Page 3 of Let Me Win You

A terrifying silence descended upon us. A moment later, peals of laughter tore it to shreds, and I heaved a breath of relief.

“It’s a terrible joke,” Nicole punted between the bouts of laughter. “So, so bad.”

I agreed. For one, what did it matter how anyone in the story looked like? Especially, since they all were dead already and out of their mortal bodies? So much in the human world hinged on a person’s appearance, but it meant so little where I came from.

“Yet you’re laughing.” I grinned with satisfaction.

“There is just something in the way you speak that’s kind of…sweet.” She paused her gaze on me.

The bubble of relief grew bigger in my chest.

Her eyes flicked between mine.

“What’s your name?”

“Invi,” I said. “It’s short for Invidia.”

“Invidia? What an unusual name. Where is it from?”

“Latin,” I said, making her laugh again.

I could stay like this forever, trapped in the bubble of her laughter and the warm feeling that was spreading through my chest. The rest of the world seemed to have fallen away completely. The club with its noise and stench was gone.

Sadly, the sound of a glass placed on the table snapped me out of the sweet revery. Nicole’s companion set her glass down, and I remembered I’d paid no attention to her all this time. I didn’t even know her name, which was extremely rude of me.

“My apologies,” I addressed her with a polite bow. “We haven’t been introduced yet.”

The blonde woman gave me a tight smile.

“There is no need for introductions. Now, if you excuse me…” She got up from the table abruptly and headed toward the corridor with the signWashroomsover it.

I didn’t mourn her departure, eager to spend some time alone with Nicole. Yet when I turned back to her again, the smile had left her face.

She leaned across the table to me.

“I hate to break it to you, Invi. But you don’t have a chance here.”

2

Nicole

He was movie-star gorgeous. That was the first red flag.

His clothes came from the designer stores I could only afford to look at through the display windows. That was the second red flag.

By the time he even took a seat at our table, I knew he was bad news, and like every other hot rich guy before him, he tried to score it with Jessica by going through me.

Tall like a model, built like a porn star, with the face of an angel, Jessica was the embodiment of every straight man’s wet dream. Sadly, few of them cared to look deeper to discover the amazing person she was inside and to cherish her the way she deserved.

“She doesn’t date random guys from bars and clubs,” I said to Invi.

“Who?” He looked confused.

I had to give it to him. His game was strong. As Jessica left, he didn’t stare at her ass. In fact, he didn’t glance at her at all.

“Listen, Invi…” It was an interesting name that suited him well. Once he said it, I couldn’t imagine him being calledanything else. “I appreciate the guts it takes sometimes to approach a woman like that. I don’t want to offend you or to hurt your feelings. But Jessica is not interested in meeting guys right now. She’s dealing with a lot in her current situation and… Well, if you care about her well-being even a little bit, you would just say goodbye to me right now and leave. Spare her and you an unpleasant conversation.”

A confused smile lingered on his lips. “Who’s Jessica? I mean, I deeply sympathize with her difficult situation. But I’m afraid I don’t know who you’re talking about. I also don’t understand why I have to say goodbye to you already. I only just met you.”

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