Page 37 of Plunge into Obsession

Kaia stayed here for me, but we always talked about leaving.

Albuquerque could be a great place to live if you have money. You could simply afford to not be in the midst of the crime and drugs that took place in some parts.

But Albuquerque was considered a hub for local gangs to traffic drugs from the cartel to bring into the country, which meant there was a lot of unrest.

The waitress came back, not only with our drinks but with several plates of appetizers.

“We didn’t order these,” Kaia said.

The waitress nodded. “A couple of gentlemen did. It’s on the house, and they’ve also taken care of your tab for the rest of the night.”

Kaia and I shared a look.

We knew better than to accept free drinks and food from men because they usually expected something in return, but before we could say anything, the waitress was already putting the plates down, which included a variety of finger foods. Some hot wings, potato skins, mozzarella sticks, and a platter of nachos.

“Enjoy,” the server said, walking away.

“What should we do?” Kaia asked me.

My stomach grumbled at the sight of all the food. I shrugged, grabbing a mozzarella stick and dipping it into the marinara sauce.

“Eat.”

She grinned and did the same thing.

Hopefully, the men who sent this our way would leave us alone for the rest of the night, though I doubted it. We would just have to be prepared to reject them when they finally showed their faces.

We were about halfway done with the food when the song at the bar changed to an upbeat one, and we had worked up a nice little buzz.

Kaia stood and pulled me up by the arm. “Come on, let’s go dance.”

I laughed and let her lead me to the small dance floor by the bar, where we found a corner of our own.

I ignored the men around us, along with some couples dancing suggestively with each other. I didn’t know if I would ever be as comfortable as some women here, dancing as freely as they were, though they seemed to be having a good time.

Perhaps Kaia was right.

Perhaps I had spent so long chasing a ghost, I had forgotten how to live.

How to have fun like the people my age did.

Perhaps if I did, maybe I wouldn’t be so reserved.

I blinked, a tinge of regret weighing me down, along with a heavy dose of guilt.

I had been living my life feeling conflicted.

A part of me wished I could move on, and the other part didn’t want to.

Maybe I was just scared to see I really had no purpose, save for looking for Lucinda. Kaia was right.

We were just…us.

So ordinary. What hope did I have going against the cartel?

Kaia grabbed my hands, and we swayed together to the beat of the music.

She laughed when I shook my hips. The music drowned out her laugh, but the lightness in her eyes was obvious.

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