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ChapterOne
Serenity
Harper links her arm with mine as we approach Club X’s trendy sparkling black steps.
“Hellooo, Boston! Your queens are back and ready to party the night away!” She squeals with delight, making the same high-pitched sound she used last summer when she spotted a pair of Louboutins on sale at Neiman Marcus.
“You are so crazy.” I giggle.
“Crazy is living.” She glances heavenward and salutes the moon with perfectly manicured fingernails,
After having a lifetime to get used to her shenanigans, I simply laugh.
Harper ushers me up the steps, and I keep the smile pasted on my face. An attempt to carry on the façade that I’m not the world's most boring twenty-two-year-old.
I pretend I’m ready to have the kind of fun Harper has planned, but truthfully, my lack of enthusiasm for it is on par with watching paint take its own sweet time to dry on a wall.
Coming to Club X was her idea of our reintroduction to the city ascareer women.
We left Boston as two anxious eighteen-year-olds eager to embark on their studies at UCLA. Now we’re back and ready to start the next phase of our lives.
And I suppose even I have to admit that we lookreallygood tonight. We’re wearing matching black bodycons and stylish six-inch heels, and it was Harper’s treat for us to get our hair and makeup professionally done for the night.
So, maybe, just maybe, I can let my hair, which is already down, down and enjoy myself. After all, it definitely beats staying at home fighting my demons.
Taking a breath of the crisp night air, I try to calm myself as we proceed up the steps, the sound of our heels blending in with the rowdy group of men and women ahead of us.
Two well-built bouncers guard the entrance like they’re protecting the White House. We show them our IDs, and they allow us to proceed through the club’s frosted glass doors.
“We’re going to have the best time ever.” Harper’s voice rises with the lively music filtering out into the corridor. “I promise to give you an amazing night of fun.”
Her energy and excitement are surreal. They’re practically oozing from her pores. I’m going to need at least one drink before I attempt to match her level of enthusiasm.
“Well, you are the queen of fun.” Harper is that fun girl you’re grateful to be best friends with because she’s always guaranteed to make you feel better, even in times when life is shit and you don’t know if you’ll ever be able to smile again. “I wouldn’t expect any less from you.” I playfully lean into her, brushing my shoulder against hers.
“Of course, babe.” She flicks her long blonde hair over her shoulder and gives me an assertive sassy shrug.
We both giggle again, this time sounding like we’re still in high school, and I have to admit, it’s nice to hang out with her.
Laughing like this feels freeing. It’s loosening the tension that’s lived in my shoulders since we got back.
We hand our coats in at the cloakroom then head to the main floor where the wild club mix lulls us to join the crowd.
The place is heaving. All I can see stretching across the vast expanse are reams of people dancing together, pumping heat and electricity into the air.
We heard the club was under new management and the new owners had spent big to make it the most popular club in the city. The evidence of their labor is definitely before us.
Weaving through the dancing bodies, we head up to the bar on the upper deck.
There, Harper flirts with the cute bartender who looks like he could either be an athlete or a sports model. Once she’s gotten past the flirting and has the poor guy drinking in her beauty, she orders the most expensive bottle of wine and our favorite cocktails—Sex On The Beach for her and a Cosmopolitan for me.
When we get our drinks, we move to the little booth with padded leather seats that overlooks the dance floor and sit.
Up here the volume is lower so people can talk and mingle, but it’s set to go higher when a new song starts.
Grateful for some alcohol to help take the edge off my mind, I take a swig of my cocktail, allowing the sweet, tantalizing mixture to work its magic and give me the buzz I crave.
“Hey, not so fast.” Harper waves her hand in front of me then lifts her own drink. “We have to make a toast.”
