why I was going out with Kelly or why I included him in this group chat was up for interpretation.
I typed in a message with a winky face and hit send,Just wanted to make you three jealous.
Fang was another instant reply:I’m only envious I’m not there with you.
Kieran, on the other hand, was more than okay to revel in his jealousy.Well, I am. I should be there with you, keeping all those hungry hands off you.
And Mike? The big, stoic guy who never said more than was necessary, even when texting? He only said,Be smart. Have fun.He’d probably have more to say when I saw him tomorrow, during our date—he always said more when it was just the two of us.
Kelly appeared in the hall, and she tapped my open door and said with a smile, “I’m ready. Are you? Damn, we look hot. You should totally send your boytoys a pic and make ‘em go nuts that they aren’t here with you.”
“I’m way ahead of you,” I said as I waved my phone through the air.
“Good,” she said with a clap of her hands. “Now, we should get going. Parking near the club is a bitch.” As we walked downthe stairs together, she added, “I’m so happy you’re finally going out with us tonight. I’ve only been trying to get you to come since, what? We first moved in together?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
She grabbed her keys and we were out the door soon after that, getting into her car. Dad offered to get me a small vehicle so I could drive to and from, but I much preferred to be like Lola and have people drive me everywhere.
The night air was chilly, so I was glad when we kept the windows up and had the heat on low. My friend had told me about many of her outings with her other friends, so I knew what to expect already. I wasn’t nervous. I knew I looked damn good and wouldn’t have a problem attracting the attention of the opposite sex—I didn’t necessarily want to go home with anyone for obvious reasons, but knowing I could turn heads was always a confidence-booster.
Plus, it would be nice to know that I could play on Lola’s level, if I wanted to.
You’d think that, since the college was only a twenty-five-minute drive to downtown, the nightlife would be downtown, but no, there were other clubs, bars, and places to hang out just minutes away from the college’s campus. It was one of these clubs we went to, a place called Highroller.
Highroller was just a normal-looking building by day, but when the sun went down, the neon signs came to life. The light from the signs reflected on the glassy exterior, creating an almost otherworldly glow, illuminating the sidewalk in front of it, along with the road and the cars on it.
We managed to find a place to park down the street, although Kelly swore like a sailor when she was forced to parallel park. She didn’t have one of those newer cars that assisted you, so she had to rely on old-fashioned skill, something that’s dying out nowadays. So many people were willing to give up everything,including their creativity and their own brain power for ease and fake societal praise.
Me? I’d never be like that. Maybe it’s because I had an old soul, but I preferred doing things the old-fashioned way, parallel parking notwithstanding. I liked having a brain and using it. Truly, your thoughts were your identity, so if you gave those thoughts up, then who were you? Were you even human at that point, or just a meat sack waiting to die?
