Haze(61)

I stop there out of my own selfish need to read her words. I rest my forehead on my hand, my elbow propped on the table as I read the tortured words of a young woman desperately alone in the world.

I am alone in this haze called life.

Every single day is a haze.

What does it feel like to live beyond the haze.

Haze…

Repeated again and again.

"This is your safeword?"

"I knew I'd never say it when I'm with you." She pulls in a deep breath. "You're supposed to pick something you know you wouldn't say when you're with that person."

I nod as I stare into her face.

"The haze disappeared when you kissed me."





CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE


Isla




The moment I step out of the washroom and back into the almost vacant restaurant I know something is wrong. I'd only gone in there to fix my make-up after I'd sobbed in front of Gabriel. I knew I'd show him my poetry tonight. It's not publication worthy, and I don't intend to ever show it to another person, but it's part of my relationship with him, so it was a gift I had to share.

His head is bowed as he talks on his phone. His eyes shielded to me by his hand as he cups it over his brow. He's impatient with the person on the other end, scolding them with his tone, if not his words, which I'm too far away to hear.

I glance at the table, realizing that approaching it now, would only interrupt him. It has to be business. He must be dealing with something beyond my scope of understanding. I don't run a company. I can't imagine ever doing that.

My passion is music and now that my life is settled, it's where my time and energy will be spent.

I walk towards the bar, which is dotted with a handful of people, sitting on stools. I smile at the bartender as I order another glass of wine to share with Gabriel.

The drink will help calm my nerves, and there's something intimate in sharing a glass with him.

"Do we know each other?" A female voice pulls at me from the left. "Isla, is that you?"

I turn quickly when I realize it's Tiffany, a customer, from the boutique. "Tiffany, how are you?"

She pulls me into a quick embrace. "I'm well. I'm here to grab a quick drink with a friend. Do you want to join us?"

"I'm here with someone." I don’t gesture towards the table. Gabriel and I haven't made our relationship public yet. I'm not sure if that matters to him, but it's not my place to announce it to the world. Besides, I like having him like this, just for me.

"There's my friend now." She looks around me towards a woman who just walked through the door. She's tall, beautiful, her hair spiky and black.

"Sage." Tiffany stretches her hand out to the woman. "This is Isla."

The woman stops short of where we're standing, her gaze raking me from head-to-toe before a sly smile takes over her mouth. "I know Isla, or technically, I've seen Isla before."

"At the Liore boutique?" Tiffany asks. "It's where I met her too."

"It wasn't there." Sage gestures towards the door. "It was just down the street from here. I saw you at Skyn."

My hand darts up to cover my chest even though the dress I'm wearing does that for me. "You saw me at Skyn?"

"Well, f*ck me…" her voice trails as her eyes scan the restaurant. "You're not here with Gabriel, are you?"

I glance back to where he's still seated, his head bowed in a deep conversation. "You know Gabriel?"

She laughs then. It's not sweet or filled with any notes of enjoyment. It's dark, almost sinister. "Do I know Gabriel?"

The answer is clear. He's f*cked her.

"That's the Gabriel you did all that f*cked up shit with?" Tiffany giggles. "He's the one? You're not talking about Gabriel Foster, are you?"

I pull in a ragged breath. "I should go."

"You should stay so you can tell me how the f*ck he found you." Sage's hand wraps around my wrist. "He picked you out in the club but then you dropped your bag and the night went straight to hell."

"He picked me out?" I ask, my voice a clear reflection of my emotions. It's shaky, quiet, confused.

"I actually had a friend all primed for him that night." She snaps her fingers in front of my face. "Then, boom, he spots you shaking your pretty little ass on the dance floor and he decides you're the one."

"The one?" I stare at her face.

"He was there trolling for a f*ck and apparently you're his type."

"Isla." His voice cracks through the space.

I turn towards him but he's already next to me. "Sage, keep your f*cking mouth shut."

"Oh Christ, Gabriel." She pushes his shoulder. "You already told her all this, no? What I want to know is how did you track her down?"

"We're leaving." His hand is on the small of my back. "Isla, now."

"He gets off on that, Isla," Sage calls after us. "Big, bossy Gabriel."

I don't hear anything else she says as we brush past the table and I pick up my poetry, shoving it back into my bag.





CHAPTER FORTY-SIX