The Fortunate Ones
Page 17
The crowd pushes in on us as we walk through the club. I can’t remember if there were this many people when we first arrived, but now I feel like I can hardly breathe. The jazz band is gone, replaced by loud music. That coupled with raucous laughter and conversation overpowers my ability to think. I blink and try to clear my head. I blink again and realize Celeste isn’t in front of me anymore. She was leading the way back to the guys, but now she’s nowhere to be found.
“Celeste?”
I turn in a circle, trying to spot her long black hair or the color of dried blood staining her lips. My vision cuts to a black tuxedo jacket similar to the one she was wearing. No. A woman with the same length of hair. No. I think I catch a whiff of her perfume, but when I turn toward the scent, I nearly fall onto a couple wrapped around one another. The man has his hand up the woman’s dress, she’s moaning into his mouth, and they don’t notice me. To them, I’m just another warm body.
A hand brushes across my back, then lower.
“Are you lost, sweetheart?” a deep voice asks close to my ear.
I jerk away.
Even in this state, my fight-or-flight instincts kick in. I push through the crowd quicker than before, jostling people out of my way.
Glass shatters on the floor behind me, but I don’t stop.
“Hey! EASY!” someone shouts at me.
I shake my head and blink harder, trying to clear my fuzzy vision, but it doesn’t work. It feels like I’m trying to wake myself up out of a deep sleep.
I need to find James. He’s the only person I know here, but he’s not where I left him.
At least, I think this is where I left him. Were we by the bar? Or did we wander toward the gambling tables in the back? My heart rate kicks up another notch and I try not to panic. It seems futile. The more I try to catch my breath, the harder it becomes.
Then I spot them up ahead: Celeste and Michael. I push down the urge to cry as I rush toward them, too scared to blink for fear that they’ll disappear and I’ll be left on my own again.
They’re among the crowd of people playing craps, and she’s pressed up against his side as he grips a pair of dice in his hands. He holds out his fist and she kisses it. Another few shakes and then he tosses the dice out onto the table. The crowd erupts with a mixture of cheers and groans. He turns to Celeste and kisses her hard enough that they nearly topple over. I’m almost to them when Michael starts to string a line of kisses down her neck. She turns to give him better access and her eyes light up when she spots me.
“Brooke! There you are!” She breaks away from him to reach for me. “Come, come. We’re playing craps. I’m Michael’s lucky charm!”
She grips my arm and tugs me closer. I lose my footing and stumble into the leggy blonde on the other side of Celeste. She curses and turns to scold me, but Celeste levels her with a stare. “Fuck off, will you?”
The blonde mutters something under her breath but still moves to the side, making space for me.
“Where have you been?” Celeste asks as she wraps an arm around my shoulders and draws me against her.
She sounds giggly and carefree—in complete contrast to how I feel.
I try to collect enough words to form a reply but my head is too cluttered. I can’t grip hold of English, let alone French.
My struggle makes her laugh.
“Enjoying that drink I gave you?” She winks.
I swallow and find my voice. “Wh-What?”
She leans closer and whispers, “That drink—did you finish it?” I shake my head and she continues, “Good. I probably put too much in.”
Wait.
What?
My body breaks out in a cold sweat.
“Too much?” I repeat.
Her laughter sounds like the evil cackle of a hyena.
“Jesus, calm down.” She’s rubbing my back, trying to soothe me. “Don’t cry.”
I didn’t realize I was.
“James?”
The name falls out of my mouth with no context.
She shrugs. “I haven’t seen him since we left for the bathroom, but who cares! He can be so boring.”
Can he? I can’t remember.
“Ugh! Cheer up. C’mon, I want to have fun! Look, here—” She forces a pair of dice into my clammy hands. “You want a turn being Michael’s lucky charm?”
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know I don’t want to be here, playing along with Celeste. I know something is wrong, but the alarm bells aren’t loud enough to overpower the crowd around the craps table.
A handsome man with a sinister smile is telling me to kiss the dice.
Michael.
Celeste helps me by wrapping her delicate hand around my neck and forcing my face down to his fist.
“Kiss!”
I do as I’m told and then Michael tosses the dice out onto the green felt. The crowd erupts again and I get jostled between bodies. My rib smarts and I hiss, trying to place the pain. It’s the blonde on the other side of me, jabbing her elbow into my side, seeking retribution for earlier.
I shove her back just before a strong hand wraps around my upper arm.
“Where’ve you been?”
My stomach dips.
I look over my shoulder and there he is—the man I’ve been trying to find.
“James! My man!” Michael says, clapping him on the shoulder. “C’mon, we’re just getting started.”
James doesn’t shift his attention off me. His brown eyes trace along my features, and he looks concerned; maybe he should be. I was trying to find him earlier, but now I can’t remember why.
“Are you okay?” he asks, his grip tightening on my arm a little more.
It’s nearly painful.
I nod because I am. Right? I look around me. The room sways, and I can’t focus my vision no matter how hard I try.
“Hey, Brooke. Are you okay?” he asks again, his tone a little more gruff than it was a moment before.
Celeste laughs and presses herself against me. I focus on the feel of her tuxedo jacket. It’s cool and silky, and maybe I’m overheated because I like the way the fabric feels against my skin.
“Relax, will you?” she says in English. “We wanted to have a little fun.”
I think her accent is so beautiful, and maybe I say so because she laughs and presses a kiss to my cheek.
“I don’t have the accent. All of you do!”
I smile because she makes “the” sound like “zee” and it’s so charming. Michael must have fallen in love with her so easily.
“What did you take?” James asks. I turn my attention back to him, but he’s not looking at me anymore. Of course he’s not—how could he focus on me for long with so many beautiful people around?
How terrible.
I want him—this confident, sexy, older man—to focus on me, to want me.
It feels like a challenge, one I can’t pass up. I sidle closer to him and press my body against his. My hands drag across his muscled biceps and I shiver. I have to tip my head back to stare up at his eyes, and maybe I expect to see lust brewing there, but there’s nothing but annoyance. His lips—the lips I want to taste—are pulled in a tight line. His dark brows are furrowed. He’s looking down at me with a level of disdain usually reserved for snot-nosed kids, not a woman you find irresistible.
“What’d you take?” he asks again.
“I don’t—”
Michael laughs and slaps his shoulder. “It’s a party drug, James. It’s not going to kill her.”
No. This isn’t right.
I shake my head. “I didn’t know. I didn’t t-take…anything.”
I think my words will clarify things, but he shakes his head and steps back, taking me with him. “Right. C’mon, let’s go.”
Celeste protests, yanking on my other arm. “She doesn’t have to go with you!” She turns to Michael. “Mon amour, tell him!”
The searing stare James aims at Michael is enough to override whatever spell Celeste has over him. He puts his hands in the air in innocence and tells Celeste to let go of me. She pouts, but finally releases me. I don’t even get the chance to say goodbye before James is pulling me through the crowd so fast I’m tripping over my feet.
“Celeste?”
I turn in a circle, trying to spot her long black hair or the color of dried blood staining her lips. My vision cuts to a black tuxedo jacket similar to the one she was wearing. No. A woman with the same length of hair. No. I think I catch a whiff of her perfume, but when I turn toward the scent, I nearly fall onto a couple wrapped around one another. The man has his hand up the woman’s dress, she’s moaning into his mouth, and they don’t notice me. To them, I’m just another warm body.
A hand brushes across my back, then lower.
“Are you lost, sweetheart?” a deep voice asks close to my ear.
I jerk away.
Even in this state, my fight-or-flight instincts kick in. I push through the crowd quicker than before, jostling people out of my way.
Glass shatters on the floor behind me, but I don’t stop.
“Hey! EASY!” someone shouts at me.
I shake my head and blink harder, trying to clear my fuzzy vision, but it doesn’t work. It feels like I’m trying to wake myself up out of a deep sleep.
I need to find James. He’s the only person I know here, but he’s not where I left him.
At least, I think this is where I left him. Were we by the bar? Or did we wander toward the gambling tables in the back? My heart rate kicks up another notch and I try not to panic. It seems futile. The more I try to catch my breath, the harder it becomes.
Then I spot them up ahead: Celeste and Michael. I push down the urge to cry as I rush toward them, too scared to blink for fear that they’ll disappear and I’ll be left on my own again.
They’re among the crowd of people playing craps, and she’s pressed up against his side as he grips a pair of dice in his hands. He holds out his fist and she kisses it. Another few shakes and then he tosses the dice out onto the table. The crowd erupts with a mixture of cheers and groans. He turns to Celeste and kisses her hard enough that they nearly topple over. I’m almost to them when Michael starts to string a line of kisses down her neck. She turns to give him better access and her eyes light up when she spots me.
“Brooke! There you are!” She breaks away from him to reach for me. “Come, come. We’re playing craps. I’m Michael’s lucky charm!”
She grips my arm and tugs me closer. I lose my footing and stumble into the leggy blonde on the other side of Celeste. She curses and turns to scold me, but Celeste levels her with a stare. “Fuck off, will you?”
The blonde mutters something under her breath but still moves to the side, making space for me.
“Where have you been?” Celeste asks as she wraps an arm around my shoulders and draws me against her.
She sounds giggly and carefree—in complete contrast to how I feel.
I try to collect enough words to form a reply but my head is too cluttered. I can’t grip hold of English, let alone French.
My struggle makes her laugh.
“Enjoying that drink I gave you?” She winks.
I swallow and find my voice. “Wh-What?”
She leans closer and whispers, “That drink—did you finish it?” I shake my head and she continues, “Good. I probably put too much in.”
Wait.
What?
My body breaks out in a cold sweat.
“Too much?” I repeat.
Her laughter sounds like the evil cackle of a hyena.
“Jesus, calm down.” She’s rubbing my back, trying to soothe me. “Don’t cry.”
I didn’t realize I was.
“James?”
The name falls out of my mouth with no context.
She shrugs. “I haven’t seen him since we left for the bathroom, but who cares! He can be so boring.”
Can he? I can’t remember.
“Ugh! Cheer up. C’mon, I want to have fun! Look, here—” She forces a pair of dice into my clammy hands. “You want a turn being Michael’s lucky charm?”
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know I don’t want to be here, playing along with Celeste. I know something is wrong, but the alarm bells aren’t loud enough to overpower the crowd around the craps table.
A handsome man with a sinister smile is telling me to kiss the dice.
Michael.
Celeste helps me by wrapping her delicate hand around my neck and forcing my face down to his fist.
“Kiss!”
I do as I’m told and then Michael tosses the dice out onto the green felt. The crowd erupts again and I get jostled between bodies. My rib smarts and I hiss, trying to place the pain. It’s the blonde on the other side of me, jabbing her elbow into my side, seeking retribution for earlier.
I shove her back just before a strong hand wraps around my upper arm.
“Where’ve you been?”
My stomach dips.
I look over my shoulder and there he is—the man I’ve been trying to find.
“James! My man!” Michael says, clapping him on the shoulder. “C’mon, we’re just getting started.”
James doesn’t shift his attention off me. His brown eyes trace along my features, and he looks concerned; maybe he should be. I was trying to find him earlier, but now I can’t remember why.
“Are you okay?” he asks, his grip tightening on my arm a little more.
It’s nearly painful.
I nod because I am. Right? I look around me. The room sways, and I can’t focus my vision no matter how hard I try.
“Hey, Brooke. Are you okay?” he asks again, his tone a little more gruff than it was a moment before.
Celeste laughs and presses herself against me. I focus on the feel of her tuxedo jacket. It’s cool and silky, and maybe I’m overheated because I like the way the fabric feels against my skin.
“Relax, will you?” she says in English. “We wanted to have a little fun.”
I think her accent is so beautiful, and maybe I say so because she laughs and presses a kiss to my cheek.
“I don’t have the accent. All of you do!”
I smile because she makes “the” sound like “zee” and it’s so charming. Michael must have fallen in love with her so easily.
“What did you take?” James asks. I turn my attention back to him, but he’s not looking at me anymore. Of course he’s not—how could he focus on me for long with so many beautiful people around?
How terrible.
I want him—this confident, sexy, older man—to focus on me, to want me.
It feels like a challenge, one I can’t pass up. I sidle closer to him and press my body against his. My hands drag across his muscled biceps and I shiver. I have to tip my head back to stare up at his eyes, and maybe I expect to see lust brewing there, but there’s nothing but annoyance. His lips—the lips I want to taste—are pulled in a tight line. His dark brows are furrowed. He’s looking down at me with a level of disdain usually reserved for snot-nosed kids, not a woman you find irresistible.
“What’d you take?” he asks again.
“I don’t—”
Michael laughs and slaps his shoulder. “It’s a party drug, James. It’s not going to kill her.”
No. This isn’t right.
I shake my head. “I didn’t know. I didn’t t-take…anything.”
I think my words will clarify things, but he shakes his head and steps back, taking me with him. “Right. C’mon, let’s go.”
Celeste protests, yanking on my other arm. “She doesn’t have to go with you!” She turns to Michael. “Mon amour, tell him!”
The searing stare James aims at Michael is enough to override whatever spell Celeste has over him. He puts his hands in the air in innocence and tells Celeste to let go of me. She pouts, but finally releases me. I don’t even get the chance to say goodbye before James is pulling me through the crowd so fast I’m tripping over my feet.
