Page 40 of Awestruck at Dusk
Nina wore a little black dress with a halter neckline, her hair was longer now, and she wore it straight and parted in the middle. She had minimal makeup on and golden earrings. She lookedstunning. I think it’s the best I’ve seen her look. And I told her so immediately.
After we were done with the back-and-forth compliments, Nina said, “Everyone’s saying there’ll be a jazz band playing later tonight. I’m excited.” That explained the varied instruments on the stage.
“Really?” I chuckled with a furrowed brow. “I have absolutelynoidea of what’s happening tonight.”
“Hey, sis!” Zara said from behind me.
“Hey—sis!” I replied, turning around to see her—another stunner.
Damn.
Zara wore a tight, waist-high, midi pencil skirt in nude color and a short-sleeved cropped top with a boat-neck neckline in the same nude shade. A couple of diamond studs decorated her ears, and a thin golden chain with the letterShung around her neck. Her long, brown waves flowed around her perfectly done face.
Sfor Saunders? Hopefully not Sjöberg. Probably both. Ugh.
She hugged me and said, “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends.”
“Oh, of course!” I broke away from her embrace. “Guys, this is Zara, Nathan’s sister. Zara, this is Sophie and Cecile. They’re my friends from Paris. They arrived yesterday.”
“I’ve heard so much about you, Cecile,” Zara said with a smirk.
“Nice to meet you, Zara,” Cecile replied with a raised brow. Mysishad a way of saying things to make it sound innocent when it always had an underlying meaning.
I saw Zara talking to Tobias before, so I guessed that he’d probably told her about Cecile. About whathappenedback in October.
“This is Ren and CJ,” I said, gesturing at them with a hand-wave. “And this is Nina. They were the first friends I made when I came back to New York.” CJ pulled me by the waist and laid a kiss on my cheek.
“Nice to meet you.” Zara shook CJ and Nina’s hand with a smile and said, “I’ll see you guys around.” And with that, she left. Probably looking for William.
CJ drained his martini and placed it back on the table. “She likes you,” he said, raising his hand to catch the attention of one of the servers.
“Zara likeswho?” I asked.Not me.
“She likes Nina.”
“Oh, shut up!” Nina said with a laugh.
“Um—hi,” CJ said to the server with a flirty smile. “Can I get another fifty-fifty, please, and … do you guys want anything else?”
“I’m good, thanks.” Nina lifted her half-full glass of whiskey soda to make a point.
“Another glass of wine for me, please,” I replied. I asked the server if he could bring me the bottle to see the label since William was nowhere to be found. Sophie and Cecile ordered more wine too. Ren was still working around his beer.
“Okay, so Zara likesNina?” I asked CJ incredulously. CJ was misinformed. He loved the idea of everyone being a little gay, which always made me laugh. But he was so wrong about Zara. He didn’t know the things I knew. Or seen the way she looked at him. Her attention was all focused on William, in my opinion. But his theories were always entertaining.
“Yeah, I’m never wrong about these things,” CJ said, leaning back on his chair and crossing a leg over his knee. “And the platinum-blond baby Sjöberg? I’ve seen him looking at me funny. Like he wants to take a closer look, but he’s afraid he’ll like what he sees, you know what I mean?”
“Eric?” I asked with a grimace, turning around to find him. He was chatting with a couple of guys in the distance. Eric was getting taller. He was at that age where they change every six months. Still somewhat growing out of that awkward teenage phase. “I remember he had a crush on me when we first met. He was the cutest.”
“Not everything’s black or white, Billie,” CJ replied. “Especially here in New York. I feel like most of us are fluid. That would be my advice for Nina this evening.” He winked at her, and Nina rolled her eyes but glanced right to where Zara was as she took a sip of her drink, possibly wondering if the things CJ said might be true.
I wouldn’t mind if it were, especially if Zara would want toflowtoward Nina and away from William.
“So, you’re saying you like girls too?” Cecile asked CJ. I had the same question.
“I mean, I wouldn’t mind kissing you, for example,” he replied to Cecile, who lifted a brow with a snort as a reply. “But yeah, I gravitate more toward men. Especially if they look like—that.” CJ brushed his nose as he scanned the server who brought our drinks back from head to toe.
CJ signaled the server to approach him and leaned in and whispered something in his ear, making him laugh. The guy walked away from the table, shaking his head with a grin.
