Page 1 of Begin Again, Part 1

Chapter

One

CRUSH

"Can someone please tell me why I left our couch to freeze my ass off here?" Eden McBride glared at her three friends waiting in the queue with her. It had been over an hour, but the long line hadn't moved, and she couldn't understand why they chose Crush. Out of all the hangouts in Rock Castle, it was one of the hardest clubs to get into. But the hottest DJ in town was set to hit the decks, and her friends just had to see him play.

The clear beads dangling on the ends of Sienna's long ombre braids chinked as she turned her head to glare at her. "To help you find a rebound, duh!"

On her 'bad' days, Sienna was cute. But on her good day, like tonight, she was smoking hot. The hordes of guys desperate to get inside couldn't take their eyes off her.

"Yeah, Edie, we've given you enough time to mope." Lydia snapped a selfie and posted it on her socials. Within seconds, her phone beeped with notifications from her adoring fans.

"The sooner you get back on the horse..." Cassandra said, pulling up the collar of her signature biker jacket. In the six years Eden knew her, she'd never seen her in a dress. Not even once. But for a self-proclaimed tomboy, she was effortlessly chic and could pull off any look. Having an athletic physique, long blonde hair, and delicate features didn't hurt.

In their crew, Eden was the plainest, and she was okay with that. Her skin was so pale, she could never get a tan, no matter how long she sat in the sun. She tried colouring her long mousy brown hair a few times, but the constant retouching got old fast. Her most striking feature was her slanted, brown eyes. Pity, she had to hide them behind thick-lensed glasses because she was as blind as a bat without them.

"He's moved on. You should do the same!" said Lydia. Subtlety wasn't her strongest suit.

Eden knew her friends meant well, but she was okay with bingeing on carbs and awful reality TV shows. She was also cool with lazing about, not brushing her hair, or changing her clothes for days. What she wasn't okay with was being rushed through her grief. Were six weeks enough to get over four years of happy memories and dreams?

"I swear, if this stupid line doesn't move in the next two minutes, I'm out." Eden drew her trench closer, glad she wore it, despite her friends trying to convince her otherwise. It may not go with her outfit, but it sure did a good job of keeping the biting cold away.

A black Lamborghini screeched at the entrance, followed by a Ferrari and a Porsche. A group of men as tall as the nearby skyscrapers sprung out, threw their keys at the valets, and made their way to the door. Maybe it was the long line going nowhere fast. Or the stress of the past few weeks. But when the six skyscrapers tried to bypass the queue, Eden saw red and stormed to the door. She tapped the colossal ginger, trying to smooth talk his way into the club on the shoulder.

His thick eyebrows were already fused in a questioning frown when he turned around. Eden paused, her lungs struggling to take in simple breaths. With hair so bright like flames, she expected his eyes to be green. Not this denim blue.

Sienna gritted her teeth. "Eden, don't cause a scene."

Eden saw no reason to be polite, especially when she was freezing and couldn't feel her ass. She fixed her posture, trying to match the man's towering size. But even in her 4-inch stilettos, she still had to look up at him.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a voice meant to melt the panties off any woman within a kilometre radius. As if he wasn't already handsome enough to have walked straight out of a fashion magazine, he had a cleft, too.

Annoyed at herself for noticing all these things about him, Eden scoffed, "I don't need your help!"

"Okay, then." He shrugged, showing off a straight set of teeth when he smiled. They were so white, she thought they were veneered. They had to be. They were too perfect to be real.

"If you're done ogling me—"

Hating him a little for his presumptuous arrogance, Eden pointed at the line. "Do you see all these people? They've been waiting for over an hour. You can't come here and skip the queue."

"Are you going to stop me, Princess?" His rust-coloured eyebrows shot up, a ghost of a smile dancing on his lips. Eden wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his face with her puny fists. But she was an educated person. She didn't have to use her hands to prove her point. Words were as powerful.

Her eyes flashing furiously behind her black-framed glasses, she said, "if you have any decency, you'll wait in line like everyone."

A hush fell over the small crowd gathered around them. Eden's squad tugged and pulled at her sleeves. But she was so over everything, including this night. She refused to have Red over here intimidate her as he leaned over to stare at her at eye level.

"I guess I'm not a decent person now, am I?" He blew a cold minty breath on her face, amusement shimmering in his eyes when his Calvin Klein model friends sniggered behind him. Returning his attention to the bouncers, he flashed a few crisp two-hundred rand notes at one of the burly men, gathered up his crew, and waved at her group. "They are with us!"

Eden hadn't even processed his announcement, and they were already inside. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. Up ahead, she saw Red make his way to a VIP booth.

Was she supposed to thank him for getting them in? No way, she shook her head. Sure, she was grateful her ass and toes weren't numb anymore. But she had no issue waiting her turn like everyone else.

"Oh, St. Eden, we are forever in your debt. Drinks are on us tonight!" Cassandra announced.

Lydia giggled. "Yeah, you took one for the team! I mean, I would never have dreamed of approaching Liam."

"That's his name?" Eden asked. Red suited him better, in her opinion.

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