40. STARS
PANDORA
“You clean up nice, Wifey.” Mica nods, pulling at the stretchy fabric of the miniskirt she helped me pair with black lace pantyhose and my short stiletto boots. I grab a long, silver knitted jacket to drape over the black satin corset top.
“Nice boobs.” Shannon waggles her brows and starts rearranging the hair she just finished for me. It’s lying in studiously unorganized twirls down my back and over my shoulders. Mica dabs on a bit of gold dust at the top of said “nice boobs,” and Destiny clears her throat demonstratively.
“Quit calling me ‘Wifey’ now that you have a real wife,” I tease them both.
A tacit pact stops us from ruining the night by bringing up my parents and my week with Leon, and I love my girls even more. They make me feel normal. No one brushes the subject of my beverage of choice, pure VOSS spring water, either. Like everything else, we’ll discuss my new drinking habits in due time, in the safe haven of our apartment and over gallons of ice cream.
Arriane has outdone herself downstairs. She’s Leon’s favorite bartender besides Christian, and her creative touch has turned the bar into a living rendition of fireworks. The walls are loosely draped in white fabric, and Smother’s stage lighting has been limited to cold blues, pinks, and whites. They dance in slow motion against the waves formed by the textiles. Lava lamps in the same shades are scattered over tables and counters, while a fine string of led lights frame the ceiling.
“Goodness,” Destiny says from the apartment stairs. “That’s crazy.”
Leon meets me before I take the last step down. His smile is happy and relaxed. He’s damn handsome in his semiformal, always-black outfit, and I curse myself for wearing black too. I had no intention of matching him.
Arriane’s gaze flows our way. She bobs out a greeting, and I gesture around the packed-to-the-brim-with-people room to her in a “damn, girl!” sort of gesture.
Her smile grows, and she lowers into a curtsy cut strait from a Victorian-inspired film. I point to the terrace, and she nods, proud.
Leon’s arm goes around my waist and nudges me into his side with the experience of a decade. He surveys the others from over my head, and says, “Ready to party?”
“Yeah!” Mica shouts, and both Destiny and Shannon whoop. What they think about Leon per se isn’t important when they’re bubbly-sparkly on his champagne and he throws it out like a challenge. Of course they’ll plunge in.
I jiggle my bottle of VOSS as Leon ushers my girls ahead of us toward the terrace stairs. Arriane has wound the banister in blue strings of star-shaped lights, and as the music fades from below, the thump of a different song greets us above. Leon’s hands are warm on my waist, and I hate how my skin still puckers at his touch as he guides me through the crowd.
The dark night twinkles with stars, outdoing Arriane’s decorations up here by miles. Christian sneaks out from behind the bar and grabs Shannon’s face in his hands. His eyes smile even as he shuts them in the kiss he sucks her into, and I’m so excited for them. I miss—miss…
Leon tucks my unruly mane behind my ear. He’s careful when he pecks my lips, and politeness might be what keeps me from turning away. I’ve told him, and yet—he’s not listening.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day. Another year. Finally, my New Year’s resolutions will take effect. Every one of them!
“Geez, it’s ten-thirty already?” Mica says, widening her baby blues at Destiny and me.
“Yep! An hour and a half until we start the new year together,” Destiny tells Mica, only Mica, before she flicks a glance at me, realizing how alone I am. Leon cups my head in his palm and nudges me against his chest. For him, not for me, I wish I could respond to his silent agreement to Destiny’s declaration.
DOMINIC
I’m standing here like a jackass, breathing in the starlit night while Pandora is inside. I can’t get in—I can’t get to her. It’s not. Fucking. Working. What does it say about me if I can’t even reach the girl I love?
Everyone else is there too. Everyone except me. I try Christian again, but his phone goes straight to voicemail. Shannon’s number renders no response either, and I curse myself for not getting Mica’s and Destiny’s numbers.
In the end, I call Smother’s main line, hoping they’ll answer, and the tightness over my ribs slips, if even for an instant, as I recognize Arriane’s voice on the line.
“Arriane,” I breathe, relieved. Then, I’m happy when she doesn’t hear me; they’ve probably all been instructed not to let me in.
“Hello, you’ve reached Smother. This is Arriane?” she repeats herself.
“Yes, ma’am, I need to reach my daughter, Shannon Greene.” I change the pitch of my voice a little to be on the safe side. “It’s an emergency,” I add.
“Sir, we have a full house tonight due to our New Year’s Eve bash,” Arriane explains. “I wouldn’t know where to find your daughter.”
“I believe her boyfriend works at your bar? Christian… Christian,” I act like I don’t remember his last name.
“Malkievich?” Arriane suggests.
“Yes, exactly. Shannon should be celebrating with him tonight.”
“Sir, let me try to locate her,” Arriane says. “But as I mentioned, we’ve got a crowd on our hands, so this might take a while.”
“Sure, I understand, Miss,” I respond in my new, gravelly pitch, “let me leave a call-back number.”
While I wait, I head to the back alley that gives way to Smother’s patio. On my first night with Pandora, we snuck out through the ladies’ bathroom window. It’s high on the wall. I’ll need something to stand on. Shit.
In vain, I scour the surroundings for anything tall enough for my purpose. I could run home, but I might not get back before twelve. My heart is a concrete block that sinks into my stomach.
Shannon finally calls back.
“Shannon!”
“Dominic? Damn, you scared me! Are you in town?”
“Yes, and I’ve been trying to get into the club since six p.m.”
“No freaking way?”
“How is she?” I ask. A quick glance at my watch shows eleven-thirty.
“Can she leave?” I add before Shannon even answers. “Leon straight out banned me from Smother. Would she come out for me?”
“He’s… I don’t know, Dominic. Leon is with her nonstop tonight. He’s wearing an earpiece so he can shoot off instructions without leaving her side. She’s dying to see you, though. Should I tell her you’re here?”
Shannon’s information worries me. I do not want Pandora to end up in a confrontation with Leon.
“I’m coming in. Do me a favor, Shannon. Open the window in the ladies’ room downstairs for me in… fifteen minutes. I’ll text you when I’m ready, okay? Don’t tell Pandora yet. I want to make sure this is doable.”
“’Kay, got it. Are you planning to sweep her off her feet?” she teases me.
I laugh quietly. “I’ll do my best, Shannon. I—want her last kiss of the year. It’s been a long time.”
“How about the first kiss of the new year?” she asks softly.
Yeah. And that.