Leo and I burst out laughing while Ben glowers at us. “Go ahead and laugh, assholes.” A smug grin plays over his lips as he points at me. “It won’t be long before you’re her new obsession.” Grabbing his glass, he leans back and grins.
“Fact,” Leo agrees after finishing his drink. He reaches for the bottle of bourbon. “We’re too old and wrinkly, but you, my friend, are fair game.” He flashes me a mad grin. “Good luck handling that!”
12
ALESSO
My cell phone rings as I stagger into my assigned bedroom, cussing as I knock my knee against a dresser while my fingers search the wall for the light switch. Locating it, I flick the switch, squinting as bright light floods the ghastly room. “Fuck my life,” I mumble, fumbling in my pants pocket for my phone as a full-body shudder works its way through me. I try to focus through bleary eyes as I extract my cell, and warmth swells in my chest when her picture lights up the screen. “My angel,” I say when I press the button to accept Serena’s call. “I miss you.”
Initial silence greets me.
“Rena?” I ask, and I have a sneaky suspicion I’m slurring my speech.
“Are you…drunk?”
“Maybe a little.” I kick off my unlaced boots and stagger toward the bed. “Fuck, this bedroom is straight fromThe Addams Family. I’m not kidding. It has this dark wooden four-poster bed, ugly, brown-patterned wallpaper that is half-peeling off the walls, and a moth-eaten rug I’m considering burning.” I look up at the copious cobwebs clinging to the corners of the room, and another shiver runs through me. “Honestly, I’m tempted to sleep in the garden.”
“Sounds creepy for sure.” There’s a brief pause. “Are you okay?” she asks. “I mean, you weren’t injured, right? You’re not drinking to blot out the pain.”
I feel her worry filtering down the line, and my heart swells behind my rib cage. “I’m fine, Rena,” I say, sniffing the heavy old-fashioned quilt covering the bed, wondering if I should take my chances and sleep on the floor. “Don’t worry about me, even if I’m glad you care.”
“Of course, I care. You’re my friend.”
“Ouch,” I truthfully reply, hissing as I stub my toe against the heavy leg of the bed. “Hit a guy where it hurts.” Taking a risk, I pull back the quilt, surprised to find crisp white bed linen. I always thought the Russians were smelly bastards, but maybe I’m being too judgmental.
“I didn’t mean to offend you. You know you’re important to me.” Serena backpedals, and I picture her at the house, chewing on a fingernail, like she does sometimes when she’s anxious.
I put my phone on speaker, setting it down on the bedside table while I shuck out of my clothes. “I’m only teasing, and you’re important to me too. So fucking important.” My brows knit together as I spot the time. It’s almost one a.m. here. “It’s nearly four o’clock there, Rena. What the hell are you doing awake?” I ask as I move across the room to switch off the light.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she quietly admits.
“Another nightmare?” I inquire, stumbling back toward the bed.
“What?” she splutters, and I hear the panic in her tone.
“Elisa mentioned you wake up screaming some nights,” I supply, climbing under the covers. “I was going to ask you about them, but we haven’t had much opportunity to talk lately.”
Stone-cold silence greets me, and for a couple seconds, I fear she’s hung up on me. “It wasn’t a nightmare,” she eventually says. “I would have to sleep for that to occur, and I couldn’t sleep because I…well, I was worried about you.”
Warmth spreads around my body, filling every cold part of me. “I should have called you, but Ben assured me Sierra would update you and Natalia.” I had wanted to phone her, but I didn’t know if it would be crossing some boundary. I’m still treading on eggshells around Serena.
“She did, but I wanted to hear your voice. To know for myself you were okay.”
“I wish I was in Greenwich. If I was there right now, I would take you in my arms and never let you go.”
“I would like that,” she whispers in a barely there voice. “Even if it would terrify me.”
My heart hurts hearing the longing mixed with fear in her voice. “I don’t want to scare you.”
“You don’t.” She’s quick to reassure me. “It’s more the thought of it and what it represents.” There’s a brief pause, and I wait her out. “I just want to be normal,” she quietly admits. “To be a normal girl with normal responses and desires, but I fear that will never be me.”
I’m surprised she’s being so honest. Maybe she thinks I won’t remember because I’m a little drunk, but I have a memory like an elephant. And every word she has ever said to me is imprinted in my brain. I could never forget. “You could never be normal, Rena, because you’re too damn special to merge with the crowd. You will always stand head and shoulders above every other woman because you have this inner bravery and this quiet determination that differentiates you. I know you feel lost, but it won’t always be like this. You will find your way, and when you do, I’ll be there by your side, patiently waiting for you to take our friendship to the next level.”
She sucks in a small gasp, and I worry I’ve said too much. “I should go,” she says after a few beats of tense silence. “It’s late, and we both need our sleep.”
“Can we do something together when I get back?” I ask. “We should talk.”
“I…sure. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night, Alesso.”
