I’m getting nervous by the second, sweating profusely.
A cloud of noise travels to our ears, and we both look at the entrance. Isla’s friends make it out in one piece, laughing and dancing awkwardly.
Good thing they’re here.
Em comes to me, loops her arm around my shoulders, and purses her lips, amused and positively tipsy.
“You’re safe, babe. The three hunks looking for you found nothing… Nothing…” she belts out, and people laugh not far from us.
That’s not good.
“Your secret is safe with us,” she singsongs again.
I look at Isla, pleading with her.
“Can we go, please? They’re probably coming out. I think that car is theirs.”
I point at the Cadillac before Isla talks to some of the women. A luxury limousine pulls in within seconds.
I breathe out a sigh of relief.
And although I’m the last to slide in and get a glimpse of the three men as they pull out of the club, they don’t see me.
The door closes, and the noise is horrendous inside, but I feel at peace. I’m not sure I’m doing the best thing that I could do.
In fact, I think I’m wrong. But doing this makes the dull pain growing in my chest a little more bearable.
Only now do I realize how affected I am by their behavior. By them playing it cool.
By Francisco acting differently, Alejandro being aloof, and Kai pretending that everything was normal.
If it’s a fucking test, I need to get a better handle on things.
Being so affected is bad. Bad for me. And it ruins my chances of winning.
And it mostly happened because it took me by surprise. They took me by surprise, and I was completely unprepared.
I learned one thing this evening. A very important one, I might say. They are not my friends. They like to fuck. I like them a lot. But they are not my friends.
They can and will make things difficult for me. It’s in their blood. Setting me up, playing with my emotions, giving me fire and ice.
If I thought I had them, I couldn’t be more wrong.
They want me to lose. Big fucking time. And it’s not because of the money. They can do without it.
Money is only important for me.
It’s their nature. They like to feed on hearts as much as they like to consume bodies.
They are hunters. And I am their tease. They may be sincere. They sure are. Everything I said about them is true. But their force and my force are not even comparable.
Not right now. But that will change.
As long as I remember… That they are not my friends.
They are my enemies.
Even when their eyes soften, glint with emotions, and glisten with pleasure. Even when their hearts sing for me.