Ruin (Rhodes #1) by Rina Kent

                             “Look at that hot thing, eleven o’clock to your right!” Sydney shouts over the music, her voice reaches me in a hazy wave. “He’s been checking you out the entire evening!”

                             Despite my drunken state, dread creeps through my limbs.

                             It can’t be him.

                             Right?

                             It isn’t his style to make himself obvious. He never bothers me. Doesn’t make a move to meet me. He just... exists. Everywhere. As if some mythical forces hired him to be my shadow.

                             With clumsy fingers, I manoeuvre my hair to hide my right eye. Despite my sharp intake of breath, it takes time to refocus my gaze, but once I see the man’s face, I release a puff of air. In relief or disappointment, I can’t really tell.

                             Not him. The man Sydney pointed at is black.

                             “What do you think?” Sydney gets so close, I smell tequila on her breath. She’s not driving me home after all.

                             “I’m not in the mood.” My words come out slurred.

                             “You’re never in the mood!” Sydney throws her hands in the air. “Get a boyfriend for fuck’s sake.”

                             I grin. “I’m married to art, thank you very much.”

                             “Mae.” Sydney’s narrowed eyes pin me down. “I hate to burst your bubble but art won’t give you the children you want so much.”

                             My eyebrows furrow. “That’s so rude. Paintings are our children, dummy!”

                             Sydney rolls her eyes and tips her head to the ceiling. “God, give me patience!”

                             Owen laughs and shoos Sydney away to sit next to me. His whiskey-infused breath fans my nostrils. He jokes and I chuckle at his corniness. Not long after, Sydney storms to our table with a tray full of greenish beverage, courtesy of the bartender. Owen doesn’t like the ‘puke-like’ drink. That’s all it takes for him and Sydney to go all out in their usual banter.

                             Relaxing in my seat, I sip the green cocktail. The liquid travels my throat leaving an instant burn in its wake.

                             “You know what?” I cut the heated profanity-filled conversation between Owen and Sydney. “I believe a shag would drive all this tension between you two away. Have you considered that?”

                             “Say that again and I’ll kill you!” Sydney glares at me while Owen gives an awkward laugh.

                             Well, at least that cools things for a while.

                             When we go back to the dance floor, my head swims in a hazy fog. I can’t keep up with the music, and my steps become more and more unbalanced. The urge to throw up hits me like a crashing wave.

                             “I’m going out for some air!” I shout over the music.

                             Sydney clutches my arm. “Do you want me or Owen to come with you?!”

                             I shake my head. “I won’t be long!”