The Contract

Chapter 02

Could my husband be a "devil"? Everyone who talks about him seems to fear him. My husband heads toward the door.

Sandra returns with my tea. What terrible boldo tea! I had to finish it. I don’t want to tell her what happened.

I spend the whole Saturday at home, still thinking about him. I’m glad Petter and Sandra are here with me.

“Look, Liz, whenever you want to tell me what’s going on, just say it,” Sandra says. I can’t lie to Sandra when something bothers me.

“Thank you,” I reply, snuggling into her embrace.

We’re watching a romance movie and eating popcorn. Of course, Petter is with us.

“Hey there,” Petter greets.

“Hi, Petter,” I say.

“Sandra and I are going to have dinner at a restaurant today,” he pauses. “Would you like to come with us?”

“No,” I decline. I don’t want to intrude on their time together.

“Are you sure? We can stay,” he offers.

“No, Sandra, you can go,” I assure her as she hesitates for a second. “I’m okay. And Ana invited me to a party today.”

“Are you going?” she asks.

“Of course,” I say, glancing at the time on the living room wall clock. “Actually, I need to get ready.”

I smile at her and head toward the stairs.

“Okay. We might not come back today,” Sandra calls out.

“No problem! Have fun!” I shout back from the top of the stairs.

Even they have romantic dates. And me? I’m here, doing nothing because of a silly contract.

I lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling, imagining the possible chances of Henry signing that contract without knowing me.

My phone buzzes. I look at the screen—it’s Ana. It’s already 1:00 in the morning.

“Ana?”

“Liz, come here!” she slurs. “Igor…”

“The hot professor is with that Britney!” Sam shouts in the background.

Did Ana mention something to Sam?

“What do I have to do with that?”

“Come on, Liz! You never go out,” she stammers. “I need help with Igor.”

“I’m at the club with the hot guys,” she laughs. “She’s stripping!”

“Who’s taking off their clothes?” I gasp. Could it be Ana?! “Anaaaa! Saaaam!” I call, but they don’t respond anymore. “Don’t leave. I’m on my way!” I hang up and jump out of bed.

I throw on the first thing I find: a blue dress, low-cut, short, flared, with an open back down to the waist. I was saving it for a special occasion, but since that never came, I decided to wear it today. I slip on black heels, about four inches high, fully closed. I couldn’t wear anything higher. I don’t know what awaits me tonight. I load my lashes with mascara and apply red lipstick to enhance my complexion.

Henry will get what he deserves, married and behaving like a single man.

Damn! I have to drive. I don’t like it much, but since Petter left, I have no choice.

I have a Mercedes GLA, all white. I’m a sucker for white cars. I bought it as soon as I turned 18.

I arrive at the club. The line is huge, but I don’t need to wait. Pedro’s father owns it, and the security guards already know me. I don’t come here often, but I always go to Pedro’s house with Ana. He has a crush on her, though she doesn’t see it. She keeps crying over Igor.

“Ms. Navarro!” the security guard greets me. I nod in return.

He clears the way, and I enter.

The place is packed. I need to call Ana. That’s when I realize I left my phone in the car.

“It’s just Liz,” I murmur to myself.

I weave through the crowd, trying not to step on anyone, which is nearly impossible.

“Excuse me!” I shout, and some people make way.

After a few minutes, I spot Ana and Sam dancing with Igor and Pedro.

“Liz! Liz!” Ana shouts at me.

“You guys okay?”

“See, all we had to do was say one of us was taking our clothes off to get her running!” Ana and Sam laugh.

“I can’t believe it! You played dirty.”

“Don’t be mad, Liz,” Ana says, pulling a pitiful face. “You never go out.”

“Let’s dance,” Sam says, grabbing my arm, and Ana follows.

We reach the dance floor and start moving to the beat. The music is lively, and the girls are going wild!

If my husband can hit the club, so can I. Although I haven’t seen him yet. My eyes search for him. Were they telling the truth, or did they just do this to get me out? At least they managed that.

Igor appears and starts dancing with me. The music takes over my body, and I’m completely in the groove.

I search for Henry again and spot a man with his back turned, standing at the top of the club. He catches my attention. He’s wearing a white shirt and black jeans that fit his body perfectly. He’s seriously handsome.

He turns around, and our eyes meet. I lose my breath. It’s Henry. We lock eyes for a fraction of a second. His expression changes, now serious.

Igor snaps me out of my trance by offering me a drink.

“Here, you’ll love it,” he says. I take the glass from his hand and drink it all in one gulp.

“Easy!” Igor shouts in my ear.

I make a face; the drink’s bitter, and I have no idea what it is. I’m not used to this kind of thing.

I grab Ana’s and Sam’s drinks and down them, too. My whole body heats up, and I feel a little dizzy.

I look to where Henry was standing, and to my surprise, he’s gone.

Another guy starts dancing with me, but I can’t see who it is. He just follows my rhythm. The drink is already taking effect. We’re dancing really close. He grabs my waist, and I start grinding on him; he’s already excited. When I turn around, I find a handsome, dark-haired guy with honey-colored eyes and a goatee.

My God! Our lips meet automatically.

What a sweet kiss. It’s been ages since I kissed anyone. Actually, I’ve only kissed once before, back in sophomore year when I was 16. After I kissed John, I never kissed anyone again.

At that moment, someone bumps into me. When I turn around to complain, I feel something cold splash onto my body. Yes, I’m soaked. I don’t see the person’s face. I just close my eyes and take a deep breath.

When I open my eyes, it’s him.

He whispers in my ear, “I’m sorry.” Miss Navarro! I close my eyes again.

“Are you okay?” What a voice this man has. Damn Henry! It had to be you.

“Oh, sure! I’m just fine,” I say, opening my eyes.

“Come on,” he says, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. I feel a shock at his touch. “Let me help you.”

He takes me to the bar. I don’t know where he gets a cloth from, but he starts drying me. When his hand reaches between my breasts, he just stares. My whole body shivers at his touch.

“Hand it over!” I snap, grabbing the cloth from him to finish drying myself. He just watches me.

He gives me a pleading look. “Sorry?”

“Pardon me,” I mutter, pushing through the crowd, searching for the handsome guy.

“Liz, Liz, Liz,” he keeps calling out.

I find the girls.

“What happened?” Ana asks, pointing at my dress.

“That i***t McNight spilled his drink all over me.”

“How’d that happen?”

“I was making out with this really handsome guy,” I smile, remembering him. “He bumped into me, and when I turned to yell at whoever it was, I got hit with something cold.”

“He’s totally into you!”

“Stop talking nonsense, Ana.”

“He is. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have interrupted your kiss with that guy.”

Ana might be onto something, but he doesn’t even know me.

We hang out a bit longer. It’s almost 5:00 in the morning.

“Let’s get out of here! I’m beat,” Sam says.

We head to the parking lot.

“You riding with us, Liz?” Igor asks.

“Nah, I drove.”

“Catch you tomorrow then.”

I wave them off.

They get in the car and leave. I get into my car, still thinking about what happened with Henry.

I jump when someone taps on my car window. I’m shocked to see Henry when I open my eyes.

I gesture, asking what he wants. He signals for me to lower the window.

“What do you want?” I roll my eyes.

“Mind giving me a lift?”

“This is a bit much, don’t you think?” He smiles—a beautiful one.

Chapter posted on August 16, 2022, at 8:31 PM