CHAPTER 002
1191 Words
CHAPTER 002
Cold glass was in her hand as she leaned backward to take the second martini. She has the same taste that would wrinkle her nose when she was with Owens. Now it was like medicine, nasty and yet comforting.
It got to eleven on the clock on the wall over the bar. She had never come home after the wedding. All evening her phone was ablaze with calls and incoming messages, but she switched it off. Let them wait.
The Paradise Club was flashing and vibrating. People were dancing on the floor, grinding, swaying, laughing. Lily sat in the bar and crossed her legs on the stool with a drink in her hands. She was not a dancer. She had never been.
Her dress was ruined. Just a few hours back, it lay against the floor, silk tickling her ankles. It was jagged now at her knees where she had ripped it. Her twisted hair hung at her shoulders. She was as white as the specter of a bridesmaid.
For once, she did not care.
Had Diya been there, she would have gasped and then clapped and then thrust Lily to the floor. Lily laughed nearly at the thought of it. Rather, she made another lift of her glass.
“Is this seat taken?
A too-eager, smooth, male voice.
She turned her head. The man who stood next to her was about mid-twenties. Golden-blonde hair. Fit body, the type that boasted no speak. His polo shirt was tight as though he had to make everyone notice.
Lily shook her head. “No.”
He crept over the stool before she would blink.
She downed her glass, waved at the bartender, and raised two fingers. He nodded and refilled it. She smiled at him a little and muttered thanks.
A throat cleared next to her. She exhaled slowly.
“So, are you here with someone?”
She almost said no. It was the truth. But she had followed that answer in other times. Men who believed there was none. Men who never left her alone.
So she lied.
“Yes.” She took a drink of her martini and hoped that the one word would suffice.
“Where is he?” The man sneered nearer, attempting to be pleasant, but his smile was sneaky. I feel bad to see a beautiful girl drinking alone. I am Kevin, by the way.”
She gave him a flat look. Her eyes ran across the lounge opposite the bar in a search for escape.
They already had women in most of the men there. Then she spotted him.
At the far end stood a man in a long-sleeved white shirt and blue trousers, phone in one hand, in his pocket. He had no woman near him. His physique was long, his stance erect, his shoulders wide. He exuded an aura of silent threatening, even more so on the back.
Lily pointed. “There. The one in white. He has had the phone on, and so I have been here.
Kevin traced her finger, then tightened his eyes, then he chuckled doubtfully.
She did not pay any attention to him and went back to her drink. It was her third, and she had already determined that she would not go above six.
“Are you sure about that?” A disbelief dripped in the voice of Kevin. Since he has left, not even casting his eyes this way.
Her hand was caught in the glass.
She threw her head around to the lounge. The man in white was gone.
Her head was turned in search of a reason. Nothing came. The alcohol had thickened her tongue.
Suh, we are not friends. That is the reason why he is there and I am here.
Kevin leaned in, smug. Or is it that he does not know you at all? Perhaps you have been lying since the moment I sat down.
Her chest tightened. She would have screamed to make him go.
“Maybe I lied. Maybe I do not know him. Never asked you to speak to me, however. So I would take your advice and stop now.
Kevin sneered and feigned it, yet his voice broke. “Fine. I have nothing to lose time with a loser like you.
Her jaw clenched. Anger burned hot in her chest. She thought of picking up the vodka bottle and crushing it on his head for a second. She could never do that, and the idea was alluring.
Then another voice spoke.
“Excuse me, darling. Is this man bothering you?”
The voice was deep, low, and with an English accent.
The head of Lily turned about so fast that she nearly became dizzy.
There he was.
The white man was immediately standing behind her.
At a closer view, he was still more than half of six feet three. His black hair hung down a little. His beard was trimmed nicely, but it framed harsh features. His eyes, piercing, with the shifting lights--they fell on her and gripped her.
Her stomach flipped. Her body responded, and her mind was later to follow suit. The warmth swept to her face, and her knees were shaky.
Say something. Do not just stare.
And parting with no words, her lips opened.
He smiled. A scar was made in his cheek. His mouth twisted in a small curve that gave her a shiver.
She moved her head in a nod that pointed at Kevin. “Yes. He would not leave me alone. He called me a loser.”
The friendliness in the face of the stranger disappeared. His face grew dark, his mouth drew his lips. He swiveled back to Kevin, and his tone was guttural and menacing.
“You called her a loser?”
Kevin withdrew, endeavoured to stand erectly with no success. “I... I did not mean it. It was a mistake.”
The stranger came nearer and towered over him. His third-person presence was heavy, commanding.
Lily bit her lip and attempted not to laugh at the shaking hands of Kevin. Nevertheless, she was concerned with what the stranger was to do. He appeared to be a man with whom one could shatter a bone.
She slumped down on the stool and moved his chest. Hard muscle met her palm. She nearly retracted her hand, and her skin tingled, and she could not move it.
He looked down at her with a moderately softening of his eyes. Then he faced Kevin again.
“Apologise.” There could be no doubt about his voice, which was sharp.
Kevin stammered, “I... I am sorry, miss.” His head dipped.
“Now leave.”
Kevin made a run, almost falling all over himself to run out of view.
The bar was silent for a minute, but there was still thumping music on the dance floor.
Lily held her hand to the breast of the stranger, and her breath was shallow.
Who was this man? Why was her body so receptive to him?
And why was it as though her night had just begun?
What would he do next?
- Writer
