Nora never took a taxi in Berk. It was always a walk, or for colder weather, the bus. Unlike the crazy traffic of London streets, everywhere was a ten-minute ride in Berk, even on a busy Friday night. Tonight, she didn't stand a chance walking in these heels, and being on the bus with her outfit was a fashion faux pas in itself.
The cab pulled outside the bar booming with loud music. Queues of eager students lined up outside. Girls stood in skimpy dresses and open-toed heels on a freezing January night.
Nora walked towards a short, blonde woman with a clipboard in her hands who was chatting with an enormous bouncer. Puffs of smoke came out of her mouth from the cold as she spoke. She had enough sense to be wearing a thick puffer jacket and a hat.
"Hi, we're here for Rafe Ferreira's party," Nora said.
"Hi! Welcome! Can I get both of your names, please? And I'll need some IDs," she said. As soon as she got them, she began scanning her list of names. The bouncer scrutinised their IDs. Benny shuffled nervously. They were both already eighteen, but he hadn't gotten used to the fact that they could legally enter bars and order alcohol. They were, by law - adults.
Last year when Nora would use her fake ID unfazed or lie through her teeth about her age, Benny would be a wreck of frazzled nerves.
The woman with the clipboard found the name in the long list. "Great! Found you both. My colleague will take you upstairs. Please put these on your wrists so you can come and go through the VIP area."
"Thanks," Benny muttered, following the hostess into the loud bar. "VIP area? I didn't know this place had a VIP area," he shouted. It was the only decent, chic bar in the whole town, but compared to bigger, flashier places in the city, this place was tame. But this was already impressive to Benny, who had lived in Berk his whole life.
The dance floor was alive, with people dancing to the beats of the latest hip hop remixes. The long bar was lit up in different colours, and the whole place was decorated with a variety of Vodka bottles. The front bar had trays of different coloured shots. Some of her classmates were drinking, talking or dancing. Some were not of legal age yet so she wondered if anyone has been caught out with a fake ID and wasn't allowed in. By the looks of it, everyone got in,and Rafe invited half of the school. After seeing so many familiar faces, she realised that the entire second-floor area was hired out just for his guests.
Nora spotted Rafe surrounded by people, only half of whom she recognised. The confidence she'd had only a minute ago diminished, and she was tempted to turn back, put on her glasses which felt like her mask and put up her hair and remove the clothes that made her look like a completely different person. It was so much easier to be a wallflower.
She didn't want to go back to being in the centre of attention, the stupid drunk small talk, the flirting. It made her nauseous but before she could even think of turning, a similar voice cut in loudly through the music.
"Nora is that you?" William's clear voice cut through the music.
"Hey!" Nora said. What would William think of her?
"You clean up nicely," he said, approaching her. "I almost didn't recognise you."
She let out a long breath and told herself off for overthinking. Seeing William relaxed her. Seriously, it was just a bloody birthday party.
She smiled. "Thanks."
"How's the party so far?" Nora asked. He looked so effortlessly cool in jeans and a white polo shirt. Somehow even his style screamed good boy. Someone you'd meet in a posh country club and who'd be the one to drape his sweater around your shoulders should you get cold.
"Good. Amy from the year below already got drunk. I'm actually on my way to bring her some water," he said, gesturing at the bottle of water in his hands. What a gentleman.
* * *
Rafe patiently listened to his close friend, Mason, who told him about the latest crazy holiday they had in Mykonos, with new hot girls and dramas. Rafe would be lying if he wasn't a little jealous, missing out on all the fun. When he still had his freedom, he was the initiator and the host of these crazy trips and parties. It sucked knowing the rest had moved on when he thought he was always the life of the party. It turned out a party was a party, with or without him. His eighteenth should have been something crazy.
It should have been somewhere in Capri, Ibiza, or on a private island. On a yacht. With topless models.
At the same time, Rafe didn't feel like he was missing much. The same drinking, the same parties, the same girls. The endless cycle of self-destruction and attention-seeking. He was always on the move as long as he was not alone with his own thoughts, trying to bury that ache and avoid his family.
He had begun to adjust to the slow, small-town life. The crisp smell of grass and earth in the mornings and the serene silence from dawn till dusk. He was learning to take pleasure from a simple walk along the local stream or enjoy a Sunday roast over at Nora's place. Hell, he was even becoming fast friends with all the locals. He even had a few favourite stalls at the farmers market that he liked to go to every Sunday.
His eyes searched for the girl who'd helped him get back up on his feet. Where was she? He thought with annoyance. Did she really decide not to come after all?
His eyes landed on a girl with long jet-black hair wearing a classy dress, her legs out long and shapely. His head moved an angle to get a closer look at this babe. He was trying to figure out who it was. A list of girls went through his head until he noticed the same shy shuffling of the feet and the hand brushing self-consciously through the tresses of midnight hair. The beautiful girl was the same nerdy sensei he saw every day. His sensei.
To make matters worse, he saw her flirting away with William fucking Manuel.
Rafe mentally counted the number of drinks he'd had so far. Was that really Nora? Tentatively, he moved closer and observed her. Of course, it was her. She was gorgeous, but he knew that before. Tonight, however, she looked different, and something stirred inside him. He always wondered what body she hid underneath her flat and unflattering school uniform and baggy home clothes, and tonight's dress gave him a very good idea. Too good of an idea, actually.
Relief and pride washed over him because as soon as she saw him her face greeted him with a thousand-watt smile. A couple of months ago, she'd barely crack a smile and make eye contact. She approached him confidently and gave him a quick hug. That hug alone was the best birthday present he received that day.
She shoved a gift bag into his hands.
"Happy birthday! This is from Benny and me," she said, gesturing at the bag. He also accepted Benny's hug but didn't find the strength to take his eyes off her.
"Who are you and what have you done with my sensei?" He shouted through the music.
"She took a break from being a teacher for one night," she said boldly. William whispered something in her ear and left. She looked in his direction, which left Rafe momentarily annoyed.
"Happy birthday!" Benny said, "looks like it's going to be an awesome night."
"It will be now that you guys are here," Rafe said with a wink that made both of them blush.
"There's drinks, food, and more drinks. There's also Jonah dancing which is a whole new level of entertainment."
"A-Are those GoGo dancers? I didn't know Vodka rev had dancers here. This whole place looks different. Did you redecorate everything?"
"Er...yeah those girls are from the IceCube nightclub...from London. This was all Emile's idea," he said, feeling defensive and having to explain to Nora that this was Emile's way of cheering Rafe up. He wasn't a creep that hired out girls for the night. They were just there to set the party mood. Rafe felt embarrassed as Nora scrutinised the scantily clad girls doing provocative moves.
She caught him staring, and her lips curled. "Your brother has good taste."
He let out a chuckle. Could she get any more awesome? He grabbed Nora by the hand and pulled her closer. "Thank you for coming."
"Thank you for inviting us."
"I was almost beginning to think you would not come," he said.
"And miss the free booze and see Jonah doing the cha cha? I wouldn't miss it for the world," Nora said.
"And look at this effort, all that for me?" he said, pulling her hand up and making her twirl so he could appreciate her from all angles. "Finally, you ditched those ugly glasses." She punched him in the chest in response, and he grunted.
"I like my glasses. They would probably just fog up here with everyone sweating away on the dance floor. I had a pair of lenses saved for special occasions like this."
Rafe rubbed the sore spot on his chest and grimaced.
"And I didn't dress up for you. I dressed up for me."
"What did you get me?" He asked, looking inside the bag and ignoring her futile lies. But the gift was wrapped.
"It's not a big present, but I think you'll find it useful," she said.
"Want to meet my brother?"
"If he's not busy," she said shyly. He grabbed her hand. It felt cool. He pushed through the crowd of people and found his brother Emile sitting on the bar stool and talking to the bartender.
"Emile, this is Nora; she's my friend, my tutor and my classmate. Nora, my brother Emile," he said. She was so petite compared to his brother.
"Ciao. We finally meet. Rafe wouldn't shut up about you," he said with a grin. Rafe clicked his tongue in annoyance and told him to stop embarrassing him in Italian. Emile ignored Rafe.
"We didn't think anyone could help this stupido to study. You have my respect and admiration." Nora laughed. Emile turned on his usual charm. Being tall and well-built and having a handsome face, he never had a problem winning women over. He was ten years older than Rafe, but everyone always thought Emile looked almost the same age as Rafe.
He had the same confidence and charisma as Rafe, but where he was lean and tall and carefree, this was a strongly built man with an aura of authority around him.
"Rafe is very smart if he sets his mind to it," she said.
"Well, I'm glad someone set his mind right. So I heard you're a future lawyer?"
Nora tried to look confident, but with both Emile and Rafe staring at her she began fidgeting with her bracelet. "That's the plan," she said sheepishly.
"I hope you've applied to our firm. For work experience?"
"Yes, sir. I'm applying this summer. I'm a big fan of your company and your work."
"Sir? He's not fifty. And he's not an English lord. Just call him Emile," Rafe burst out. Nora was looking too starry-eyed at his brother. He loved his brother, but that man's ego was already big enough.
"She has respect, you cretin," Emile said, shoving Rafe away like a twig. "Butt out of our conversation; you understand nothing anyway."
"You're too old to even be in this club let alone flirt with schoolgirls you pervert. Stick to one drink or you'll need an IV drip," Rafe said to him in Italian and punched his arm. Emile grinned and shoved him away.
"Go do something useful Rafaello. Order us another round of drinks." Then he turned to Nora. "Do you have any interest in our current cases?"
"Yes," she said. There was a small smile on her lips as she watched him bicker and joke with his brother. "Your latest case with the Tishman real estate. Socially, maybe it's not the most ethical way to go about the case, but according to the law, your case is bulletproof."
Emile's grin stretched a mile. "I like her already," he said to Rafe, who was handing a glass of champagne to Nora from the bar.
"Okay, can we stop talking about school or work for one night and get hammered?"
"Saluti, to my little brother. And to you, the best tutor in town," Emile said, clinking glasses with her and Rafe. Nora beamed.
"Saluti," she chorused back.