Page 36 of The Bloke

There was no lying to her; she would figure it out eventually. Chyler always seemed to have a knack for getting the information she wanted from people, and I was no exception. Although right now, I wished I was to save the embarrassment and shame that came with it.

“Oh, Sienna…” Chyler sighed, stepping around the counter to wrap her arm around my shoulders. “I think someone needs a drink.”

“Drinking doesn’t solve anything; drinking is what fucking got me here in the first place.” I gave her an incredulous look as I shook her off of me.

“I didn’t say it would solve your problem.” She clipped. “But if you must know, I’m graduating early and leaving at the end of the week. This is my last night to party with you and Jessie before I leave.” She crossed her arms over her chest and arched a brow. “So you can either pull that head out of your ass and drown your problems in Malibu tonight, or I guess this is the only goodbye you’ll be getting from me.”

“Graduating early? When did you find this out? You just told me you had a month left.”

“I found out this morning. I didn’t know it was an option, but I guess I qualify.” She shrugged. “You know how badly I’ve wanted to see my sister. This is a good thing.”

Chyler was my closest friend here, and we weren’t even that close. We only continued to see each other because she loved my studio and workouts more than any other. With her leaving, I would be back to where I started… alone once again.

“I’m sorry.” I dragged a hand down my face. “Yes, let’s go out and party tonight to celebrate your early graduation.” I wasn’t going to be the asshole to her now. Not when this would be our final goodbye.

“Great.” She beamed, perking right back up to where she was when she walked into the studio. “Fallout. Jessie and I will be there around nine.” She swiftly added.

“Sure, that sounds good. I’ll text you if anything changes.” I confirmed, pulling out my phone to add it to my calendar as a reminder—another excuse and way to avoid Colby tonight. I would most likely crash at one of their places afterward, too.

Chyler stepped over to where she plopped her bag on the bench and picked it up. I checked the time on my computer monitor and saw that it was almost two thirty.

“You aren’t taking a class today?” I asked as she draped the strap from her bag over her shoulder.

“No, I can’t; I have to wrap up some things at school.” She smiled softly. “I’m going to miss this studio… and you.”

“Don’t get all soft on me now… we still have tonight.” I forced out a chuckle and returned her softened expression. “We’ll make it one to remember.”

She nodded in agreement and left the studio. My thoughts returned to my Colby problem as I once again sat there alone in silence.

Fallout was one ofthose nightclubs you went to on a weekend where you wanted to drink, dance, and potentially hook up with a hot stranger. There was a strict dress code for men and women with no exceptions under any circumstances whatsoever, and because of that, I never felt the need to go there. I’d much rather spend my night at a dive bar than have to comply with their ridiculous policy, but that is where Chyler wanted to spend her final night partying, and I was not going to kick up a fuss over it.

After closing the studio at eight, I drove back to my apartment to dress for the evening. There was enough clothing left behind from this morning that I could put together a reasonable outfit and do a basic makeup look.

Fluffing my hair with a can of dry shampoo, I admired my quick, thrown-together style in the bathroom mirror. I wore a tight, black midi dress and my favorite hot pink heels. For makeup, I went with a smokey dark brown shimmery eyeshadow all over the lid and basic black liner on my upper and lower waterline.

I looked good for not having much in my closet. I was never the party girl, and while I wanted a dramatic change when Imoved to Las Vegas, partying was not one of the things that I added to my immediate to-do list.

Partying just reminded me of Lily… I ghosted her immediately and even got a new phone number. She had no idea where I had gone, and I didn’t want her to. My parents would have just used her to harass me, and I had to cut ties entirely with New York.

And what would they say now… To see that I was thriving in Sin City and… married. Fuck, everything circled back to that one fact. No matter how hard I tried to avoid the knowledge of being legally bound to Colby, I always landed right back there.

Why did it have to be him? Why did I have to be so stupid? And why the fuck was he constantly on my mind?

Colby was going to be the death of my sanity. I hated him;I have to hate him.

The Lyft I calledpulled up to the front doors of Fallout, and I stepped out, scanning the line for Chyler and Jessie. Not seeing them, I took my phone out of my purse, walked toward the end of the line, and texted Chyler.

Me: Here, where are you?

She didn’t respond immediately, and I stood at the end of the line, hoping I was just early and they weren’t already inside. It was just after nine, and she said they would be here around that time, but I wondered if they had gotten here earlier.

Fallout from the outside looked like your typical Vegas-style nightclub. The entire exterior was matte black with no windows. The only colors on the outside were the gold door handles andthe red velvet rope used to separate lines and block entrance into the club itself. Even the bouncers were dressed in all black down to their ridiculous sunglasses.Who the fuck wears sunglasses at night?

I stood in line for about ten minutes before my phone went off, and I looked down to see a new text message from Chyler.

Chyler: Coming to get you. Jessie got us VIP!!

That made things a little easier…

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