Page 106 of Scarlet Sins

“Not that one,” Kara says.

Alina digs through my case and pulls out a short one in gold I bought to tease Demyan with. It’s meant for private fun, not going out. It’s so not me, but they fling it at me.

“Perfect,” Alina says, laughing.

“Why would I wear that?”

“Maybe we’re not going dancing.” Kara looks at Alina, and they both snicker.

Oh. God. A stripper? “Did you Magic Mike me? I’ll kill you both.”

“You’ll have to find out. You’re just lucky the penis tiara didn’t arrive in time.”

“Kara,” I say, “stop that.”

“Get dressed.” Alina holds up the gold shoes with high heels they made me get. They’re not super high, and they’re wedged, but they’re higher than I’ve worn in a long time.

But there’s no way out. These two aren’t going to let up.

I snatch the shoes and the dress and head to the bathroom, underwear of the skimpy sort thrown in after me. “If it is a stripper, I mean it, I’ll kill you. Actually, Demyan will beat me to it. He’s very jealous. And protective.”

“That’s my brother. Gross!”

I roll my eyes and close the door. I strip and shower, washing sand, sea, and pool off me. Alina is doing so well, that it’s only occasionally she sees something and a sadness comes over her, like she’s been reminded that Max isn’t here.

But I think she’s having fun, so for her, more than Kara, I tell myself to go have fun. And I do trust them. I don’t think there’s a stripper.

After I’m finished with the shower, I dress and put on makeup, something I almost never do. I might as well do it, because knowing Kara, she’ll attack me and paint me more than I like.

When I’m done, I head into the main room, hair down, and they both whistle.

“You know,” I say, “we don’t need to make a big deal of it tonight. Maybe we just have dinner somewhere, followed by quiet drinks, just the three of us. It would be perfect, don’t you think?”

“Nope,” Kara says.

Alina nods. “We’ve got other, better plans.” We head out and they both look fantastic. Heads turn as we make our way to a car, one of them booked. I breathe a sigh of relief as I spythe swimsuits in Kara’s bag and breathe a bigger one when we pull up at the nightclub they talked about.

Dancing I can do.

I have to admit the place is fun. It’s chill, too, indoors and in the back, there’s an outdoor area with places to dance under the stars or swim.

“This table is perfect,” Kara says, putting her bag down as Alina flags the cocktail waitress. “Dance floor there, bathrooms close for pregnant and drunk party members, and a nice breeze from the outside.”

“And no strippers.”

Alina orders two rounds, sodas for me, booze for them. “The night is young,” she says with a laugh.

Then she leans in and kisses my cheek. “What was that for?”

“Thank you. For making my brother grow in the ways he should. He’s a hard man. I mean hard as in unyielding and driven, but you and Sasha have given him the room to open up his heart and now the parts of him I know exist are more obvious.” She sucks in a breath. “And it’s thanks for being my friend. I know how close you were to Max, and I feel him more with you around. Like… I don’t know… he approves.”

She squeezes my hand.

“I miss him, too,” I say.

“I wish… well, I wish a lot of things, but you, Kara, Sasha all make it better. Bearable. Demyan, too. But he’s my brother, it’s his job. It isn’t yours. And it isn’t Kara’s, I only just met her, but I love her, too.”

I reach out and squeeze Kara’s hand. And I want to cry. These hormones. Hell. But her words make me sad and happy at the same time. She has a long road, but she’s come so far and her genuine pleasure at being here warms me.

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