Fever

by Carnal, MJ

  “Hey,” I answer.

  “Hey, you. You busy?” Allie asks.

  She has one of those childlike voices, like her vocal chords didn’t develop past age six. I used to think it was annoying when I first met her, but over time I began to find it endearing. It’s cute and it suits her tiny little frame.

  “Nope, just lounging.”

  “Cool. Hendrix is over here, right?” she asks.

  “Yeah.”

  Hendrix left for LA last night to meet with a client. He’s bringing Melody back for the week, which I’m really excited about. I already Googled places to take her to play, explore, and eat. It should be fun having her here.

  “I’ll have to call so I can meet up with him and send you some stuff. No big plans for tonight? It’s your first weekend there, I’m sure Nina has something up her sleeve,” Allie says with a laugh.

  Allie is very familiar with Nina’s antics from our younger and wilder days. Allie and I grew up. Nina did too, but in a different way. She still lives her carefree life. Allie married her high school sweetheart, Craig, and I … well, I’ve just been floating around trying to survive.

  “Yeah, she’s … she wants me to go to a club with her, so no big deal. I’m kind of glad that Hen isn’t here tonight because he probably wouldn’t even let me go out,” I say, exhaling. “I swear, he thinks I’m a child.”

  Allie snort laughs. “He wouldn’t not let you go, Bee! He’s probably just worried about you. You put him through a lot, you know.”

  I groan, knowing she’s right. “Al, that was years ago. The other day he seriously asked me if I drank wine with Nina. Fucking wine, Allie!”

  Allie’s laugh gets louder and her snorts get more repetitive as that sinks in.

  “You done?” I ask, annoyed but smiling.

  “Yes, sorry,” she says as she winds down. “Anyway, so you know that Sinatra microphone you designed—you wanted to know if we could get them on stands?”

  My eyes are wide as I nod excitedly even though she can’t see me. “Yes, yes, yes. What about them?”

  “I’m sending one with Hendrix so you can approve it.” She squeals the last words, knowing how much this design means to me.

  I screech and clap my hands wildly, dropping my phone in the process. “Ohmygod! You’re kidding! That was so …”

  “Fast?” she finishes. “I know! I’m so freaking excited for you to see this one. You know who’s going to want one? Shea! For freaking sure. This is such a Shea mic!”

  “Yeah, I think so too. I think he’d like it,” I agree quietly.

  “Bee, he’d love it. You have to send him a picture of it.”

  “Ha … funny thing about that … he’s supposed to come visit soon.”

  The words hang between us for a moment, like I knew they would.

  Allie exhales loudly into the line. “So you saw him the other day and he told you he wanted to see you again?”

  “Yeah. But it’s not like that. He just wants to talk business, I think.”

  “I can’t even … I can’t even tell you what I think about that. He’s a good friend, he’s a good guy, but you know he’s no good for you,” she reprimands softly.

  “I know.”

  “‘Kay, girlie, I’ll talk to you later. Go have fun!”

  I smile widely. “I will.”

  Hours after Marcus drives me to a few stores, I finally make it back home with three short dresses: two black and one teal. The black ones are both short and form fitting, but the teal one shows more skin because it’s cutout in Vs where my ribcage is on either side. I decide on that one and a gold pair of heels. I leave my thick dark hair to cascade down my back. I sort out the loose curls that hit the small of my back and apply my makeup. Once I’m finished, I walk to the standing mirror outside of the bathroom and do a turn, feeling good about how I look. The combination of the gold eye shadow and teal dress make my emerald green eyes look bigger and brighter, and I love the way the dress fits. I just hope my feet survive the night in these heels. They’re the most uncomfortable pair I own but they’re too perfect not to wear.

  When I hear the doorbell ring a dozen times in under a minute, I grab my clutch and run downstairs. By the time I hit the first floor, I am totally regretting these heels, which is not a good sign.

  “Holy crap,” Nina says as I swing the door open. She’s wearing a short little black dress that I doubt covers her entire ass and black stilettos. “You look hot, Bee!”

  “So do you,” I respond.

  “You really wanna wear your hair down?” she asks as twirls a loose curl around her fingers before tugging it. I’m constantly straightening my naturally curly hair, but today I decided not to tame it much. It’s not a mess, it’s mostly straight except for the tips that curl, which is much better than the way it looked before the gazillion straightening treatments it’s been through. Either way, the more you touch it, the worse you make it.

  I shoo her hand away. “Stop. Yeah, worse case I’ll put it up,” I say with a shrug as I lock the door. I look at her and shoot her a confused look. “Your hair is down too.”

  Nina presses her lips together to contain a smile. I roll my eyes, knowing what’s coming before she even says the words. “Yeah, but my hair isn’t as long … and it doesn’t get frizzy like yours.”

  “God, you’re a dumb bitch. Why do I even hang out with you?” I mutter, walking past her toward the elevators.

  “Because you looove me,” she croons.

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  Marcus drives us to the Meatpacking District, which is where Provocateur is, the nightclub Nina has been raving about all week. She’s on the phone the entire ride there, talking to a friend of hers that’s getting us in through the VIP entrance. Marcus drives around the front of the nightclub, and I shake my head at the amount of people in line waiting to get in. I’ve never had to wait to get in anywhere and I don’t think I would if I had to. I stopped coming to places like this when I was nineteen. I’d been going to them since I was sixteen, so I guess I had enough of the nightlife by then. I prefer house parties, even big ones. Partying in dim lighting with sweaty bodies around me isn’t really something I’m interested in anymore.

  I do love to dance though, and I love hanging out with my cousin. One night of this nonsense isn’t going to kill me. Marcus parks and goes around the car to open the door for us when we reach the side entrance, helping us hop down before telling us he’ll meet us inside. We don’t really need him hanging out with us, we’re nobody, but Hendrix being the hen that he is, gave Marcus instructions to not let us out of his sight. We flash our smiles to the security as they check our IDs, and Nina starts yapping about how she’s going to get Marcus to leave us alone for the night. I tune her out as we walk into the dark hallways and shiver at the difference in temperature from the outside heat.

  “This place is jammin’,” Nina shrieks as she sways her hips to the latest Pitbull song. “Let’s go find Sky!”

  I shrug, letting her lead the way. I can’t say I’m not curious to see which one of her uber-artsy friends would have connections at a nightclub like this. Nina says it’s one of the most impossible places to get into unless you’re somebody, know somebody, or have loads of money, which in turn means you know numerous somebodies. I bob my head side to side as I pick up my feet in a sort of dance/walk behind my equally bouncy cousin. I look around the place, which really is jammin’, as she called it. There are people everywhere, dancing, drinking and grinding under the glowing purple haze that the lights emit.

  “We got here at the perfect time,” Nina shouts over her shoulder, her brown eyes giving off an up-to-no-good gleam I know all too well. I raise a questioning eyebrow, wondering what she’s alluding to. She steps beside me, bumping into a leggy blonde dancing behind us as she wraps her arm around my shoulder. “A bunch of hot guys just stepped into the VIP,” she shouts in my ear.

  I cringe, stepping away from her hold. “You’re going to bust one of my ear drum
s!” I reprimand as I follow her line of sight. I see the group of guys she’s talking about. They’re all dressed similarly: a couple in jeans and long sleeves, a couple in slacks and long sleeves. I purse my lips and shrug at her, not impressed. She throws her head back and laughs.

  “We soooo need to get you a drink … or twelve! I can’t believe you didn’t drink before coming!”

  Nina is all about pre-gaming and probably had that amount to drink before coming out tonight. I really don’t think it’s sunk in her head that I’m trying not to be the wild child I used to be.

  “One drink,” I say loudly.

  Nina squeals and lets go of my hand as she propels forward and wraps her arms around a tall guy. He smiles widely and receives the hug, crushing her onto him. I can’t see her face, but his looks like the definition of happiness, which stuns me enough that I stop walking. Nina has never had a long-term boyfriend. All of her relationships are fleeting moments of pretend love or opportunities. The guy she’s clinging onto has long shoulder-length dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and a scruffy beard. He’s totally not her type and completely my type. I usually go for what Nina calls the grungy look—dirty looking but totally hot, her words.

  She steps away from grungy guy’s hold and turns to me with a huge smile on her face and I know this means they’re just friends. Or in reality, he’s just a friend to her; she probably means more to him though.

  “Bee, this is Sky!” Nina says, pulling my arm so forcefully that I stumble a little as I walk to her. Sky steadies my other arm and looks at me with a bemused expression.

  “Sorry,” I say, embarrassed even though I didn’t fall, and even if I would’ve it wouldn’t have been my fault. “Hi, Sky. I’m Brooklyn.”

  He collects a handful of his hair and swipes it back on his head, letting me see his face better under the pulsating lights. His eyes are clear blue, like the sky, and I wonder if that’s why his parents named him that or if it’s a nickname in reference to it. He has light stubble over his jaw and thin lips that are turned up.

  “Brooklyn, I love that name,” he says, leaning in to give me a peck on the cheek. “I’m Skylar.”

  “Skylar,” I repeat with a smile as I nod in appreciation. “I like that name too.”

  Skylar wiggles his eyebrows playfully and I laugh. “You ladies wanna sit down?”

  “Sure,” I shrug.

  “Bee needs a drink, Sky!” Nina booms. “Like … yesterday. She’s really uptight if she doesn’t have one.”

  I gape at her. “I am so not uptight!”

  I’m really not. And I had wine earlier; I just refuse to tell her that so that she won’t make fun of me. Nina has this thing: wine is for old people, beer is for frat people, cool people drink tequila. I so do not drink tequila.

  We sink into the low couches in the VIP section and I ask the waitress for a vodka tonic, hoping that’ll ease Nina’s pestering.

  “Good girl,” she says brightly and proceeds to drape one of her legs over Skylar’s lap.

  Oh my God. She’s going to flash everybody. I close my eyes and scoot closer to her, pulling down her dress a little.

  “You see? Uptight,” she says with a laugh.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Are you purposely flashing your vagina?” I ask incredulously.

  She groans and lowers her leg, shifting in her seat. “Anyway, Bee, Sky is the playwright I was telling you about …”

  I nod, not knowing what the heck she’s talking about, but playing along for her benefit. I completely understand now, though, why she’s all over him. He’s one of her “opportunities.” I wish my cousin would be a little bit harder to get sometimes. It’s not that she’s slutty, like Hendrix pegs her to be, but she definitely takes what she has and uses it. Skylar gets up and walks away, saying something I don’t catch.

  “You know he’s totally into you, right?” I ask her as we watch him leave.

  “Yeah, but he’s just a friend.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “I swear! I haven’t fucked him and I don’t plan on it,” she says, seemingly annoyed that I would think she was.

  “Is he married?” I ask. She has a thing for married or taken men. That is her downfall and that’s the one thing we always argue about. As much as I love her, it’s so wrong that she does it and I cannot get over it. It’s a subject that makes me uneasy.

  “Nope. Live-in girlfriend,” she says.

  “And you’re not fucking him?” I ask curiously. “That’s … new.”

  She exhales. “I choose wisely. Sky and I would never work. He’s too emotional for me.”

  I nod, now thinking we’re hanging out with a psychotic emo guy, but say nothing about it. I scan over the VIP area again and see a couple of familiar faces: models, actors. My eyes stop when I reach the group of guys we previously saw and this time I feel my blood drain from my body. It happens quickly; the blood drains and rises, causing my heart to sputter rapidly and my breath to hitch.

  “What? What happened?” Nina asks, her voice alarmed. “You’re fucking killing me, Bee.”

  I register her words and let go of the grip I have on her arm. “Sorry,” I say, but my eyes are still on the guy looking at me. With the dim lighting I can’t see their real color, I can’t see the richness of them or the waves they have, but I can feel the intensity and the heat they let out as they pin me.

  “You know him?” Nina asks.

  I nod, still looking. “His name is Nick. I met him the other day.”

  Nick, seemingly reading my lips, smiles. It’s a very slow and sensual smile that takes over his face. It’s not really a heartwarming smile, even though it does warm parts of my body.

  “He’s looking at you like he wants to eat you,” Nina comments.

  My heart is still pumping at a ridiculous pace, and for some reason, I cannot look away. I can’t even play it cool and pretend I didn’t see him or that I’m not completely attracted to him.

  “Your drink,” Skylar says, stepping in front of me and blocking my view of Nick, and I’m oddly thankful for this.

  “Thank you!”

  “No problem.” He sits down closely beside me, his thighs touching mine, as he takes a sip of his own drink. He leans in to speak so that I can hear him. “So, you were living in LA before you moved here? That must be an … interesting transition?” he asks, his voice light.

  I shift to look at him and our foreheads bump, making us cringe and move apart. I hadn’t realized how close we were sitting. “Yeah, in a good way though,” I respond with a smile.

  “You say that now, wait until winter hits,” Skylar says, tossing his drink back.

  I laugh. “You’re right.”

  Nina pulls me close to her. “I just saw my friend Priscilla get here,” she says and points at a short girl in zebra print pants. “I’m going to say hi. Be right back!” She leaves before I can say anything else.

  “She’s a social butterfly, that one,” Skylar says, shaking his head with a smile, totally checking out Nina’s ass as she walks away.

  “She’s … something all right,” I offer.

  Skylar laughs. He has a fun laugh that makes me smile. His Adam’s apple bobs as he does it. He reminds me of my brother in a strange way, maybe because they’re both tall and skinny. Skylar is obviously hotter than my brother, to me anyway.

  “So you’re a playwright? You look like you play in a band or something,” I say, taking a sip of my drink.

  “Eh, I used to until I realized I was going to die of starvation if I didn’t do something else,” he says.

  I laugh. “So you chose to write plays for small income venues?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

  “Touché. I’m good at it though, and it’s actually paying the bills quite nicely,” he says, a smug grin spreading over his face.

  “You don’t look like the clubbing type either,” I point out.

  Skylar throws his head back in laughter. “You don’t like to generalize at all, do you?”

  I cr
inge and laugh along with him. “Sorry! It’s kind of true though!”

  “It is true,” Sky says with a chuckle. “My brother owns the place, so I come hang out here sometimes. Usually upstairs in his office, but since Nina was coming …” He lets his words drown in the music as he turns his face away from me to look at my cousin.

  “Cool.” I don’t know whether or not I should bring up Nina. I want to continue talking to him so I can get my mind off of Nick and the fact that his stare is burning a hole on the side of my face.

  “You want another drink?” Skylar asks, standing up.

  I jiggle my glass to show him I still have plenty and watch him walk off to the bar. I bite down on my lip and readjust the bottom of my dress before opening my clutch purse and taking out my phone. I write a text message to Allie letting her know I caved and went out with Nina, because that’s what you do when you’re sitting by yourself and don’t want to look awkward. The leather seat dips beside me and I jump slightly, whipping my head to look at who sat next to me.

  “Brooklyn,” Nick says, tilting his head to appraise me, his eyes cataloging every inch of my face. “I’m Nick, we met the other day.”

  “Yeah, I remember. How are you?” I say, offering him a smile, hoping he doesn’t realize that having him sitting so close to me makes me feel like a bowl of Jell-O.

  “I’m great,” he says, his mouth quirking up, calling my attention. My eyes stay stuck on the fullness of his lips as I watch him speak. “What a small world, huh?”

  I nod slowly, bringing my eyes back to his. God, those fucking eyes are so expressive. I swear he’s telling me he wants to fuck me. I’m not kidding, I’m not imagining it. He’s really telling me that with his eyes.

  “Yeah, small world.” I all but squeak.

  “You come here a lot?” he asks, bumping his knees against mine as he scoots closer to me. The rough denim of his jeans against my bare legs is causing goose bumps to break out over my skin. I rub my legs over with my hands and notice how his eyes stay glued to them.