Page 24 of The Failed Audition

“You shouldn’t be congratulating him,” John tells me as he deals the cards again. “Not after what his brother did to you last night.”

I go cold, like the air conditioning wafted a chilly gust on me. Did he really have to bring that up? I’ve been doing an okay job of forgetting The Red Death and that piercing. My hand almost flies to my boob, as if protecting it on impulse.

“Which brother would that be?” Timo’s brows furrow slightly as he skims his cards. A five and a seven against John’s eight.

“Oh you know, the one who gets off on tattooing question marks and arrows on girls’ asses.”

I internally cringe.

Timo taps the table, and John deals him a ten. I add the numbers in my head quickly. Nikolai’s little brother busts at twenty-two.

“Fuck,” Timo curses, setting his hands on his head. Then he glances at me. “Nikolai tattooed your ass last night? That was you?” He appraises me swiftly like he’s trying to fit an image to the memory.

He was there? I wonder if I saw him… “No…” I trail off, half in thought as I scrutinize his features a little more. “He pierced me.”

Timo’s face breaks into a giant grin. “That’s right. You’re the titty piercing. I thought I recognized you.”

Titty piercing.My eyes bulge.That’s what I’m being referred to as?

Timo snaps his fingers in remembrance. “I even cheered for Nikolai to lose that round.”

So he was the lone guy, rooting for me. Wait—I hone in on the way he phrased that. He just wanted his brother to fail that time, not necessarily hoping I’d win for any other reason.Way to go, Thora.

His gaze flits down my body for a quick second. “You look different in the day, you know…maybe it’s because I’m sober right now.” He stretches his arms over his head and turns back to the table likelet’s do this thing.

Just like that, the ordeal rolls off his back, like it was a small moment, insignificant and ordinary. It encourages me to do the same, even if Nikolai believes it was monumental.

“The world has laws for a reason,” John tells him as he deals the cards. “You should abide by them. It’s called being an adult.”

“Really?” Timo asks. “I think it’s called being a stiff.”

I ask John, “Are you one of those people who never cross the street on a red signal?”

“Yeah, because I want to fucking live. I like my life.”

“Really?” Timo says again, actual surprise coating his face. “You should be an actor, man, because you have the whole ‘I hate everything’ vibe pretty down pat.”

John’s gloomy face actually darkens, and Timo connects with it, locking eyes, never shying away. His pink lips slowly curve upward the longer John glowers.

Then Timo puckers his lips, kissing the air and winks at him.

“God,” John groans and looks to the ceiling likewhy me?I’ve had those moments with God myself. Usually I feel like I’m complaining to the ceiling tiles though.

Timo waves his hand to stay over his cards, and he wins the next round. John shakes his head, aggravated the longer he has to endure Timo. After a few more hands, a server swings by and asks for drink orders. I pass since I may head to the gym later, for more practice.

“Can’t,” Timo tells the server. “I have a show tonight.”

His easy brush-off of the liquor surprises me. Maybe because he seems more irresponsible than I thought. But being in John’s presence doesn’t help. He makes everyone under seventy-five look like a rebellious teen.

Timo wins another round and throws his hands in the air. He laughs into a grin as he looks to me, and he points. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re lucky, Thora James?”

I think back to the piercing. “I’m usually not.”

“You are for me,” he says. “Stay comfortable. We’re in this for the long haul.”

John grumbles under his breath like Timo just speared him in the chest. And he starts dealing again. Timo leans forward, and when he glances my way, with sparkling, dazzled eyes—full of youthful energy—he ropes me in. Lassoing me with charm. Just like his older brother.

Nikolai possesses a darker version of it, but it’s a talent that I find myself envying again. It’s something that separates an ordinary person into something captivating. Spellbinding and extraordinary.

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