Page 18 of Luxe

She hadn't seen it that way though, so I'd let her go to pick up her imaginary car and gone to grab mine, hanging around the corner making sure she was alright until it looked like seeing me again was going to be a relief and not an annoyance. I might’ve been a little too optimistic on that.

Somehow she is still hesitating to take up my offer for a ride, as if she’s actually considering being stranded in North Point on a Tuesday night rather than sitting in a car with me for ten minutes

"Offer's time limited, Kiara," I say when she hasn't replied after a few silent minutes.

Kiara glares at a point about two inches from my forehead, still avoiding my eye contact, and I can see a flash of white where her teeth are digging into her bottom lip. "Fine," she finally huffs as she opens the car door and slides into the passenger seat.

"Where to?" I ask.

I wait as the last remnant of hesitation fights to leave her body before she opens her mouth and says, "Fong Bar."

My hands don’t move on the steering wheel while I wait for more information. None is forthcoming. "And where and what is a Fong Bar?"

Her tired eyes lift, staring directly at me, almost in a challenge. "It’s a strip club. In Wan Chai."

I feel my eyebrows lift and fall as she holds my gaze, daring me to comment.

Wan Chai is the infamous red light district area of Hong Kong that is now home to dive bars, wet markets, amazing, authentic Chinese restaurants, and… apparently, strip clubs.

We drive for two minutes in total silence before the curiosity threatens to actually kill me. "Not that I’m not totally thrilled to be going to a strip club with you, but why are we going there exactly?"

Her eyes stay trained on a spot two feet ahead of us but she answers. "Work. I’m going there to work."

Without making it too glaringly obvious, my eye flick down to her clothes. Miniskirt, short white crop top, knee high stiletto boots.

The picture painting in my head of what her work there involves is making it even harder for me to hold my tongue. But my need to satisfy my curiosity is not so important that I will risk making her flee like a baby deer at the first sign of discomfort.

We arrive in a few minutes; the area is almost empty, with a few stragglers stumbling out of nearby bars. Come the weekend, at 2:30 a.m, the streets will still be teeming with bodies. Many of my weekends when I’d just moved here had been spent in this area finding new friends I still see now. No one ever feels lonely in Wan Chai on a Friday night. Kiara points to the side street along a building with a flickering sign in front.

"Park there," she says, her voice hard, nervous. She hasn’t exactly been a ball of sunshine since she saw me at Amber earlier today, but she wasn’t on edge like this.

"Where are you going?"

"Inside." One word. She rubs her arms, as if psyching herself up, and then climbs out of the car. "Wait here."

"Kiara, are you okay? Do you want me to c—"

"No!" she yells and then glances over her shoulder, as if looking out for someone before she lowers her voice. "Stay here. And do not get out of the car. I will be right back. And leave the engine running." She must see the concern on my face and probably considers what I might do if she doesn’t reassure me, and says, "I’m fine. I won’t be too long. Just have the car ready."

Something tells me that I’m supposed to listen. That she’s not kidding, and me sitting here is more important than going with her inside.

To work.

Whatever that means.

So, I wait.

And I wait.

Until it’s too long to be “not too long”.

It’s been over fifteen minutes. The skin on my legs is tingling, like an entire colony of fire ants is negotiating a trail up my body just waiting to sting me.

Everything’s not okay. I need to get inside.

My hand reaches for the door handle when a side door I hadn’t even noticed bursts open. A young woman is pushed out and falls to the ground. Behind her Kiara follows, backing out from the door, shirt ripped, hair a mess, in her hand a weapon, pepper spray, maybe. Her arm is outstretched as she steps toward the young girl still crumpled on the ground, gently weeping.

"Kiara!" I shout, and she turns to me, as if just remembering I was waiting all along.

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