Page 117 of The Lost and the Found

Hayden

The only thingVeena and Logan had in common was their looks. And only their faces were similar.

It took less than five minutes of being in Veena’s car on our way to the bar for me to figure that out. Where Logan was calm, she was everywhere. Logan was comfortable with the silence and there were times when Logan and I didn’t talk—we just sat next to each other, him reading a book while I studied for my classes, and that would be okay.

Veena filled the silence with jokes and questions. She talked nonstop on the short drive there, and even though she was very open and friendly, I could see that hanging out with her on a daily basis could be exhausting.

But I was glad to see that living on the streets, as brief as her time may have been, hadn’t affected her like it affected me.

And perhaps it was because she had Logan. She didn’t need to worry so much because Logan was capable. Maybe if I had someone like him in my life, especially during the hardest times, things would be different for me. I would be different.

I was envious of Veena, but I didn’t think I would ever want to switch lives with her, because I had Logan in my life in a very different way.

Veena wasn’t wrong when she said the place wasn’t too far from where Logan lived. Only fifteen minutes in the car, and she was pulling into a packed parking lot. We were lucky to find a space so close to the door, and when we got out, Veena smiled at me over the top of the car.

I smiled back.

I let her lead, because even though I worked at a bar, going out like this was not something I had ever done before. And this was a club, not a bar. They were two completely different things, and I was way out of my element. There were even two bouncers manning the doors.

Veena skipped the line and walked over to the bouncer. “Veena Cross. Trevor said he put me on the list.”

One of the bouncers said something to headset and moments later, they moved aside and opened the door for us. Veena looked back and me and smiled. She grabbed my hand and pulled me inside, while I tried to ignore the grumbles from those waiting in line out in the cold.

“Trevor’s a friend of Grant’s,” Veena explained. “And his brother owns the club. I called him before we came here, and he said he would put my name down.”

I nodded absently and followed her inside, trying to adjust to the dimmer lighting.

But when I did… wow.

Now I know why there was a line.

The interior was dark, but not hard to see. With strobes of blue and silver lights, it almost felt magical. That was, if you could ignore the sweaty bodies on the dance floor grinding up against one and another.

I was glad Veena convinced me to wear one of the nicer outfits Logan bought me, because from the looks of it, everyone here was wearing something nice as well, and way more revealing than I was comfortable in.

Veena told me to leave my jacket in her car, and I did, leaving me in nothing but a long-sleeved purple dress that went down to my knees. It didn’t look too pretentious, and it wasn’t revealing in the least, save for my legs.

Veena was definitely dressed to impress, rocking a sleeveless little red dress that only reached mid-thigh. She looked hot, especially since she paired it with killer black heels and a deep dark lipstick that stood out even with the club’s lighting. Grant nearly had a heart attack when he got a good look at Veena, and Logan…

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the memory of Logan’s reaction to her dress. It was amusing to see him in the role of the protective older brother, especially since his baby sister was no longer a baby.

Veena waved her hand in front of my face, bringing me out of the memory. It was too loud to hear what she was saying, but I knew what she was asking when she pointed to the bar in the center. I nodded and she grabbed my hand once again, pulling me up to the barstools.

For some reason, the noise was much quieter here than by the front door, and I could hear the bartender asking us what we wanted to drink.

Veena ordered a cosmo, and I ordered a mojito. Before I could pull out some bills for the drink, Veena had handed the bartender a card.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I protested. I wasn’t comfortable having Veena pay for my drinks all night.

She shook her head. “I’m not. Logan is. He gave me his card before we left and told me not to let you pay for anything.”

I sat back, surprised. Veena smiled and patted my hand.

We sipped our drinks slowly, neither of us planning on being drunk, though I did tell Veena she could let loose a little and I could drive her home, courtesy of my brand-new driver’s license.

I still couldn’t believe I had one.

She nodded. “Let’s see how tonight goes first.” She placed her glass on the counter and pulled me up. “Come on, let’s go dance.”

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