“Honey, don’t mistake this for the street corner you work on.” She had a smirk on her face as she flipped her hair back.
Did she just call me a prostitute?
“How would you know where I work? Oh, wait! Don’t we work for the same pimp? I do recall seeing you on the streets last night…” I trailed off, pretending to think about it. “Ah, yes, it was you! I barely saw you as it was one car after the other you got in and out of. You must have made a lot of money that night.” I looked impressed as I gestured to the Vera Wang dress she was wearing.
Her smirk disappeared, leaving Raffaele trying not to laugh and choking on his drink. I flashed an innocent smile as Damiano raised a brow and took a sip of his drink.
“Do you have any idea who I am?” She glared at me.
“No, which means you’re irrelevant.” I shrugged.
“You little –” She hissed and took a step closer to me. She halted when Arianna suddenly stepped in front of her.
“You better be careful with your next words, Zahra.” Arianna’s voice went low, and her entire demeanor changed into a menacing one. Her voice was so cold that it sent a shiver down my spine.
“She should be careful. She might accidentally get hurt.” Zahra spat out.
“If she does, I won’t hesitate to cut your throat open. You know better than to fuck with me.” Arianna's voice was full of promise. Zahra was smart to keep quiet and took a step back.
I hid my amazement as I saw how Arianna dealt with her. For a split second, I forgot who these people truly were.
“We should go.” The other woman, who had tried to flirt with Lorenzo, grabbed Zahra’s arm to get away from us. Zahra huffed, but before she turned around to leave, she looked at Damiano with a seductive look.
“Damiano, we should get together soon. I will make our time memorable, like last time.” She winked. Zahra shot me one last look, a smirk on her lips, before walking away.
“Who even invited her? I’ve always hated that bitch.” Arianna frowned, still staring at their retreating forms.
“Was she always like that? She is not aging well.” Raffaele commented with a slight shake of his head. The whole time, I remained silent and burned a hole in the back of Zahra's head with my glare. I really wanted to gorge her eyes out and force them down her throat.
“Let’s go get you a drink to calm down before you do something stupid.” Cara whispered to me, and I let her lead me to the bar.
“Why does this taste like water? Did you give me water?” I slammed down the shot glass and squinted my eyes at the bartender.
“Yes, I’m cutting you off. You’ve had enough.”
“It’s a party, I’m having fun!”
“I’m just doing my job. Listen, lady, I’m not about to get my head blown off because of you.” He turned his back to me before I could even say anything.
Scowling, I spun on the bar stool and looked at the partying people. I was left by myself when Cara went to the bathroom, and I was not in the mood to make small talk with anyone.
Then my eyes landed on Lorenzo heading somewhere, and I hurriedly jumped off the bar stool, barely avoiding a fall.
“Lorenzooo.” I giggled as I staggered over to him. My balance was a bit off after the shots I had earlier.
Lorenzo came to a halt when I called out to him, and I couldn't help but continue to giggle.
“Why do you always look so serious? Are you not having fun?” My vision blurred, and I stumbled, unable to hold my balance.
Lorenzo's firm hand steadied me as I stumbled, and I pouted when he didn’t answer me.
“Want to know a secret?” I gave him a big smile, leaned into him, stepped on the tip of my toes, and put a hand to the side of my mouth to whisper to him. “In my mind, I call you Tank Man.”
I laughed hard as soon as I told him.
“Tank Man, you get it? ‘Cause you’re all macho-macho.” I stretched my arms out wide, trying to mimic his broad build.
“You should stop drinking.” He said, not impressed with me.