The Lost One (Lost Series Book 1) (4 page)

“All right, I’ll just get ready. See you soon!”

“Sweet! We can go grab something to eat before we hit the clubs. Oh, and bring a wine, white please. See ya shortly.” Not giving her a chance to reply, I hang up. Pulling up Liam’s number, I send him a quick text.

Me: Hey Liam! Flick and I are heading out tonight to The Phoenix for some drinks and dancing. Come join us around 11pm :) Hope you can make it!

I throw my phone on the lounge now to go freshen up for tonight. I enjoy dressing up nice. It makes me feel beautiful, and every girl should feel beautiful. Walking into my room after my shower, I see I have a message from Liam. I smile to myself at the nickname he has given me.

Liam: Hey Aussie! Thanks for the invite. I will be there!

When Flick arrives, I am in my room trying to decide what to wear. I’m normally a jeans and nice shirt with some fab heels kind of girl, but tonight I
wanna let loose. All my dresses, few they may be, are sprawled over my queen-size bed. I’m trying on a red fitted halter, cocktail-length dress when Flick waltzes in.

“Whoa! Look out boys, Mel is hitting the town in a dress tonight and looking smoking HOT, I might add!” She takes a seat on the end of the bed with glasses of wine in hand, handing one to me. “I would so go with that one. It totally brings out the blue in your eyes.
”

“This one,
ya reckon? Do you think it’s too dressy for the club?” Standing in front of the mirror, I see my hair falling naturally over my shoulders with natural tone makeup. Yep, this is the one. Tonight is going to be epic; a ball of excitement builds within me. I’m ready for a good dance and a few drinks and, hopefully, some matchmaking. I smile to myself at the thought.

“No way!
It’s perfect.”

Flick is wearing a stunning navy blue, one-shoulder, shorter than usual, figure-hugging dress with four-inch, black strappy heels. She looks stunning, as always. Flick is nicely toned, with black hair cut in a concave bob, blue eyes, and is about five foot nine. We are about the same height; I’m maybe a little taller, but not by much, which is
why we both have shoe fetishes.

Living very close to Times Square, I have easy access to all the good pubs and clubs. We decide to go to a little sushi bar a block away for dinner around eight. I love going there. I’ve gone at least once a week since moving here, so the
staff knows me pretty well now.

Stepping out of the apartment building, it’s a beautiful, clear, fresh Friday night. I love feeling the light breeze kissing my face; goose bumps rise on my arms and legs, even though it is still pretty warm out.

We decide to walk to the sushi bar, chatting and catching up on the latest gossip happening. Flick usually has the stories. With her work, she gets some interesting invitations from clients wanting to take her out. I can just imagine a bum off the street hitting on her and her trying to let him down gently. But deep down, she would want to say, “Hell No!” to them in a not so nice way.

“So why didn’t you let this one take you out? He sounds nice enough.” I asked. She is telling me he seemed very friendly and was decent looking, so I don’t kn
ow why she said no to this one.

“Because, with a resume like his, we would be eating McDonald’s cheeseburgers on a park bench,
ahh, no thanks!” she yells, slapping my arm. We both break out laughing.

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want that, now would we, Miss High Maintenance?” I say with sarcasm. I
hook my arm with hers, and we continue walking and laughing. “What about Liam?” I ask innocently, deciding to throw the idea out there.

“Yeah, he isn’t bad looking and he has a good job, but I just don’t think he’s into me.
”

“Are you kidding me?” I practically yell at her,
stopping in my tracks

“What?” A shocked and confused expression is on her face.

“Don’t you notice the way he flirts with you when we’re all together,” I ask, and begin walking again.

“No, I guess I don’t notice things like that. I’ll take more notice next time I see him.
”

“Good, because he’ll be meeting us tonight,” I whisper, quietly smiling and doing a little dance of excitement within.

“WHAT!” she yells. “What did you do?

“Nothing.
I invited him to meet us at The Phoenix a little later; there is no harm in that.” I shrug innocently, giving her a sheepish grin.

“No, but now I’m nervous to be around him since you decided to mention the whole flirting thing,” she shyly says. I knew she liked him deep down, but I’ve not known her long enough to see this shy girl beside me; she is
always outgoing and confident.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you, and if you feel uncomfortable or anything, we will leave, okay?” She looks at me, smiles, and nods as her confidence grows again.

We arrive at the sushi bar, take seats at the sushi train bar, and grab the first plate that comes by. I’m seriously starving now. I haven’t eaten since lunchtime, except for the odd chocolate. It looks like roasted chicken and avocado. Taking a bite, I savour its delicious flavour
.

“
Mmm, this is so yum. I love this place,” I state, while taking another bite, not very ladylike though.

“Yeah, it’s really good,” replies Flick. She is now on her second plate. So it isn’t just me starving. Boy, she can stuff her face and not put on any weight, and she doesn’t exercise much; she sometimes comes to the gym with me, but not often. Most girls would kill for a body like hers, where you can eat what you want. Me, I eat what I want, but I have to exercise regularly to keep it looking good.
It’s hard work, but I enjoy the exercise.

I begin thinking about Abby and how we were the same in so many ways. We had the same body build, except she became a lot skinnier after she met Jacob. Even thinking his name brings my blood to boiling point. He took her from me and I can never get her back. I can’t understand why, or even how, someone could do what he did. I feel a lump starting to form in my throat. NO! I don’t want to get upset tonight over sad times; I only w
ant to remember the good times.

“Hello?
Earth to Melodi.” Flick is clicking her fingers in my face, trying to rope me back into the present. I’ve been in my own little world again, thinking about Abby. I guess this time of year is always hard for my parents and me. Abby was pronounced dead on the twentieth of August, 2010. That day was the worst in my life, earth shattering even, but I enjoy remembering Abby, the beautiful spirit she was. I feel a warm tickle fall down my cheek.

Flick wipes it away before I get a chance. “Are you okay, Mel?” Concern is wrapped in her question
.

Shaking my head, I turn to her. “Yeah, I’m fine, just having an Abby moment. She has been gone three years this year, and it’s getting close to the anniversary. It should become easier by now, but not yet.” My heart is hurting. I swallow the lump in my throat, not allowing myself to get more
upset.

“Oh, honey, it’s all right. I’m always here for you.” She wraps her arm around my shoulder, pulling me to her. “We don’t have to go out tonight. We can go back home and watch movies instead?” she suggests with a smile. My heart swells, and I’m so grateful to have found her. “No, I want to go out and have fun; it’s what Abby would want,” I answer with a smile.
“Abby would have wanted to join us if she were still here, so I’m going to have fun for her. Let’s go pay for this and go hit The Phoenix for some drinks and dancing,” I say as I grab my bag, ready for a good night.

I can feel the sweat building under my hair; we’ve been dancing nonstop since we got to the club, except stopping for the odd drink. It’s one of our favourite places. We come here more often than anywhere else. It always has the best music and fast bar service. Flick is beside me, her hips grinding against Liam. They’ve been pretty cosy tonight. She was a little shy when he first arrived, but after she got a few drinks into her, she let loose and now look at her.

I think she’ll be heading home with him tonight. O
h, yeah, matchmaker Melodi!
I silently high five myself. But I’m beginning to feel like the third wheel, which is never fun.

“I’m going to grab another drink, do you want one?” I yell at them as the music vibrates through my ears. I strain to hear them.

“Yeah, get two shots and two beers for us please!” she yells back before going back to grinding her butt  up against Liam who, judging by the permanent grin on his face, is thoroughly enjoying himself tonight.

Walking off the dance floor is another challenge in itself. It’s packed, and I can hardly move. Slowly pushing my way through the crowd, I decide to go to the bar upstairs. I might sit up there for a while and try to cool off and rest my feet, which are thoroughly killing me right now.
Note to self: never wear heels out dancing again.

The stairs are just as bad; the traffic up and down is continuous. I jump in behind some girl and make my way up. The throbbing through my feet is getting worse and my head is starting to feel a bit fuzzy, but I don’t want to end the night yet. I just need to have a little rest, and then get back out there. I’m in thought, and suddenly, my foot misses the next step and I feel myself fall down the few stairs I’ve managed to make it up. My face burns with embarrassment. Luckily, there doesn’t seem to be anyone directly behind me, so at least I don’t take anyone else out in the process. I take hold of the rail and begin picking my mortified self-up.

A hand grabs my elbow to help me up. Warmth spreads through me, starting where the hand grabbed me, shooting through me like a hot liquid. My heart ignites like a sparkler. It’s something I’ve never experienced before. Feeling very humiliated, I turn to thank my helper.

My mouth drops open at the sight in front of me; my heart is racing and my palms begin to sweat.
Gee, I had to fall in front of him?
He looks at me and his brow creases with concern. With his eyes burning into mine, my cheeks warm. Here in front of me has to be the most gorgeous man I have ever laid eyes on, and his piercing blue eyes are soft and caring. I realize my mouth is still hanging wide open like a proper fool. I snap it shut, and find my voice.

“
Er…thanks. Maybe I should stop the drinks now since I can’t even make it up the stairs,” I laugh nervously. My body begins to sway a little, the fuzzy feeling in my head becoming stronger. The gorgeous mystery man grips my arm a little tighter to steady me; boy, do I feel like an idiot right now.

“That might be an idea, are you okay?” His voice is so calm and inviting. At the warmth of his touch on my arm, my heart feels so giddy, and what is with the dance going on in my stomach? I don’t normally get like this around guys, especially when I’m drunk. I’m usually more confident. I guess I did totally embarrass
myself falling down the stairs.

Remembering I haven’t answered his question, I glace at him. His eyes are glued to me as he waits patiently for me to respond. He doesn’t realize the effect he is having on my body and me. “Yes, I’m all
right thanks, just a little unsteady in these heels.” I reply with a small laugh.

A small smile spreads across his face. Watching me intently, his eyes
glisten bright blue. His hair is dark brown and tied back, as it is a little longish, but not girly-length long, though. He looks super sexy wearing black jeans with a white buttoned up shirt. His arms are very toned, and I immediately want to run my hands up them, wrapping him in my arms while I place my lips against his luscious li—
Wait. What the heck am I thinking?

His hand still holds my arm. “Here, let me help you up the stairs to make sure you don’t fall again,” he says as he turns. Standing beside me, he places his arm around my waist to support me. In this moment, I don’t want to be anywhere else. There is something about him I instantly adore. I want to be near this stranger; there is an intense pull to him. I can feel his muscular body moving beside me, setting my heart on fire, spreading a new kind of feeling throughout my whole body, right down to my toes and across to my fingertips.

We reach the top of the stairs; it felt like the longest walk. I did manage to stumble a few more times, which resulted in me feeling like a serious drunk and wishing this beautiful stranger beside me wasn’t the one helping me.
Can I crawl into a hole and hide now?

It feels like people are staring at us. I’m not sure what they’re looking at. My guess would be they’re checking out the guy helping out the
drunk girl. Or they’re laughing at the girl who just went arse over tit down the stairs. I feel my face warming up again. He guides me to the nearest table helping me on to a seat. Looking up at him, I’m still feeling slightly dizzy as he reaches out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. He glides his finger slowly down my cheek as his shining blue eyes take in every inch of my face. His touch erupts a yearning within me, something new I’ve never felt.

I want to know who this stranger is, what he enjoys doing for fun, and what his lips would feel like on mine.
And there is that insane thinking once again.