To match my lipstick I slipped on a pair of red stilettos that raised my height four inches. The outfit was a knock out.
Because we were checking out a new club which was more upmarket that some of our usual haunts I’d decided to dress up, foregoing my usual jeans and a top for something more glamorous.
Plus, my ego had taken a battering as a result of Heath’s assholeness and I figured a little dressing up always made a girl feel better.
Remembering Heath’s attitude towards me over the past week, I forced back pangs of hurt and humiliation. I was done with his bullshit games. I deserved a night out to take my mind off it. Let karma take care of him. Let her be a bitch when she turned up. And let her be wearing a pair of stilettos when she kicked his ass.
“Wow! You look amazing. Heath is going to blow a gasket when he sees you in that,” Bridge said from the couch. She was sick with the flu and her nose was red from blowing it so much. A blanket covered her legs, and she clutched a scrunched up tissue.
“I’m not going out with Heath. I’m going out with Dean and his friends to the opening of a new club,” I replied, looking for the pair of earrings I remembered seeing on our coffee table earlier.
“Dean? I though you weren’t interested in him.”
“I’m not. What I am interested in is having a good time while I am here. Dean understands we’re nothing more than friends so when he asked me to check out this new club with him and a few of his friends I thought it might be fun.”
“And what does Heath think about that?”
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask Heath. But good luck. He seems to have lost his ability for speech lately.”
Bridge shifted on the couch. “Uh oh. What happened?”
I found my earrings in the coconut shell we used as a coin bowl.
“Apparently we are no longer friends,” I said putting my earrings in. “Apparently he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“Since when?”
“Since this morning when I confronted him at the gym,”
“You confronted him at the gym?”
“He’s completely ignored me all week. He hasn’t answered any of my calls or text messages. I wanted to know why.”
I briefly explained the encounter at the gym.
“All right, I’m calling a cab,” I said, not wanting to spend a moment more on Heath and his bullshit. I checked my reflection one last time in the mirror by the front door.
“Dean’s not picking you up?”
“It’s not a date Bridge,” I said, looking at her through the mirror as I curled a stray hair behind my ear. “I said I’d meet him and his friends at the club. That way it sets clear boundaries.”
“Which are?”
I turned to look at her. “That this is not a date. Not even close.”
“At least let me drive you,” she said, but as she moved to get off the couch she burst into a rapid fire of sneezing.
“Are you kidding me? You rest. I’m calling a cab and then fixing you one of Grandma Pearl’s cold elixirs while I wait.”
Twenty minutes after mixing my cousin a hot toddy of tea, honey, lemon, ginger, cloves and a good shot of whiskey, I was in a cab heading into town.
Dean was waiting for me outside the club when the cab pulled up. He looked handsome and wore a bright smile but I had to force myself to be happy to see him. It felt like the wrong guy was waiting for me, and the thought instantly left me deflated. I shouldn’t want it to be Heath waiting for me. But I did. And once I realized that, I immediately regretted coming out. The urge to ring Heath was palpable. Yes I hated him right now. But a part of me was desperate for contact.
“You look gorgeous,” Dean greeted me, helping me out of the cab. When he didn’t stand back I had to brush up against him, my body flush with his as I stood up. I knew it was deliberate and it made me feel awkward.
“Thanks,” I said looking past his shoulders for his friends. There was a long line of people waiting to get inside the club but no one seemed to be waiting for him. “Are your friends inside the club already?”
He grimaced. “Unfortunately they pulled out. Last minute family emergency.”
“Oh no. Would you like to postpone and make it another night?” I asked, a little too eagerly.
“Are you kidding?” He grinned, putting his arm around me and steering me towards the entrance of the club. “This is opening night and I’ve got free tickets. Plus, you look too beautiful to be sitting at home alone.”
He nodded at the intimidating bouncer who let us past the line-up and into the club. It was dim inside, with soft lighting along the walls. I stopped just inside the door and looked at him.
“Just so we’re clear, this isn’t a date. Okay?”
He smiled but his eyes were busy scouring the club. “So you keep saying,” he said, and then nodded towards the bar, which was aglow in pink light. “How about I get us a drink, and you can tell me all about it.”
* * * * *
HEATH
I waited for the front door to open, impatiently tapping my foot. I was anxious to speak to Harlow and to tell her I was sorry. I’d been a jerk. No. An asshole. And it would take a lot of groveling from me to make up for treating her so badly.
When her cousin Bridget opened the door her eyes dropped the brightly-colored mix of flowers in my hand.
“Heath…?” She was surprised to see me. And she looked terrible. Like she was unwell.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“No. I’m dying of the flu,” she mumbled nasally. “What are you doing here?”
“Is Harlow home?”
“No, she’s out.”
“Where?” I hated the desperate edge to my voice.
She eyed me suspiciously. Obviously Harlow had filled her in on what an asswipe I’d been this last week.
Cocking her head slightly to the side, she eyeballed me, and then sighed. “What are you doing Heath?”
Her question caught me off guard but the way she said it was kind and sympathetic. I exhaled deeply.
“Fucking things up by the looks of it,” I said regretfully. “She’s out with Dean, isn’t she?”
Bridget nodded but opened the door wider. “And if you want to fix this, then you’d better come inside.”
* * * * *
I had met Bridget when she’d started working at The Palace a year earlier. Back then we’d been playing there at least once a week. It was just before our debut album was released. But I’d never gotten to know her well. I didn’t remember hitting on her, but seeing how attractive she was, I probably I had. She was very similar in looks to her cousin, with her large green eyes and long dark hair, but while Bridget was very attractive, Harlow was outright beautiful.
Unfortunately, Bridget had known me long enough to see my behavior at its worst. She’d seen all the girls I’d been with and the crazy things I’d done so it was kind of a surprise she had even let me near Harlow. Although I’m sure she would have warned her about me. It was going to be hard to convince her that I wasn’t as bad as she imagined. Although standing across from her as she put the flowers into a vase, I could feel her empathy. Even if I didn’t deserve it, I appreciated it.
“Are you in love with Harlow?” she asked matter-of-factly.
“Yes.”
I didn’t need to think about my response but I wondered what she would think about the admission. Would she approve? Would she think I was good enough for Harlow?
I thought she might laugh but she didn’t. She just nodded as she arranged the flowers in the vase and carried them over to where I was sitting. Placing them on the table in front of us she sat down opposite me and fixed me with dark eyes.
“If you love her, Heath, why are you pushing her away? Why have you ignored her all week?”
I shook my head at my own stupidity. “Because I’m an idiot.”
“She thinks you played her.”
“I didn’t,” I said quickly. “I’d never do anything like that to her.”
“Then, what’s with the vanishing act?”