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“Hello,”Imanaged to croak.
“Howdo you do,Piya?” the immensely controlled voice asked.
Unexpectedly, a large hand grabbed my smaller one for an unwelcome handshake.Thefireworks it set off made me want to crawl out of my skin.Histhumb made circles on the back of my hand, eliciting an unfamiliar sound.Iabruptly retracted my hand.
Myrude action nearly droppedJordan’sjaw to the floor.Theman remained unflustered by my demeanor.Witha guarded pose, he mused, “Iseem to have offended your friend.”
“Piya,”Jordanspoke with a bite in her tone, scolding me to play nice and be on my best behavior. “ThisistheAxelTrimalchio,” she spoke with intention and raised her eyebrows pointedly. “I’msure you’ve heard of him.”
Whohasn’t?
Theworld-famousAxelTrimalchio—a celebrityDJand a powerhouse in the music industry.EvenEDMnon-enthusiasts had an inkling of “DJAxel” because he was well-rounded.Hefrequently dominated charts forHouseMusicand was featured alongside the likes ofTiesto,CalvinHarris, andAfrojack, to name a few.Healso worked with other popular artists to produce mainstream music, immersing himself in every pop culture genre.Thougha celebrityDJ,Axelwasn’t known for flaunting in the limelight and was notoriously private.Therewere barely any photos of him online other than the ones taken by fans at shows and music festivals, and most details about his personal life were on a need-to-know basis.
However, you didn’t have to be acquainted with his looks to have heard the name in passing.That’swhy everyone outside was staring at him.Surelyeveryone inside would do the same if this place wasn’t crawling.Hewouldn’t remain concealed for long, though.Jordanhardly gave anyone the time of day, and even she wasn’t immune to his charms, batting her lashes and patting his arm occasionally.
“Whohasn’t heard of him?”Iasked with a dejected sigh.
Jordannodded approvingly, castingAxela sideway yearning glance.
“H-how do you two know each other?”Iasked no one in particular.
“Mr.Trimalchiohas been exploring his options with my firm.How—”Shelooked between us.Itwas clear we were deep in conversation whenJordaninterrupted us, and though she was dying to ask how we knew one another, she changed directions. “Howcome you don’t have a drink,Mr.Trimalchio?” she asked playfully.
Axellifted a shoulder at the same timeIrevealed, “W-we met while waiting in line at the bar, butMr.Trimalchionever had the opportunity to order.”ThoughJordandidn’t vocalize the question, something told me an explanation was needed.Noidea why it felt likeIhad done something criminal when absolutely nothing had happened.
Jordan’sbrows furrowed whileAxelcocked his head, burning a hole in my face.Luckily,Jordandidn’t read into it. “Oh, okay.Letme get you a drink then,” she offered, scooting closer to the bar.Allthe while,Jordancarried the conversation for the group. “So, keep this on theDL, butMr.Trimalchiois our secret host for the evening and the owner of this house.He’sjust too modest for acknowledgment.”
Whywasn’tIsurprised? “Youhave a beautiful home,Mr.Trimalchio,”Ioffered, mimicking his unruffled pose.
Axeldidn’t respond.Thisluxurious home wasn’t erected as means of fishing compliments.
“Whatwould you like to drink?”JordanaskedAxel.
“Whateveryou’re having,”Axelresponded dismissively, eyes glued to me.Theleering was a dead giveaway, andIsilently reprimanded him to take it down a notch.IfJordanweren’t preoccupied with ordering drinks, the intensity would’ve set off alarm bells by now.
“Excuseme, excuse me.”Shefinally caught the busy bartender’s attention to put in a drink order.Ashe walked toward her,Jordanlooked at us over her shoulders and spoke louder since she was nearly out of earshot. “BeforeIforget,Iran intoJaycoming out of the bathroom.Hewas looking for you and recruited my help.”
Thetemperature dropped by several degrees. “Jay?”Axelechoed.
“Piya’shusband,”Jordanreplied absentmindedly without turning our way, distracted by whatever the bartender said to her.
Onlya nanosecond passed asAxel’seyes trailed my left hand, landing on my wedding ring.Icould no longer see those dark liquid pools but knew nothing good was written there.Theair vibrated with meaning, and something ominous threatened to break loose.
“You’remarried,” he accused, voice so low and dangerous that it made me want to disappear.Thehint of malevolence didn’t indicate an observation but rather a threat over my marital status.
Somethingelse ran deeper, though.Anunspoken plea for it to be untrue.Idoubted a man like him yearned for anything in life.Lookingaround this brick-and-mortar, it was clear he had everything.Fleetingas it might’ve been,I’dheld the undivided attention of the man with everything, and now it was over.
Iwas married.
Iset myDirtyMartinion the bar counter, stepping back to distance myself. “Yes.Yes,Iam, andIbetter go find my husband.Enjoythe rest of your evening.”
Inever heard his response becauseIwas faster about my escape this time.Isprinted across the ballroom and ran right into a brick-like body.
“Piya, watch out.”Jaysteadied me by grabbing my shoulders.
“Sorry.Iwasn’t paying attention.I-Iwas just coming to find you.”Withoutlooking back,IknewAxel’svigilant eyes had located me.Thecontrol it took to keep my cool should’ve been noteworthy.
“Areyou okay?”
