Chapter 1
Chapter one
It is the annual Valentines party at The Marbella, but Jane Gloriana Villanueva is not feeling very valentine-y. She is single, you see. Of course, by her own choice, since she just didn’t feel right with either Michael or Rafael anymore, after everything that’s happened. But it still sucks to be single on Valentine’s Day, when all you see around you are happy couples kissing and holding hands.
Both Michael and Rafael had been all over her the last week, trying to win her back in time for Valentine’s Day. Michael had sent her chocolate, Rafael had sent her an endless stream of flowers, and they had both given her a dozen cutesy cards. She was getting sick of it. Jane ended up yelling at the both of them to cut it out and then storming off.
That is how Jane now found herself sitting at the bar in the Marbella lobby, with Michael staring longingly at her from one side of the room, and Rafael from the other. Jane sighs and turn to the bartender.
“Another shot please. Something strong”.
Fortunately, her abuela had Mateo for the night, so Jane didn’t have to worry about getting drunk. Which she was already well on her way to being. When the bartender put the shot in front of her, she downed it immediately.
“One more please”, she said. “Oh, and put it on Mr. Solano’s tab”, she added. He is one of the reasons for my misery, it’s the least he can do, Jane thought.
“Wow, this is a sad sight”, Jane hears from behind. Petra sits down next to her and chuckles slightly, a smug look on her face.
Jane sighs, and turns to Petra. “What do you want, Petra?”
Petra holds her hands up, “Relax, I’m, just getting a drink. Like you”.
“Well, do you have to sit next to me?” Jane asks a little sharply. “I’m not really in the mood for company”, she adds, when she realize how that came out.
Petra looks slightly offended anyway. “Well, you would think you’d have a great day today. I mean, two guys pining over you, showering you with gifts on Valentine’s Day? Sounds pretty great to me”.
Jane looks at Petra with a ‘seriously’ kind of expression.
“Yeah well, you and I are very different people”, she says, and turns around. She was hoping this was the end of their conversation.
“That is true”, Petra says, “but I still don’t get why you are look so miserable. It’s pretty annoying, actually”.
“Excuse me?” Jane says, and turns her head back to Petra.
“You’re sitting here feeling sorry for yourself, even though you have two perfectly fine men chasing your tail. Well, one perfectly fine man. I’m not so sure about Michael”.
“Petra-“ Jane tries to interrupt, an extremely annoyed look planted on her face. But Petra just continues, taking no notice to Jane anymore.
“It’s offensive, really. I mean, to all the single people with no chance of a love life anytime soon. And you’re just shitting all over it! You have a chance to be in a relationship, but you’re just throwing it away because it doesn’t ‘feel right’”, Petra scoffs, “it’s an insult really”.
Jane then notices that Petra’s breath smells a little funny.
“Petra, are you drunk?” Jane asks.
“What? No” Petra dismisses the question with a wave of her hand. “I mean, sure I’ve had a couple of drinks, but it’s nothing”.
Jane’s lips turns upwards in a smug smile, when a realization hits her.
“Petra, are you feeling a little lonely tonight?” she asks, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice.
Petra gasps, maybe a little too over exaggerated. Yep, she is drunk.
“I am not lonely, Jane. Petra Solano does not do lonely. I don’t need a man”, she says, although her eyes look a little more dull than usual.
Even though Jane and Petra still aren’t that close, Jane does not like this look on her, and decides to try and cheer the blonde up. So she gently nudges Petra’s arm, and sends her a mischievous look.
“Petra?”
“Yes Jane?”
Jane leans a little closer to Petra and whispers, “Do you wanna get hammered and laugh at how ridiculous all the couples in this room are?”
Normally Petra would shoot Jane a glare, and turn her down immediately. But, seeing as she is not exactly sober, Petra’s mouth says “yes”, before her brain can think it over.
Xx
Later that night, Jane and Petra are hiding behind the giant heart sculpture, trying not to laugh. And failing.
“Oh my god, look at him!” Petra giggles. Jane has never heard Petra giggle before tonight, and she tries to ignore the little flutter in her chest, blaming it on the alcohol.
“He looks so confused!” Petra continues. They are watching Michael looking around, probably scanning the room for Jane.
“He will never find me”, Jane says in an overdramatic telenovela voice, and then laughs loudly. Petra joins in. They are both pretty drunk by now, and has been playing hide and seek with Michael and Rafael for the last half an hour. Without the guys knowing it, of course.
Jane flops down to the floor and leans against the heart.
“Why can’t they just give up? I mean, it’s been three months now, and they are still acting like all it takes for me to fall into their arms are grand romantic gestures. I like grand romantic gestures, but I already turned them down! It’s getting really annoying” Jane huffs. Petra joins her on the floor.
“They’re ridiculous. It’s a good thing you’re not with either of them, you deserve better Jane”, Petra says, awkwardly patting Jane’s shoulder.
“Aw, look at you being all nice and stuff”, Jane laughs. Petra hits her arm.
“Hey! I can be nice… Sometimes… If I have to”, Petra says, smirking at Jane.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to be nice to me right now, and you are anyway”, Jane smiles back at Petra, a soft look in her eyes. Or is it just the alcohol making her eyes a little droopy? Petra is not sure, but she turns her head away for a second, feeling a little awkward.
A little pause goes by, and Petra can’t take the awkward silence (only Petra thinks it awkward, Jane is actually pretty content at this moment), so she jumps onto her feet, and pulls on Jane's arm.
“Nooo, I’m comfy here” Jane whines, but Petra keeps pulling until Jane reluctantly stands up.
Jane looks at Petra, and sees mischief in her eyes.
“Oh no, what?” Jane asks, even though she is smiling herself.
“Okay, so I might have been a little nice to you just now. But enough of that. Let’s be a little un-nice” Petra says, and Jane laughs at her.
“That’s not even a word!” Jane giggles.
“Shh, not important!”, Petra slurs a little. Jane stops giggling, and fixes Petra with a slightly unbelievable ‘okay I’m being serious’ look.
“So what do you want to do that is ‘un-nice’?” Jane asks, trying not to crack up.
“We should figure out how to get Rafael and Michael off your back” Petra says with a smug smile.
“Ooooh that would be great!” Jane says excitedly, “But how exactly are we gonna do that?”
“I don’t know, that’s why I said we should think about it”, Petra says, as though it’s obvious.
They both start thinking, while looking out over the crowd. Jane sees Michael, still searching for her, and giggles a little to herself. She also sees Rafael staring sullenly at a couple on the dancefloor kissing.
Suddenly an idea strikes Janes mind. It may not be the world’s best idea, when you look at back at it, but at the moment Jane thought it was genius.
“I’ve got it!” Jane yells a little too loudly, and clamps a hand over her mouth. Petra grabs Jane’s hand and pries it off her face.
“Okay, shoot. I’m all ears”, Petra smiles, excited to hear how she can torment Rafael and Michael some more.
Jane looks around, before leaning towards Petra and stage whispers; “We should kiss!”
Petra’s already big eyes widen to almost double their size. She looks like a cartoon character, Jane thinks and giggles a little.
“What?” Petra croaks. She was honestly not expecting to hear that.
“Yeah, it’s perfect! If they see us kissing, they will be so shocked and sad that they will leave me alone!”
They probably wouldn’t. They would be more likely to ambush Jane in the morning, asking if she’s okay, and if Petra forced her to do it as part of some new scheme she’s come up with. But that thought didn’t cross Jane’s mind right now.
The phrase “Are you drunk, or gay?” flies out of Petra’s mouth, and she reddens a little, cursing her mouth for having no filter right now.
Jane laughs. “Probably both”, she says.
Petra hesitates.
“Come on Petra, it’s just one quick kiss! And it will hurt the guys”, Jane says, knowing that that would tempt Petra to say yes. The reason Jane is pushing this idea, is that it will give her some space from the men. At least that’s what she tells herself. It has nothing to do with the fact that Jane has been wondering all night what Petra’s lips must feel like on her own. Nope, it has nothing to do with that.
“Okay fine”, Petra says, giving in to Jane’s idea. This is of course only because she likes seeing Michael and Rafael suffer. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that, much like Jane, Petra had been wondering if Jane’s lips are as soft as they look.
I must mention that they are both completely wasted at this point.
“Yay!” Jane squeals, takes Petra’s hand, and pulls her onto the dancefloor.
As soon as they are out of their hiding spot, Michael and Rafael sees them. They both start making their way over quickly, and Jane sees this out of the corner of her eye.
Jane spins around, so she is facing Petra, and puts her arms around her neck.
The men start walking slower.
Petra wraps her arms around Jane’s waist and pulls her closer.
The men give each other confused looks.
Jane leans in towards Petra, closing her eyes.
The men stop dead in their tracks.
“They are watching, kiss me”, Jane whispers, her breath tickling Petra’s face.
And so Petra does. At first it is a little awkward, their lips just pressed stiff against each other. But then Jane starts to loosen up, and moves her lips slightly against Petra’s. Petra responds by kissing back, a little more forceful than intended, but still nice. Their minds shut off, and they melt into each other. Their lips move together slowly, and Jane moves her hands into Petra’s soft hair. When Petra sighs, Jane gently runs her tongue over Petra’s lower lip, silently asking permission to enter. Petra hesitates for a second, but then opens her mouth. When their tongues touch, they both shiver. It’s like an electric shock courses through them both, and none of them are wearing expensive Italian leather shoes.
Jane starts exploring Petra’s mouth, and Petra sighs softly. Her hands slowly start to move up and down Jane’s back, while their tongues massage each other. Within seconds, the kiss heats up. The soft gentle movements of their tongues has now become a fight for dominance, as Petra grabs Jane’s face and kisses her hard. They are breathing heavily, biting each other’s lips, sucking on each other’s tongues, hands roaming everywhere. Jane moans loudly as Petra’s hands settle on her ass, giving it a squeeze. Petra smiles into the kiss, before taking Jane’s lower lip into her mouth. She sucks hard on it before biting down. She bites down hard enough to make Jane moan again, but not nearly hard enough to draw blood. Petra gently runs her tongue over the bitten spot, before plunging her tongue back into Jane’s mouth. Jane is completely jelly at this point, and Petra silently celebrates her victory in her mind.
But Petra is taken aback when Jane starts pulling her towards the elevator, without detaching their mouths.
“Come on”, Jane whispers against Petra’s swollen lips, “Let’s go up to your place”.
Petra allows herself to be dragged towards the elevator. They conveniently pass Michael and Rafael on the way, and Petra snatches Rafael’s drink out of his hand, downing it before winking at him. And then she is in the elevator with Jane, and they are making out again.
In the lobby stand two very confused men. They look at each other.
“What the…”