I was thankful for the distraction when the guy wouldn’t shut up long enough for him to get a word in. They continued walking back to the club while I made a quick pit stop in the ladies' room.
Soft music floated overhead from the speakers in the corner, making it feel more peaceful than the club really was. I leaned over the sink and took a quick glance in the mirror, my eyes widening when I saw a red mark on my neck from where he had been kissing me. My fingers trailed over it, a fresh reminder of what I had just done. In a way, I was officially branded, just like the Scarlet Letter.
I heard a toilet flush and snapped back to reality, pretending to fix my hair as the stall door opened and the sound of high heels approached where I was standing at the counter.
“There you are, we thought you left,” Brittany said, taking a spot next to me at the sink. She eyed me curiously before turning on the water to wash her hands. I knew that look. I hated that look. It was the one that she had every time she could sense there was juicy gossip to share.
“Nope, just went to the bathroom,” I lied, as I lifted my finger to wipe off some of the lipstick that had been smeared along my bottom lip. I hoped she hadn’t caught it, but the look on her face confirmed she had.
“Really?” She raised a brow and stared at me in the mirror. “That’s the lame-ass lie you’re going with?”
“What?” I raised my hands beside me. “I’m in the bathroom. You’re in the bathroom. Why is that so hard to believe?”
She let out a long, slow, overly dramatic breath before turning to grab a paper towel from the dispenser on the wall. I felt my anxiety starting to build again as she took her time drying her hands, making me wait for her to say something.
“Because, Eva, no one was in the bathroom when I came in. I know that for a fact because I checked every single stall looking for you.”
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry and scratchy.
“I got lost on my way,” I shrugged.
“You got lost?”
I nodded and shrugged again. My fingers trembled slightly as I pushed a strand of hair back behind my ear, pretending to fix my hair to avoid the look I was getting.
“So, where were you?” she prodded, tapping her foot next to me as she leaned back against the counter, now facing me.
“I was just walking around, looking for the bathrooms,” I lied, hearing the change in my voice at the same time she picked up on it.
“Then what happened to your skirt? The slit is ripped.” She pointed down to the tear that was so high that I was worried my vagina was going to pop out at any moment and greet the people of Manhattan.
“I tripped.”
The temperature rose around me as the air grew thick with the lies I was spurting out quicker than the guys handing out cards with naked girls on the strip in Las Vegas. And just like Las Vegas, my lies were laced with sin.
“On a dick?”
I gasped and covered my face with my hands to try to hide my embarrassment.
“Brittany!” I shrieked. I lowered my hands slightly, my eyes still wide with horror as she watched me in the mirror. Her face lit up when she watched the crimson flush across my chest before spreading up my neck to my face.
“I want ALL. OF. THE. DETAILS!” she squealed excitedly.
“I’m not going to tell you what happened!”
“You just did,” she shrugged. “Your body language gives you away every time. And this time just so happens to include too many details for you to skimp over. So, start talking,” she instructed, before wrapping her arm in mine and leading me out of the bathroom. We talked quickly as we made our way back to the table. I wasn’t ready to give my sisters the details of what had just happened, especially since I was still processing it. But overall, I guess they were right about one thing: a night out on the town wasn’t so bad after all.