Chapter one
Jonathan Campos
That day, I looked at the cloudless sky of a hot Saturday night, while I drank the vodka from the neck of the bottle, feeling the liquid tearing my throat. I had never noticed how the few stars shone in the sky of the big cities. I even looked like an old drunk who had just lost his wife, killed by smoking, and was lamenting how unfair life seemed. Likewise, I’m not that kind of guy, weak and sentimental, much less am I wanting to notice the stars in the sky, but while I raised my head to drink the last sip that was in the bottle, at that moment I noticed their brightness, and for a few seconds the stars hypnotized me.
“The sky is beautiful today. “Carol hugged me from behind and buried her face in my broad back. “Are we going to leave here, to a place of our own?”
I jerked her hands away, no time for sentimentality, and walked away, a little dizzy.
“The party hasn’t even started, kitten,” I said and walked into the house.
I am amused by Carol’s stupidity, who has known me for so long and still believes she can win me over. I don’t belong to anyone, but they can all be mine for a night like this. The sound was loud. I entered the room where the party really happened and saw a beautiful brunette on the other side of the room. Certainly, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I walked across the room to meet her, who smiled as she held a glass in one hand. I couldn’t make out what a drink it was, but it looked happy and irresistibly seductive. Furthermore, I bumped into a guy or two halfway there. They looked at me with expressions that they didn’t like my presence here. I offered them a smile, and that pissed them off even more. I wondered what fault I had for being the most attractive of the entire party. Two more steps, and I was in front of her. Long, curly hair, black eyes, olive skin, and a low-cut black dress. This is the type of girl I like, daring, beautiful, and seductive. She looked right into my eyes and the smile disappeared.
“Hi.” The loud music in the background nearly drowned out my voice.
“Are you Jonathan Campos? She leaned closer and whispered in my ear. Your hot breath made the hairs on my body stand on end” are you here, crashing?
I laughed. No one throws a party in this city and doesn’t invite me, it goes unpunished.
“Let’s say yes” I brought my body closer to hers and spoke low in her ear. “Are you accompanied?”
“You’re very brave” she looked at me and took a sip of her drink. ” Does Ravi know you’re here?
“Everyone knows I’m here” she smiles, but I can’t decipher whether it’s a funny smile or a mocking one” do you want to go outside, so we can talk better?
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she says, and immediately her gaze strays to something or someone behind me. His expression changes, letting me know I’m in trouble”.
“What are you doing here?”
I almost didn’t hear what he was saying, but I felt his hand land on one of my shoulders. I knew that voice. Likewise, I turned, and my eyes collided with Ravi’s, who had a furious expression on his face.
“I told you not to come to my party” his hands grabbed my collar, and he pushed me to the wall. “You’re itching to get another spanking, aren’t you, Jonathan?”
“Nobody throws a party in this city and doesn’t invite me” I let out a loud and mocking laugh. “The only one who took a beating here was you. There are even some marks here on your face, check it out”.
He closed his fist, ready to punch me, but the girl stopped him.
“It’s not worth it, Ravi,” she held onto one of his arms.
He still had the annoyed expression on his face. I knew why Ravi hated me so much and that stretched back to high school when he saw me kissing the girl he was in love with, and after that I heard her say that she liked me too. Since then, he has created a stubborn dispute that only existed in his head and nobody else. He was obsessed with proving that he could be better than me at everything.
“Your girlfriend is a hottie,” I joked, just to tease him. “Are you afraid she’ll fall in love with me too, Ravi?”
He warned them not to mess with her.
“Or what? My expression changed. My jaw tightened”.
“I’m not his girlfriend” she got in between us “and I don’t want confusion here either”.
Ravi didn’t say anything. He looked at me as if he were evaluating me, and then he grabbed the brunette’s arm and left, forcing her out of the house. I went back. The girl didn’t resist. She went with him, as if she knew this was the best decision.
“Since she’s not your girlfriend,” I said, and he stopped in the middle of the backyard, still holding the brunette’s arm, “you won’t mind if I stay with her tonight”.
“Not over my dead body” He turned and looked at me.
“It’s not like that,” I approached. “I challenge you to a split. The loser gives up on conquering the brunette”.
“My name is Natalia” she interrupted us “and I’m not a trophy to be disputed by the boys, so forget it”.
“I accept,” Ravi said at once.
“Which is?” Natalia seemed not to believe “by God, you can’t do that, Ravi”.
“See you out there” he completely ignored Natalia, and I realized how tireless he was disputing anything with me.
“I’m going to beat you,” I offered a provocative smile. “You know that don’t you?”
“We’ll see” He placed a finger on my chest and touched it.
He looked at me one last time and walked out of the house. Natalia watched everything in disbelief, but didn’t make any gestures, returning straight away to the party. I know that even if I won this race, I wouldn’t keep it, but challenging Ravi and beating him one more time would be like I did.
