Page 7 of Stronger Than Fate
“Most likely I'll take it to my apartment, it will look better there,” he replied. “Would you like to have lunch together?”
“Works for me,” Lolo said.
“I can join too,” I responded.
“Shall we eat at the hotel restaurant?” Bastián asked.
“We'll do whatever you want because it's your birthday,” I affirmed.
“Then let's stay here. Does 1:00 PM work for you?”
“Yes,” Lolo and I answered in unison.
At that time, we arrived together at the hotel restaurant where they were waiting for him with a large birthday cake to celebrate by singing the traditional song, a detail that Lolo and I had arranged. Bastián couldn't stop smiling while we and some of the employees who had been able to join us sang and applauded.
Lunch was a very pleasant time where I enjoyed being with my brothers and where we tried to make the guest of honor feel pampered and happy. I think we achieved our goal because he didn't stop laughing.
After lunch, we immersed ourselves back in our work, knowing that in the evening we would meet again to continue celebrating. I had invited Sol because my brothers had known her since she was little and they appreciated her. Besides, at my brothers' gatherings, most of their guests were people I wasn't very close with, and being with Sol was much more fun for me. We agreed that she would come to the hotel and we would leave together for the pub.
At eight o'clock in the evening, my friend was in my suite rummaging through my closet looking for something to wear because she hadn't had time to go home to change. I was a few centimeters taller, but she always found something that fit her well. She ended up choosing a black dress with a floral print that looked perfect on her. I decided on a red sundress with verythin straps that hugged my body, with a sensual lace hem that reached my knees, but since the bottom had several centimeters of lace, much of my legs were visible through it. I paired it with black high heels and a black clutch. I left my hair straight and loose and did perfect makeup for the night.
At nine-fifteen, fifteen minutes after the scheduled time, we were arriving at the Disco Pub “High Sin.” The place was packed, but we had no trouble locating Bastián's group of guests; there were several friends and acquaintances accompanying him. My brothers were surrounded by people, many of them women competing for their attention. As soon as they saw us, both came over to greet us.
“You're late, little demon,” Bastián said, giving me a big hug.
“Happy birthday, again,” I said, returning his hug.
“Happy birthday, Bastián,” Sol said, approaching to give him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks for coming to greet me. Dali told me your vacation was spectacular,” Bastián commented.
“You bet, we're already ready for another one.”
“Hold on a bit, you just got back,” said Lolo, who also came over to greet us.
“And we totally deserve them. Besides, your sister needs a boyfriend once and for all,” Sol blurted out.
“Hey, what does that have to do with vacation!” I exclaimed, because my friend had completely gone off track.
“Look, shorty,” said Lolo, as he always called Sol, “stop putting those ideas in my little sister's head or you'll become a 'persona non grata' in the family.”
“Shut up and let us have fun, we're very young!” Sol exclaimed, laughing.
“They're right, go have fun, but no boyfriends,” said Bastián, laughing as he returned to his guests.
“Laugh, Bastián, but you'll end up agreeing with me, this girl is a bad influence on Dali,” Lolo said.
I greeted many of their friends because I knew them, and then my friend and I approached the bar to order some drinks. Sitting comfortably on high stools, we were drinking our “Margaritas” while my friend seemed to have turned on her radar to detect any guy she might like.
“I'm going to the bathroom,” she announced, then got up and walked away.
As I took a sip of my cocktail, I watched her walk away, then looked for my brothers who seemed to be having quite a good time, and I smiled. Bastián was chatting and laughing with a group of friends, and Lolo was dancing with a girl. When I turned to face the bar, I noticed that a few meters away there was a rather affectionate couple. He had his back to me, leaning against the bar, and the girl was hanging from his neck trying to get his attention in every possible way. I tried not to observe them, but that back and that hair color reminded me of a certain person, and I reproached myself for always having that man in my mind. Damn Henry Woollardy who lately did nothing but... wait a minute! I narrowed my eyes to focus. That man was...
The man turned to pick up his glass from the bar, and at that moment our eyes met. It was him, it was that man who lately seemed placed in my path to torment me. His surprise was evident because he froze, but as he looked at me, he gave a sexy smile and winked at me. I pretended not to notice and lowered my gaze as quickly as I could to compose myself, but I was aware that he kept his eyes fixed on me. I brought the glass to my lips to try to do something with my hands that had begun to tremble. At that moment I heard Bastián's voice and was grateful to have a distraction to focus on something other than that man.
“Dali, come with me, I want to introduce you to some friends,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me through the place to bring me to the group of people he wanted to introduce me to.
As I left the stool where I was sitting, I looked in his direction again and noticed that he was staring at my brother with an intense, serious gaze, but I decided to stop paying attention to him. I wasn’t going to let that man ruin Bastián’s birthday.
