Page 35 of Lilies from Hell

We walk to a part of the park where there is almost no one and sit on the grass. She looks more carefree than I do as she sits down on the ground. I blame my eagerness to always wear skirts for that.

“My friends still have a while before they come out,” Romina murmurs, taking a cigarette and a lighter out of her jeans pocket. “Hey, where did you leave Jay?”

“At home, I guess. Why?”

“Just curious. Since I always see you together, I thought he’d come with you.”

“How long have you liked him?” Romina chokes on the cigarette smoke and starts coughing.

“I don’t like him. I’m just attracted to him, for one night only.” My brother attractive? To me, he looks like one of those red-haired gorillas.

“I’m surprised you haven’t done anything yet. You’ve known each other for a long time,” Isay.

“Yes, but I was with Matt before.” She puts out the rest of the cigarette in what appears to be a small plastic box.

“How are you handling that?” I ask, tilting my head to one side.

“I’m going to therapy. It helps a lot. It also made me see he was nothing but an idiot. He didn’t deserve me.”

“He was. At least Jason is a much better boyfriend,” I suggest, raising both eyebrows.

“Don’t even think about it. I don’t want to know anything more about romantic relationships. One night and then goodbye,” she retorts with a half-smile as she gets up.

“Sure,” I mutter sarcastically, trying to follow her footsteps while brushing some leaves off my skirt. “Where are we going?”

“To the dressing rooms,” she replies with a broad smile.

“Tell me there’s an AC or something in there, my feet are melting,” I say.

When we reach a kind of mobile home a few meters behind the stage, a young man stops us, asking for our IDs.

“Let us in,” Romina demands in a brusque tone.

“You’re not allowed in here, so get out.”

“We can wait outside,” I say. She shakes her head. I jump a little when I hear the door behind me.

“What’s going on?” A guy with tattooed arms and blond hair opens the door. He’s quite attractive, almost like a magazine model. His slim body isn’t overly muscular, and his green eyes seem to glow even in the dark.

“These two girls want to sneak in,” the guard says dismissively. Who the hell does he think he works for? The Rolling Stones? The tattooed blond smiles broadly when he meets Romina’s gaze.

“Let them in.”

She gets into the van and melts into a tight embrace with the boy. He slides his hand down her back and buries his nose in her dyed hair, adding more intimacy to the encounter. It doesn’t look sexual, just two friends hugging each other after a long time. When I see they are taking longer than expected, I decide to speak up.

“Hello.”

The guy pulls away and looks at me with a polite smile. His face looks familiar. Maybe I’ve seen him at a concert before. He brings one of my hands to his lips, barely touching it. Even though I don’t know him at all, I don’t find the gesture unpleasant. At first glance, he seems like someone who would be easy to get along with. That’s what I thought at the time, when I still didn’t know him.

“Denis, nice to meet you.”

“Lena.”

“Would you like something to drink?” he asks.

“Yes, please. Anything is fine.”

He goes off somewhere with Romina, and I sit down on a sofa. In front of me are James and other guys I don’t really recognize. I make a feeble attempt to smile when James waves at me.