Smoke and Betrayal

Piper’s POV My closet lies half empty, since the break up, and of those clothes I have nothing to wear. Nothing that screams “The New Piper” everything I have in there is the style that Hudson forced on me. Looking back on our relationship, I realized that my worth, who I was, how I acted, every little thing about me, was wrapped up in how Hudson viewed me and how he shaped me. It’s been three weeks since I kicked him out, and trying to piece myself back together is a lot harder than I expected it to be. “The quickest way to get over someone is to get under someone else,” my best friend Isla says from behind my computer as I am in my closet changing. We are going to the new club in town, she thinks I need to put myself out there, give love another chance. Isla is a free spirit, she never settled for just one person. It wasn’t her style; she never really understood monogamy. I, however, dated Hudson from Grade 11 until I graduated with my BA in Forensic Science. I thought we were on the track to marriage, kids, and a house with a white picket fence. “PIPER! Are you even listening to me? Screw Hudson! Find someone who deserves the inner you. There is something wrong with your character if opportunity controls your loyalty.” I pop my head out of the closet wearing a mini skirt and tank top with a cardigan. “What do you think?” She slowly looks up from the computer, “Isla, Hudson is the only person I have slept with, I am still processing the fact that he was literally in bed with the mafia.” A bellowed laugh comes from her direction, she gets off my bed and comes into my closet, throwing clothes in every direction until she finds a black lingerie corest dress, which I had from an old Halloween costume. “THIS! THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE WEARING! The boys won’t know what hit them.” I reluctantly change, but stuff my cardigan in my bag. Isla braids three tight braids on the side of my head and then puts the rest of my long brown hair into a high ponytail. Then she hands me a lipstick, Red Devil Matte, stands back and looks at her masterpiece. “You are SMOKING!” She lets out a loud whistle. For her final touch, she hands me a choker, shooting me a subtle wink “Everyone loves a good choker.” Looking at her phone, looking anxious to go she says; “So… I heard that Hudson could be at the opening tonight.” Stopping dead in my tracks, I look over at her pleadingly; “Isla… I can’t. I am not ready to see him.” Her arm comes around me, sneakily trying to pull my cardigan out of my bag. “You won’t be needing this!” taking my hands in hers “It’s gonna be tough hun, you were with him for years, he dictated everything you did, you need to breakfree from him. You need a palet cleanser.” I take a deep breath, feeling the unfamiliar tightness of the corset against my ribs. Maybe this is what moving on feels like - constricting at first, but eventually you adjust.” “Fine.” I concede, “but if I see him, I’m leaving. No arguments.” Isla beams victoriously. “Deal. But I bet you wont want to leave once you see the eye candy in there.” She says while pushing me out my bedroom door and down my apartment stairs to hail a cab. I hate cabs,they always smell like cheap pine air freshener. “Trust me, but the end of tonight, you’ll be thanking me.” she says, sliding into the backseat. I follow reluctantly, tugging at the hemline of the corset dress. It feels like I’m wearing someone else’s skin - someone bolder, more carefree. Someone who isn’t still picking up the pieces of a shattered relationship. “ Club Blaze,” Isla tells the driver as I rifle through my purse looking for a piece of gum, muttering under my breath. “What I really need is liquid courage, not mint - flavored placebo,” chewing the gum more aggressively than necessary.The cab pulls up to Blaze. A line stretched around the block, but Isla grabs my hand and strust confidently to the front. The boucer, a mountain of a man with arms like tree trunks, breaks into a smile when he sees her. “Isla! Looking fierce as always.” His eyes slide to me widening slightly. “And who’s your friend?” “This is Piper, she needs the VIP treatment tonight. Bad break up.” The bouncer’s expression shifts, “Yeah, you definitely need a good night.” He waves the two of us in. 🔥🔥🔥 The club is a dark, pulsing space filled with strobe lights and colored spotlights. People dressed in bold, revealing outfit smove and sway to the beat of the music. The air is a mixture of different perfumes, colognes, sweat, and alcohol, creating an almost intoxicating atmosphere. I feel exposed in the outfit I am wearing, like a thin veil, barely concealing the vulnerability and insecurity that lies underneath. Isla pulls me through the sea of bodies on the dancefloor towards the bar. “Two Tequila Shots!” The bar tender slides the shot glasses towards us. “Bottoms Up, babe!” I down the tequila, wincing as it burns a path down my throat. “Another” surprising myself and Isla we do another shot. “Two Blaze Specials.” I watch, mesmerized, as blue fire dances around across the surface of our drinks before being extinguised with a flourish. “To new beginnings.” Isla clinks her. glass against mine. The drink burns down my throat, warming me from the insides out. It tastes like cinnamon and bad decisions. I start to look around the room, for Hudson, giving me an excuse to leave this place and curl up with a pint of Ben & Jerry, but my eyes betray me and find some of that eye candy that Isla talked to me about. I spot him, sitting at a booth, with a bunch of other guys, I’d recognize that face anywhere - Jasper. My heart skips a beat as his eyes meet mine across the room. For a moment, I’m frozen, drink halfway to my lips, unable to look away. Jasper, Hudson’s step brother, and the one person Hudson was always worried about me spending time with. “Oh. My. Gosh.” Isla’s voice breaks through my trance. “Are you ogling Jasper right now?” “I am not -” I protest, but she’s already grinning like she’s won the lottery. “Now that’s what I call a palette cleanser.” Before I can stop her, Isla waves enthusiastically in his direction. To my horror, Jasper raises his glass in acknowledgement. I feel something unfamiliar flutter in my chest, something more than liquid courage. My purse beging to vibrate, I fish out my phone, my heart sinks when I see Hudson’s name flashing on my screen. Six missed calls and now a text: “I know you’re at Blaze, we need to talk.” 🔥🔥🔥 JASPER’S POV I had just become Captain of the 157. Teigan is our new probie, and I thought we should get some team building in before our shift on Monday. The truth is, I hoped Piper would be here with Isla to get over her breakup with my i***t step-brother. Teigan is also Hudson’s best friend and stupidly invited Hudson along. I guess because Hudson knows the owner somehow and was able to get us all in. We found a nice booth in the back, away from the loud music and the strobe lights, a good place to people watch. The guys are celebrating, but I’m barely listening to their jabs about Teigan’s initiation. My eyes keep drifting back to where Piper stands at the bar with Isla. She looks different tonight - confident but vulnerable, like someone trying on a new identity. That dress is nothing like what Hudson would have approved of, and it suits her perfectly.I get lost in thought, thinking about her, her slender build, her green eyes, and then I see her. Everything goes quiet, everyone in the room disappears, and all I see is her. I can’t take my eyes off her. I was never able to, from the first moment I laid eyes on her, I knew, I knew our souls were connected somehow. I chose to become an EMT and Firefighter, partly because of my dad, but also because of her. Her dad was never around, and her mom was a drunk; she had no one to protect her. I used to sit in a tree and watch her, to make sure she was safe. I snap out of my moment and notice her scanning the room. We lock eyes, and I can’t pull myself away from her gaze. She is the most stunning woman in the world. “Captains distracted,” Teigan nudged me, following my line of sight. I shoot daggers at him. “I see your distraction, lots of eye candy here tonight.” One of the other guy’s pipes up; “Well, well. Isn’t that your brother’s ex?” “Step - Brother.” both Hudson and I correct automatically through seething teeth. “The Criminal Investigator? Damn.” Teigan whistles low; “Hudson you really screwed up, huh?” “I’ll fix it, watch by the end of tonight, she will be back in my arms.” Then he looks down at his phone, his phone screen light staring back at him. Hudson’s smugness makes my blood boil. I want to grab him by his collar and remind him exactly why Piper left - the lies, the manipulation, the criminal connections that could have put her career at risk. But I won’t give him the satisfaction of me creating a scene. “She deserves better than you.” I say, my voice low enough that only he and Teigan can hear. Hudson’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Better like you, Jasper? The hero firefighter who’s been pining after my girlfriend since high school? You’re pathetic.” I take a slow sip of my whiskey, letting the burn distract me from the urge to punch him, I correct him 
“Ex - girlfriend.” With that he gets up and heads towards the bathroom. I trail off and I notice Piper looking at her phone, her face suddenly pale beneath the club’s pulsing lights. She gets up and heads in the same direction that Hudson just went. Why? Every instinct in my body screams to follow her. I’ve spent years watching Piper from a distance, respecting boundaries that shouldn’t have existed in the first place. Teigan slides out of the booth before me, I watch as he weaves his way through the crowd into the same direction that both Hudson and Piper just went. I pause, before deciding to follow them as well. The hallway is dimmer than the main club, lined with vintage music posters in neon frames. I hear Hudson’s voice - that smooth, manipulative tone I’ve known since childhood. “Piper, baby, you look amazing tonight.” I pause feeling anger rise within me.