Page 18 of The Replay

Cora: The friend group, huh?

Mariana: I know you can't go, or I'd invite you. Then you'd see it's a sweet gesture and not a big deal.

Cora: It's not a big deal that I can't go. It's a big deal that you're going with that friend group. Pen's friends are Dom's friends.

Mariana: I know that. THAT's not a big deal either!

Cora: Sure, sure.

Mariana: I don't care if Dom is there. Let him see me happy now that I'm divorced and thriving. Someone who can go out and start dating as soon as she figures out where to meet eligible men, and finds the time in her schedule to go on a hunt.

Cora: Right, right.

Mariana: So let's go out for dinner tomorrow. Then you can see I'm well and ready to celebrate. And since you've been in the city for longer, you can share any tips you have.

Cora: Unfortunately I have none yet. But we'll celebrate!

Mariana: We'll celebrate! See you tomorrow.

Cora: Make sure to have fun tonight, hermanita. I'll approve of whatever wild decisions you make.

Mariana: Byyyeee

Chapter 8

Dom

I get out of the car and walk past the fifty people waiting to enter the club. They're cordoned off, allowing me a clear path to the bouncers welcoming me in.

It's packed in the building tonight. A pop song blasts throughout the first floor, and a large dancing crowd moves rhythmically to the beat. I check myself, in case I want to get lost among them, and choose someone to take up to the VIP mezzanine with me. In the safety of the second level, with its moody purple lights and somewhat subdued music, my friends and I can let loose together. When I have a companion, the space incites whispers and wandering hands. For years, it was the place where I decided that evening's destiny. A night of friendship, or a night of lust?

But nothing stirs inside. Attractive people move together to the music, and all I do is shrug and turn to the stairs.

Frustratingly, I've come to learn that it's awkward to sit in the mezzanine with someone new each time, when only Rafa remains single, and he never shows upto the club. The rest of my friends found their person. Tonight, I'm afraid I'll learn how awkward it is to sit with them when I'm the only one unattached.

That's why I purposely arrive a little late. I don't want to be the first to show up, only to sit at our usual spot all by my lonesome. Yeah, no, thanks. My only hope is that one day I'll go back to dating like I had been. Finding companionship in short flings, and betting on my friends and I getting used to the fact there's always a new person next to me. To force myself to date would only add stress to my life, when things keep on shifting under my feet.

Bear and Pen, and Saint and Ames greet me when I arrive. I grin and find a place with them, sinking into the velvet bench by the wall. We chat like we never stopped. It's one of my favorite things with my friends, the ease with which we connect. In a world that keeps on quaking, I'll cling to what I have with them. Even if things keep changing for them too, leaving me alone in limbo, drowning in a visceral sense of absence by my side…

Mariana appears on the mezzanine. My breath catches. I drink in the sight of her. Dressed in a gorgeous forest green, wide-leg trouser, and a bronze, shiny top being held up by the thinnest chain I've ever seen. Her straight, black hair moves around her shoulders and, man, I grow hot. I still want to run my fingers down the strands. With more force than I should. Just to see if she'll dip her head back and gaze at me with fury… or passion. I gulp.

"You don't mind, do you?" Pen asks. "She got some good news earlier today, and said she had no concrete plans to celebrate but wanted to. I couldn't let her go home alone."

I lick my bottom lip and stare at my friend. Both she and her husband gaze back at me with interest, and more than a hint of a challenge.

"I don't mind," I say.

It's a lie. Of course I mind. Mariana seems to favor stylish office attire for the day, the kind that makes her look cunning and proper at the same time. But at night… at night she goes downright sexy. It's all rather inconvenient. Her presence alone is putting thoughts in my head that I don't plan on accepting.

But I can't show it. We agreed to be indifferent. So I puff some air and nod hello, while my friends exclaim their welcome. The noise gets louder when Rafa, Evie, and Logan show up, with servers behind them holding several champagne glasses.

"Rafa!" Bear roars.

"I know, it's a miracle," the offensive lineman responds.

"Interrogations later. Toast now!" Evie points at the bottles while the glasses get distributed. "I heard the news."

I take a flute, but I say nothing. What are the chances the toast is for Rafa's rare attendance?