Chapter 4

Lily:

"Wow, he's gone. He's really gone," I realized, staring at the door. This was it, no more Felix. I was on my own now.

"Do you feel free now? The freedom of singledom?" Ines asked excitedly, resting her hands on my shoulders and pushing me towards the others.

"What about the loneliness?" Madison blurted out. Madison had a tendency to blurt things out without thinking twice. It was what made her special. She could be brutally honest, but sometimes that was exactly what I needed.

"Madi!" Andre glared at her, nudging her gently.

"I'm just messing with you." Madison chuckled, though it was clear no one else found it funny. I knew it was true though. I had some lonely days ahead of me, but at least I still had my friends. I could always count on them.

"And where are you going?" I asked when I saw Andre get up and start walking away from us.

"Oh, I thought I might look around and get rid of any photos of him you might still have." Andre smiled innocently as he slid a photo from the living room into one of his pockets.

"Oh, wow, thank you," I said. I'm sure I had a weird look on my face. It hadn't occurred to me to get rid of my pictures of Felix, but I was thankful Andre knew just what to do.

"I gotchu, honey," he chuckled and reached for another photo on the wall. I actually loved the way I looked in that photo. It was from a photoshoot on the beach.

"Wait, not that one," I called out, pointing to the picture. "I look good in it," I pouted.

"Totally fine. We'll just him out of it," Andre said as he looked at it again.

"Oh, good idea," I grinned. Luckily, Felix and I weren't standing right next to each other, so it would be easy to remove him.

"Now for the rest of the rooms!" Andre said as he walked into the bedroom. I didn't think he'd find that many more photos of us, though. Most of our pictures were digital anyway.

"Okay, so I've been looking at clubs in this area." Ines bit her lip in concentration as she focused on her phone, scrolling through the options.

"Nice ones?" Madison checked.

"Duh, we're trying to cheer Lils up here, not depress her even more," Ines stated with a little roll of her eyes. "Club Red sounds fun. Ever been there?" She looked over at me, her brow raised.

"I've heard of it. People seem to love it," I recalled. loved going to the club, but between work and school, I tended to choose sleep over late nights hanging out or going on dates.

"But you've never been?" Madison asked with a funny look on her face.

"Felix didn't like going to the club, so we usually didn't." I shrugged. Thinking about it now, I couldn't help but wonder if he just didn't like going to the club with me. Maybe it was where he met his other women.

"Well, now that you're single, you can make the rules!" Ines smirked.

"Damn right, girl," I smirked back at her. Excitement was bubbling in my chest already. It felt like ages since I'd had a night out.

"Okay! I've collected them all!" Andre announced triumphantly as he returned to the living room with five picture frames in his hands. "Can we get her ready for the club now?" he asked on his way to the kitchen. He then took all the photos one by one out of their frames before throwing them in the trash.

"Yes, please! let's do this," I got up.

"Okay, I vote that everyone picks an outfit for her and the best outfit wins," Ines cheered. She had a smirk on her face that made me think she planned on winning.

"What does the winner get?" Andre asked, crossing his arms. Andre had a bit of a competitive streak. He almost always had to win, but he also almost always won. It was the reason I tried to be on his team whenever we played any games.

"Free drinks! Free drinks!" Madison chanted her suggestion. We all thought about it for a second, then shrugged.

"Sounds good to me," Andre approved. He already had his game-face on.

"I get to choose the wining outfit, right?" I double checked.

"Duh, come on. Let's get started." Ines rolled her eyes at me playfully.

We all walked into the bedroom and began looking through my closet. They all raved about my dresses, but I already had something else in mind: a short white satin skirt with a satin blush tank top. I'd never gotten the chance to wear them, and tonight was the night. I walked over to the other side of the closet with a smirk on my lips.

"Why is she smirking?" Ines asked with a frown on her face.

"I guess she already knows what she wants to wear?" Madison assumed, looking at me as I pulled out the clothes.

"Damn right, I've got the perfect outfit," I winked at them.

"Don't forget the shoes! No look is complete without shoes," Andre pointed out. He didn't seem worried about losing at all.

Fuck, I didn't have shoes to go with my outfit. I'd have to hope the others fell short too. I sat down on the edge of my bed and waited patiently for them to make their choices. It seemed like Andre and Madi were fighting over the same dress, and it took them a good fifteen minutes to come to an agreement.

"Okay, I'll go first," Madison said, pointing to the outfit hanging in the far-right corner of the closet. I got up to get a closer look. It was a navy-colored dress with thin straps that crisscrossed in the back. She'd paired it with a pair of simple black heels. I went into the bathroom to try it on, checking myself out in the mirror.

When I came out, Madi's reaction was a loud whistle.

"So? What do we think?" I asked, turning around and striking a pose.

"Wow, you look hot." Madison walked over and handed me a silver clutch.

"Hmm, it's pretty, but she'll look even better in my outfit." Andre smirked and pointed to a short black satin dress with a low back. He'd also picked out silver heels and a matching clutch. I didn't even know I had this dress! I barely ever wore dresses anymore, but I sure had a lot of them for someone who didn't usually wear them.

It was only after I put on the dress that I noticed it had a slit up to my right thigh. But it fit me like a glove and showed off my curves. And the silver accessories tied it all together. I was starting to think he'd picked out the best outfit, and I hadn't even tried them all yet. I actually wanted to wear this.

I walked out of the bathroom and rested one hand on my hip as I looked at the others.

"I forfeit! That's the outfit!" Ines got up, took my hand in hers, then twirled me around.

"I think I'm with Ines on this." Madison looked at me in awe.

"That means we only have your outfit left." Andre looked pointedly at the clothes I'd laid out on the bed.

"I think we owe you some free drinks, Andre. You win," I admitted.

"Hell yes, this outfit is guaranteed to turn heads," Andre replied, watching as I packed the purse with the things I'd need tonight.

"All we have left now is makeup." Ines took my hand and led me to a chair. She sat me down, then turned to Madison. "I'm thinking some mascara, eyeliner, and wine-red lipstick." She waited to see what Madison would say.

"Hmm, no, give her a vibrant red." Andre leaned against the dresser, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Are you sure?" Madison made her thinking face as she held my chin in her hand.

"Yeah, and use some lip gloss—or whatever it is that makes them shine." Andre shrugged.

"I'm surprised, Andre," I admitted. He was a man of fine taste.

"I have many talents." He smirked proudly.

"Isn't your sister obsessed with YouTube makeup tutorials?" Madison said slyly as she went through my makeup products to pick out the right ones.

"That's it, I'm done sharing stories about my family with you guys." He pouted like a child. "You just use them against me," he huffed.

"Oh, don't be like that, sweety," Madison teased.

"By the way, what club did we chose?" Andre asked, taping away on his phone while the girls did my makeup.

"Red," Ines answered, carefully applying my lipstick.

"What? No, come on," he groaned, shaking his head.

"Do you have a better suggestion?" Madison asked. She took a step back and closed the eyeliner.

"Waves, it's some fancy new club." He showed us some photos of their page online. "They have great drinks there." Andre hummed lovingly.

"You decide, Lils." Ines looked at me in the mirror.

"Let's go with Andre's club. If Felix goes out tonight, he'll probably pick Red, and I don't want to run into him." I'd already been starting to second guess Red as I knew Felix had been there before.

"Waves it is then." Madison shrugged.

When I was all ready to go, we all piled into Andre's car and he drove us to the club. Ines had graciously offered to be designated driver, but only on the way home. On the way there, we sang along to the radio and were just having a great time. It had been so long since I'd felt this free. I didn't care about a single thing in the world. I had no idea how great this would feel, and it made me question so much about my relationship with Felix. Why did I put up with him so long if I wasn't really happy?

I knew we had arrived when I saw the huge neon-blue sign, Waves. Loud music could be heard every time the security guard opened the door, and when we stepped inside, I saw a lot of people dancing, drinking, chatting. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves.

"There's a free booth over there." Madison pointed.

"Let's go then." Andre took Madison's hand and led us to our seats.

"So, what do you want to drink, sir?" I turned to Andre, the winner.

"Hmm, a 007 martini, please." He grinned happily.

"I'll have an orange juice," Ines added, her eyes scanning the room.

"Daiquiri for me." Madison winked.

"Okay, I'll go get our drinks from the bar," I said as I got up.

"Thanks, babe." Ines nodded.

I walked over to the bartender and ordered our drinks. I ordered a Daiquiri for myself, same as Madison, but it was just drink number 1. I intended to order many more before the night was out.

"Interesting choice," someone said in a surprisingly deep voice.

When I looked up, I saw a tall man sliding up to the bar next to me. He was dressed in a white button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up, first button undone so that it showed off a golden chain around his neck. His sharp jawline was covered by a perfect line of stubble. He had long dark hair and deep dark eyes, eyes I found myself staring into.

"Hmm?" I'd been distracted by his beauty. He nodded toward the Daiquiri I'd just downed like water. "Oh, it's just a starter," I mumbled, looking away.

"Then what's your main drink?" the mysterious man wondered.

"Well…it's been a while," I admitted. Honestly? I usually just drank beer. I felt completely out of my depth. "What do you recommend?" I asked, looking back up at him as he ran his fingers through his thick hair.

"Depends, what do you like?" He ordered himself a drink, then looked at me again. I couldn't help but smile at him.

"Anything that tastes good, but preferably with tequila," I answered. Just thinking about it made me miss it.

"Try a Long Beach Iced Tea. I think you'll love it." He winked at me. For a moment, I couldn't say anything, and I just kept my mouth shut as he ordered the drink for me.

"If I don't like it, you're paying for it," I teased. I had no idea where this confidence was coming from, but I was going to roll with it while it lasted.

"I'll pay for every drink you order for the rest of tonight if you don't like it," he offered. "But what do I get if you do like it?" he said in a suggestive tone.

"Hmm, that depends." I desperately hoped he wasn't a weirdo and would ask for something normal. "What do you have in mind?"

"A dance," he said simply, and relief flooded through me. "Miss…?" he continued, and I realized that we hadn't introduced ourselves yet.

"Oh, I'm Lily, and you are?" I reached out to shake his hand.

"The name's Calvin. Nice to meet you, Lily." I loved the way my name rolled off his tongue. His hand was bigger than mine, and he had a firm grip as he shook my hand.

He smiled when I was finally handed my drink. "Time to see who's won."

I smiled at him before walking back over to my friends and handing out their drinks.

"So, who was the cute guy?" Ines asked, wiggling her eyebrow.

"Calvin. At least that's the name he gave me."

"Why did you walk away?" Madison wondered, looking back over at him.

"Uh, because I had to deliver your drinks." I glared at them.

"Please tell me he's interesting and you're going to go talk to him again," Ines begged, sounding desperate.

"He's quite interesting, and I suppose I'll have to talk to him again. I need to tell him if I like the drink he picked for me," I explained, looking over at Calvin. Man, he was so fine, and what a smooth talker!

"Lily, the minute you finish your drink, you're walking right back over to him," Andre decided for me. He could tell I already desperately wanted to go talk to Calvin again.

"No need to tell me twice…" I mumbled.

I took a tentative sip of Calvin's drink, and just his luck, I liked it. I chatted with my friends as I finished every last drop. Then, I looked around and spotted Calvin in one of the booths. He seemed to be sitting by himself. I took a deep breath. This was my last chance to back out. I could play it safe and stay here with my friends and have a perfectly fun—but uneventful—night out.

I got up and walked over to him.

A smirk formed on his lips when he saw me coming.

"Why, Lily, you're back." Calvin looked at me with a strangely thrilling glimmer in his eyes.