Page 19 of No Darker Temptation

Brent doesn’t get the chance to respond. Behind me, the elevators open and a rowdy group of guests stumble into the hall. At the center is a young, attractive girl with glitter in her blonde hair and a sash across her hot pink dress that reads It’s My 21st Bitches!

By the time I look around the corner again, both doors shut and Yulissa and Brent are nowhere to be found.

The next morning, I question my sanity.

Did I actually see what I thought I did? Hear what I thought I heard?

My hangover is nonexistent. Anxiety burns through everything in my bloodstream as we gather in the girls’ suite for breakfast. Brent’s brother Garrett pops open a bottle of champagne and Mimi pours orange juice into tall glass flutes for mimosas. Brent has an arm around Karina while they snuggle up together on a love seat. He caresses her shoulder and whispers against her neck until she’s blushing and giggling and the acid in my stomach eats away at me until it claws its way up my throat, making the food in my mouth go sour. I force it down along with half a pitcher of water. Chewing ice does little to help and my jaw aches after a while.

I want to tell her. I want to tell Karina everything that’s transpired over the last two years, that I’m suspicious of Brent and our vile cousin and that last night, I saw something I don’t think I should’ve. Fear coils tight inside me. The tendons in my fingers ache and my skin prickles with pain. Will she believe me? Will she hate me?

Ultimately, it’s my word against not only Brent but Yulissa as well. I know Karina loves me but as her relationship with Brent progressed, I’ve felt myself dim around him. He lives and glistens in the light of Karina’s love that once shone so brightly on me. In the aftermath of him, I’ve been left to rot in the shadows of her afterthoughts, hoping and praying I’m not forgotten along the way. A sad, painful realization rocks through me.

Our relationship wouldn’t survive a conflict of this magnitude.

Maybe I’m selfish for thinking of myself and what I want but Karina’s the most important person in my life. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost her and so I’m risking everything we have by keeping this secret. What if it’s nothing and I was paranoid this whole time? What if I’m right and I can save her from the biggest mistake of her life? Most importantly, is it a risk I’m willing to take? Because no matter the outcome, all her ire and betrayal will avoid the one person who deserves it and instead, land on the only person who doesn’t: me.

“You look pensive.” Brent’s voice snaps me out of my daze. “Thinking of last night?”

“Man, I had such a good time at those slot machines,” says Oliver, one of Brent’s groomsmen. He declines a mimosa and opens up a beer from the mini fridge instead. “I didn’t think losing fifty grand could be so entertaining.”

I try not to cringe at the fact that what he blew through in one night is more than what I made in the last two years combined.

Shea smears some cream cheese on her bagel. “Dahlia and I played poker. She may not look it, but she’s a master at cards.”

Brent laughs. “Oh, I know. She once conned me out of ten grand.”

“It wasn’t a con.” My head snaps around. “You’re a shit card player.”

“I was doing fine until you showed up at our table.” He turns to address the rest of the group. “At my graduation last spring, I threw a party at the Hamptons house. My parents were going to be in Anguilla anyway so I wanted to take advantage. We’re four rounds deep and I’m close to winning the whole pot. This one over here walks in with a dollar.”

Simon throws his head back and laughs. “You’re joking, right?”

“Oh no,” Jerry interjects. “I saw it. I was there. So were these two.”

He gestures to brothers, Tobias and Harry. Both nod in unison.

“Tobias deals her in and she has to borrow from the house to catch up with us. The set of balls on this woman.” He points at me and Karina’s smiles proudly. “She came in with a dollar and won enough to not only pay back the house but made a massive profit.”

That money paid my rent for nearly an entire year; thank you Brent and New York City rent control.

Karina takes Brent’s face in her hands and squeezes before giving him a kiss. “Ugh. You’re so cute!”

He kisses her back and I turn away, the display of affection making the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Conversation continues and I push fruit around on my plate, having suddenly lost my appetite.

No, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to tell her.

THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY

Alejandro

December

The sun creeps across the horizon at a pace that sets my nerves on edge. No sooner than the pale-yellow tendrils of early morning light kissed the tips of my shoes, does our ship finally pull into port. An unprecedented sixteen hours late, a single glance at the top deck tells me we’re missing containers. Dimitrio comes to stand beside me and his lips move in silence, counting off the rows, eyes squinting against the dawn.

The docks are quiet, save a handful of workers manning forklifts as they move colorful containers from one end of the depot to the other. A ripple in the waves catches my attention and I stare for longer than I should, expecting something to emerge from the murky depths, but nothing ever does. Diego grits his teeth, brows furrowed behind the rim of his dark sunglasses.

“Something’s wrong,” Dimitrio says.