I do apologize for my lateness. This month has been busier than most. Two jobs can wear a human down. Hope you forgive me.
Not going to lie, I was surprised that there'd only been one review. I do hope you review at the end. Let me know your thoughts.
Chapter 35
The music was loud, the bass bouncing off the walls of the cabin. Bodies were dancing in their seats. Amelie watched as everyone slowly got tipsy. She sipped her tequila sunrise with ease. Knocking them back was easy and she wanted to, but not until they landed on the ground and were settled at the hotel.
"Amelie," Cami said, grabbing her attention. Amelie turned her head away from the window. Cami smiled and winked at her—a silent toast—and then took a sip from her flute glass. Amelie smiled and then watched out the window. The clouds flowed like fog rolling up on the San Francisco Bay. Her mind kept wandering, making her space out. So many thoughts and recent events were going through her head. It was the worst montage of the year. Coming home, Mom being critical…god, she hated admitting it, but she grew up fast. So fast that the college experience was lost on her.
And then there was what Reid had said the other night. After thinking about it, she was sure of what he'd said. I wish it were me.
Amelie let out a sigh through her nose. Was everyone trying to drag to her into a never ending coil of drama? It was fun seeing other people's drama and making it worse, but she didn't like having drama. Not this kind. But then, why did she feel so stuck? She'd moved forward and in more ways than one. She was doing well. More than well.
"I see it!" Sarah exclaimed, bouncing in her seat like a seven year old, her nose nearly pressing to the window.
The women looked out the windows, their eyes glittering with oohhs and aahhs. They turned into excited squeals upon getting to the hotel room. It was a penthouse suite with multiple rooms. Some girls didn't mind doubling up, but Amelie claimed a side room all to herself. The bed was a queen and the blankets, midnight blue velvet. Fancy pillows, some with fringe and tassels, were arranged nicely against the headboard.
After dropping her bag on a chair, she went out to the main room to the bar. She poured a shot of tequila into a crystal shot glass and took it in one gulp. A warm chill swam down to her toes and she walked over to the ceiling to floor windows that overlooked the ocean. The sun sheeted it in evening sun. Lights were just starting to decorate the city. Amelie smirked.
Tonight is going to be fun.
The girls got ready, which allowed for Amelie to relax for a little while. Tate had sent her a few music clips, asking for her thoughts. She went ahead and looked them over. If her ears could bleed by the sheer horrible sound of terrible screamo, they would. Only one clip sounded half decent. It made her feel something that she hadn't in a long while. Nostalgic. The right blend of alternative did that. It was in the words and the instruments. She listened to the clip againand liked it even more. Whoever this kid was, Amelie wanted him. She texted Tate back and told her that she was adopting him. This kid was going to be her career. Tate laughed and said alright. Bryan would know when she got back to the office. Until then, Tate was going to meet with him and ask him if he wanted to be famous. Amelie just wanted her words to come out of his mouth.
While she could've been getting ready like the others, she didn't mind what she was wearing. Her halter top was knit and backless. Bohemian had become her very much when she wasn't bumming around in old t-shirts. Her hair came down in waves. She'd stopped dying it after the final time of giving it a natural dark chestnut color. It balanced out the old dye, turning her hair an auburn color.
"You're not wearing that."
Amelie looked up. Sarah was standing over her, her hands on her hips.
"There's nothing wrong with what I'm wearing. We're at the beach," Amelie responded.
"We're by the beach. We're not going to the beach," Sarah pointed out.
"But-"
"Go," Sarah said, pointing at Amelie's room.
Amelie made a face, but went like a shamed dog. She decided on a small, black number that was decorated in zippers. A silver, metal choker—vintage gypsy—wrapped her throat perfectly snug. Tate bought the dress for her last year, deeming it her birthday suit. Her other birthday suit. It was better than the leather piece she got her to make her get back out in the dating world. It still sat in the dark, dusty box at the bottom of her closet.
Amelie put on her glittering silver pumps that added two inches to her height. They reminded her of Dorothy's slippers from The Wizard of OZ. The original ones.
"Better," Sarah said with a mischievous smile. She pulled at one of the zippers and then yanked it back quickly, blushing furiously. Amelie rolled her eyes as she apologized for flashing her flesh. The zippers worked, which was the main reason Tate bought it. Easy and fun access.
Cami wanted to go gambling of all things. Said that she could use the extra cash for the honeymoon. She and Gabriel didn't know it, but Amelie's dad already planned a trip that was paid for between him and their parents. Those two really were spoiled. Amelie had made up the fake IDs for those who weren't quite of age, just in case, and she didn't feel bad about handing them out while they were at dinner. She'd had her own since she was fifteen. And one wasn't officially a college student if you didn't have one to get in the bars.
Sarah wasn't so sure about the IDs.
"If you act all nervous and timid then you aren't getting past the velvet rope and trust me," Amelie said, her eyes narrowing on her, "you want to get past the velvet rope. It's where the fun is."
Sarah made it across the rope. While Sarah, Kate, Cami, and a few of the other girls wanted to get on the floor, the others decided to check out the small club on the other side of the hotel.
Amelie made herself at home at a blackjack table. She lost a couple hands on purpose because then she wiped the really cute card dealer out. After earning $3,500 she backed out. She could've won more, but decided not to attract the pit boss.
She found Sarah and Kate at the Craps table with a couple of the other sisters. Amelie watched, amused by their excitement. Sarah played with the umbrella in her drink as she sipped through the straw. Kate's tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth as she tossed the dice. The red cubes bounced and the table went wild with cheers. Amelie's nodded, impressed.
She tugged on Kate's arm and nodded for them to go.
"But I'm doing so well," she protested.
"Too well, and if you get caught by security doing too well you get taken in and they discover you're not twenty-one just yet," Amelie said.
Kate groaned.
"I have plans. They don't involve sitting in this hotel all night."
Amelie went off to find Cami. She was playing poker and not doing very well at it. She was easier to get away from the gambling than Kate. They split up to gather others and met up in the lobby.
From there, they headed out into the city. Amelie drove. The girls went on about their losses and winnings.
Amelie focused on the road, searching for the turn off. She followed the directions exactly to the main destination. It was beyond exclusive and there was no such thing as invitation only. If you were in you were in. If you knew then you knew. If you didn't then the place didn't exist.
The bright city lights faded into hotels that lay on the beach, quiet with nothing but the waves rushing the shore. It really wasn't that far. Ten minutes. You could walk back to the hotel. Amelie turned the next corner into a parking garage.
"What…" Kate muttered. She shared a nervous look with Sarah.
Getting out, Amelie waited on everyone to get organized and then wordlessly led them. Their murmurs of curiosity and worry was enough to make her giggle. Turnign down an alley, Amelie paused. A tall, broad man, big enough to stomp out the biggest wrestler on TV, stood by a steel door. There was no door handle on it. While the others halted instantly, Amelie made her way up to the man. He certainly was intimidating. Even to her, but this was the guy. He didn't say a word to her. Didn't even look at her.
She cleared her throat and his eyes moved. Only his eyes. They looked black under the lamp that hung over the door. It made him look possessed or something. There was no shudder of fear that he probably struck into every person that wandered here. A slight thrill tingled in her fingertips though. He waited, not blinking or looking away from her.
Lucky for Amelie, there was a zipper by her side. She pulled it, revealing the skin there. He pulled from his pocket a pen and clicked it. A bead of light came out of the tip. UV light. He flashed it over her skin and then grunted as the tattoo of The Eye there was revealed.
"I have people with me. We're expected," Amelie said.
He nodded and the steel door opened. Amelie waved the girls over. They were huddled together whispering amongst each other. Kate followed and then Sarah and the others.
"Enjoy yourselves, ladies," the bouncer growled, giving a curt nod.
The ladies followed Amelie down metal stairs into the dark. The door closed behind them with a clang.
"Uhh, Amelie, I trust you, but I don't want to get murdered days before my wedding," Cami said, laughing nervously.
Amelie smirked and stopped at the bottom that led to a small, dimly lit are. On the left was a man with scruff around his jaws, and in a tux.
"Good evening, ladies. If you have any belongings, purse or coat, I will take them," he said. Amelie handed over her wallet and the envelope of cash that she'd gotten in exchange for her chips back at the hotel. The other girls followed suit.
Off to the right were the restrooms, a plaque on each door of the gender symbols. On the wall between the doors, in the center, was another plaque that read: Transgender Welcome. Pee where comfortable.
After things were handed over for safekeeping, Scruffy, as Amelie called him now, pressed a button underneath the sleek wooden counter and the door in front of them slid open.
Lights flashed and music pulsed. There was a dancefloor over shimmering water that looked like it had been touched by the moon. There was a waterfall on the other side of the room. The bar was long and glowing with light of several colors. Gleaming, silver cages, much like a birdcage only human sized, hung overhead. Silk curtains draped down the walls and acted as walls, creating private spaces for people to wander off into. There was even a doorway with a painted arrow: Get Lost Here…Another doorway was a couple feet away from them: Exit…? 'We Are The Wild Ones' by NINA made the people dancing move in otherworldly ways. This was not some creepy sex club anything so dirty. This place was…
"Welcome to Elysium," Amelie said, taking in all of the girls' stunned faces.
"Whoa," Kate said. "I have got to party with you more often."
Cami took her little sisters hand and Amelie's and pulled them out to the dance floor. Bodies were snug, moving and flowing in an odd sync to the music. Amelie let her body sway to the music, flinging her hair back and weaving her hands up above her head. She could feel the somber, technicolor lights in her body and the music thrum in her veins. She hadn't gotten lost in herself like this in a while.
After two more songs, she found Kate and Sarah at the bar.
"How did you find this place?" Sarah asked Amelie.
"I still have my secrets." Amelie grinned. Having an air of mystery…she rolled her eyes. That crap was for daydreamers. She just enjoyed her secrets and couldn't help if that was one of the few things she didn't drop since leaving Spenser.
After a little while the DJ made an announcement about the bachelorette party, showcasing Cami in a spotlight. A man in a tux and very similar to the one who'd taken their purses. He guided her over to a spot where a cage was lowering. Cami looked back at her nervously, but Amelie couldn't quit laughing as he put her inside.
Cami went up. The cage swung a little as she danced. The girls along with everyone else cheered her on. Amelie went back to the bar and ordered another drink.
A couple of men asked her to dance, but she declined. Kate however, did not. Sarah had wandered into the maze with a couple of the sisters.
"You are the best," Cami said, coming up beside her.
"I know," Amelie replied, utterly amused by the drunken bride-to-be.
"Bitch, get me a drink." Cami slammed her palm down on the counter.
"Yes, my queen," Amelie laughed.
The bartender slid two glasses in front of them filled with purple liquid. Amelie peered down at it while Cami swallowed it down eagerly. The dancing lights made the drink appear glittery.
"It's unicorn piss," Amelie said, her eyebrows raised.
Cami snorted and covered her mouth in effort to not spew it everywhere. There was a small dribble down her chin. Amelie held her small glass up in cheers and then downed it. The liquid was sweet and sugary going down. Definitely a cheerleader's drink.
Two of her sorority sisters grabbed her by the arm and pulled back out to the dance floor where she got surround by tall, broad, and rather gorgeous men. Every bride-to-be's dream. Amelie shook her head.
Amelie snuck out to the way they entered. Scruffy pulled out her wallet and the envelope of money. She pushed the envelope back towards him.
"My thanks and hopes that you will make sure my friends continue to have a great night," she said. Her smile was sultry and his gaze just as tense. He accepted it with a curt nod.
"Of course, Miss Abbott. Have a good evening."
Amelie turned and made her way up the stairs.
The night air was warm and breezy. The smell of salt was light, but she could follow it to the ocean, and she did. Once at the shore, she took off her heels. The soft grains were cool and squished between her toes. The sound of the waves hitting the shore was sobering and relieving on the light thumping in her head.
She made her way toward the water. The moon was full, but it still shone beautifully over the black waves. Foam flushed over the tops of her feet. A shiver shook up her legs and over her body from the coldness of it. She moved her hair over to one shoulder.
She was pretty sure she looked like a hooker right now. She didn't get dressed up like this anymore. Even going out with Tate or Kate on the weekends, she wore jeans and some sort of top to make it look good, but casual. Amelie wrapped her arms around herself. Goosebumps rose over her skin.
"The Fates must be cruel. Always putting us in the same place."
Amelie turned at the sound of the soft, resigned voice, one she knew all too well.
"Must be cruel," she agreed. She didn't move from her spot or even smile.
She wasn't sure what to feel. Her whole heart shuttered painfully. She looked back out at the water.
"You look…" His words trailed off. She still didn't turn to face him. A part of her hoped that if she didn't he would walk away. Another part of her felt like it was some part of her brain that she'd repressed that was clinging on to the idea of him for some reason. But it was be none of those things, as she felt the brush of his hand on her arm.
"A last hoorah," she chuckled. "And believe it or not, Sarah picked this out."
He laughed at that. The rumble was low like thunder and she was sure that if she looked, she was sure she'd see lightning in his eyes.
"That sweet ball of sunshine?"
"She wasn't all that sweet when she saw what I wanted to wear, which was jeans and a halter top."
"Not down with the Woodstock look? I'm shocked," he joked.
Amelie shook her head. She wasn't sure about this feeling in her chest. The warmth there that made her feel happy. Was it okay that your ex could make you laugh? What were the rules on that?
I can't ask Kyle…he didn't exactly get the memo on the whole—how to be a good boyfriend or how to be boyfriend material in general.
Amelie turned and walked past him, making her way up the shore. She could see the hotel from here.
"What are you doing here?" She asked him, not needing to look to know that he was right beside her.
"Well, I was looking up at the stars all pensive-like just like you, I guess," he replied with that smirk.
"Not what I meant…jackass. I meant in the city," Amelie said, trying not to laugh. She looked out at the water. It was strange that he was here when she was. Could it be fate? For a person like her, did she believe in that? Short answer…no, and there were so many reasons why.
"I had a meeting with my editor. We figured this was a spot in between our places." He shrugged.
"Working on something new?" Amelie's eyebrows rose curiously.
"Something like that," he chuckled.
Talking to him had never been this easy. It had never felt this easy. There'd always been a comment, sarcastic or blunt it didn't matter. But right now, it wasn't like that at all. They'd stop and laugh and then keep walking and it went like that for a little bit. She even threw one of her heels at him at one point.
It was like getting out of Ipswich, away from everything that they'd touched, gave them a moment to breathe. A moment to feel relieved and new and unconnected from all of that hell. Then again, that was probably the tequila from earlier, before the unicorn piss, talking. It had a sweet, Latino accent in her ear, telling her a lot of things, like to loosen her up.
Reid looked out at the water. The crashing waves were soothing. He hadn't offered his hoodie once or tried to warm her. His hands remained in his pockets. Amelie wasn't cold anyway, but he didn't attempt a single pick-up. Why the hell was that impressive? And annoying…
"I don't think we've ever had a conversation that we didn't end up in an argument or even bickering," he said.
"I don't recall it being such a bad thing all the time," Amelie replied.
"No," he agreed.
He looked at her sideways, his bangs falling into his eyes.
"I am sorry," he said. "For everything."
"I don't think I've heard you say that very often," Amelie said. "Maybe…what, twice?"
Reid chuckled and it was genuine. He nodded, taking the whiplash, another thing that surprised her. Who was this person that bought houses and was able to carry civil conversations? This wasn't the person she talked to a few weeks ago. What did Tyler really tell him? He never really told her, but now she was wondering. That was when this odd quiet overcame Reid.
"More than that," he said, offended. "But I get it. I should get used to warning people about my assholery. Those who deserve the warning anyway."
Amelie nodded her head side to side. He had a point. Some people really did deserve what they got. And in that moment, she couldn't stop herself from wondering…
God, could we be friends?
What a lie…
Amelie glanced over at him as they walked at no particularly fast pace. The hotel still appeared miles away. His facial expression strained and he stopped walking. Then so did she.