Page 85 of Only You
‘My, my,’ Nora said as she walked up to the bar. ‘I must say this was the last thing I ever expected.’
The feeling was mutual for Selene. She couldn’t explain why but the girl stayed under her skin. Maybe it was Nora’s brazen demeanour, the cockiness that she carried around, but Selene pushed that aside. She was going to need that for her plan to work.
‘Life is better with surprises,’ Selene said dryly. She motioned to the seat next to her.
Nora sat delicately, her caramel legs revealing themselves through her deep green dress’s high slit. ‘And what surprise do you have for me?’ She waved the bartender down, smirking as she ordered. ‘A martini, please.’
She waited for the bartender to walk away before speaking. ‘I need your help fixing Mackie’s line-up.’
Nora’s smirk fell, and she was silent as the bartender placed her drink on the counter before returning to his tasks. ‘I see you’ve gone mad,’ Nora took a long sip from her glass before standing up. ‘No, thank you. See you around.’ Selene’s arm shot out, blocking her path.
‘The fighters Mackie is picking are too tough. At this rate, Demir’s gonna get knocked out of the game too soon.’
‘Knocked out?’ Nora snorted before looking her up and down. She lifted her chin, daring the dancer to continue with the insinuation. Nora pursed her lips, backing down. ‘I can’t tell Mackie how to run his club.’
‘But you can convince him to book the new hotshot fighter you heard about. One that’s a little easier than what Demir is used to,’ Selene urged. ‘It’s smart, and you know it. Not to mention it keeps him around longer.’
‘D’s gonna hate it when he finds out. He doesn’t want to be babysat.’
Selene rolled her eyes. ‘D needs to focus on practice, especially after last night.’
‘Watch it,’ Nora warned, an edge to her smile.
Selene’s gut twisted uncomfortably. So, Nora really did like him. She pushed down a sudden flare of annoyance and focused on the task at hand.
‘Look, men don’t know what they want. They just act like they do,’ Selene reasoned. ‘We on the other hand, see a lot more than they ever will.’ Nora hummed in contemplation, taking a sultry sip. Selene held back a scowl. Not everything had to be a show.
‘You know, we’d have to go and find them,’ Nora pointed out.
‘I love a chance to get dressed up.’ She smirked, channelling the dancer’s confidence. ‘I’ll pass along the names. All you have to do is get them to Mackie.’ Nora looked at her up and down and Selene dared to venture she was impressed.
‘You really wanna do this?’
Selene shrugged. ‘We’re already here.’ She took another sip of her drink, staring into the amber liquid. ‘Why not go all the way?’
‘All the way, huh,’ Nora murmured, running her fingers around the rim of her martini. She waved, catching the bartender’s attention. ‘Two champagne cocktails, please!’ A minute later, he returned with the drinks. She held one of the glasses out to Selene.
‘We’ll have to talk about my cut but,’ Nora’s trademark sultry smirk returned, ‘let’s do it.’
They clinked glasses, and Selene downed the cocktail quickly, hoping she hadn’t made a terrible mistake.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Washington, D.C.
October 2013
‘I’m telling you; I’ll be there tomorrow. Really, I’m good now.’
‘Fine, but if you pull out at the last minute like last time, I’m beating you with your own guitar,’ Ross threatened. ‘I almost had to call Oliver to fill in.’
‘Oliver’s a cool dude.’
Ross scoffed. ‘Nigga wants to pretend he’s Jimi Hendrix but takes an hour to get a decent take. Be there tomorrow.’
Jones chuckled at his easily frustrated friend. ‘Relax, man. I’ll be there.’
Hanging up, he went back to the task at hand, flipping through albums in Som Records, decorative vinyl records covering the walls and encouraging him to explore the small shop further. It was no larger than a basement, the room split by a row of pillars. Shelves stood on either side of the far walls; random baskets of vinyl albums tucked into corners. Despite the size, Jones often spent hours in the store for one reason: finding music for his dad.
