Bewilder (The Kaleidoscope Album Book 2) Read online

  "Everything's fine," Billie said quickly. "What are you up to?"

  "Just writing the next great American song," Domino lied.

  "Oh yeah? How's that coming, Bruce Springsteen?" Billie asked. Domino knew her sister better than anyone –– sometimes even herself. She knew when Billie was being polite for the sake of being polite, which was often, since Billie was the best person she knew.

  A few months before, Billie had gotten into a big fight with her girlfriend, Vero, over a misunderstanding. Except then, Domino thought that Vero had cheated, and Domino had gone a bit overboard in trying to protect her sister.

  It had almost cost Billie and Vero their happiness.

  Domino had only done what she thought was right –– she worshipped Billie, and seeing her sister hurt was physically painful..

  Billie and Vero were back together, thankfully, but with zero thanks to Domino.

  Since then, Billie and Domino's relationship had been a bit strained. Billie had always been slow to forgive –– she had once given Domino the silent treatment for three months for ruining her favorite Carebear when they were kids –– but they were working on it.

  After all, they had to, for the sake of the band.

  "Well, you know, it's coming along," Domino lied again.

  "Anything I can hear yet?" Billie asked, her voice hopeful.

  Guilt hit Domino square in the chest. "Not yet, but soon," she said.

  "Are you doing that thing where you tell me you're writing but you're actually just staring out into space on your patio?" Billie asked with equal parts amusement and scolding in her voice. It was one of her rare gifts, being able to blend two of the most opposite emotions.

  "What? No, of course not," Domino said, looking around to see where Billie might be creeping in the bushes down below.

  "Anyway, I'm just calling to say that Matt will be back in town next weekend so we're having a family dinner," Billie announced.

  Matt was their older brother. Domino was the youngest of five –– she and Billie had three older brothers: Joey, Matt, and Simon. They weren't close with their family, but they weren't on bad terms. Her parents were just so different from her. They were formal and stuck-up and not someone she'd want to spend time with in any context other than family.

  The one thing she would give her parents credit for was handling both of their daughters being lesbians. They never even batted an eye when she and Billie had both come out in the span of a year. They handled them being rock stars with much less grace.

  "Oh, cool, it'll be good to see him again," Domino said, picking at a stray thread at the hole in the knee of her jeans.

  "Yeah, and he’s bringing Holly," Billie continued.

  "Wow, the whole gang's coming," Domino joked. "Is Mom freaking out about hosting so many people?"

  "Of course, but I did just want to warn you that I'm bringing Vero," Billie said.

  "Warn me?" Domino questioned. Typically, she and Billie were the single siblings who stuck together through the family dinners. They even had a secret signal for We're definitely going to gossip about this thing later.

  "Well, it's just going to be a lot of couples," Billie continued.

  "Ah," Domino said, catching her meaning. "So I'm like the seventh wheel."

  "No, don't think about it like that," Billie said, but her tone of voice was a bit too placating.

  "It's fine. I'm glad you warned me," Domino said.

  "You can bring whoever you're dating, if you want," Billie said quickly.

  Domino laughed. "Oh, you got jokes now?" She hadn't seriously dated anyone in... well, ever. She just didn't do commitment. She could barely commit to having her house professionally organized.

  The image of Sabrina wearing her sweatpants appeared in her mind. She was quite possibly the only woman who could make sweatpants look sexy.

  Billie sighed. "I didn't mean it like a joke," she said.

  "If I was dating someone, you would know it," Domino said. "Anyway, text me the details and I'll be there. Unless you'll be around and we'll ride together?"

  "I'll have to meet you there. Vero and I will be coming right from Ontario," Billie explained.

  "Canada or the airport in the middle of nowhere?" Domino joked. Their parents lived in Yorba Linda, a suburb made famous by Richard Nixon. Of all people, Nixon was their claim to fame. There was even a Nixon museum. That's all anyone needed to know about Yorba Linda.

  "Very funny," Billie said.

  "How's Colorado?" Domino asked.

  "Fucking cold," Billie groaned.

  Domino heard a crashing noise in the background of Billie's phone.

  "What the..." Domino asked, hearing a scuffle, then laughter.

  "Hey Domino," Vero said over the phone. Although Billie hadn't quite forgiven Domino, Vero had been as warm and kind as ever.

  "What's this I hear about you bringing a date to dinner next weekend?"

  Domino laughed. "You can't believe everything you read on the internet," she teased.

  "Can't wait to meet her," Vero said with a giggle. Then, a little further away, she heard Vero say, "Stop tickling me!"

  "Okay, you lovebirds, gonna let you go now," Domino said, rolling her eyes.

  "K, bye," Billie said, her voice sounding far away as though the phone wasn't close to her ear.

  Domino clicked the red button and sighed.

  Gross.

  She set down the phone and tapped on the keys. "All my friends are annoyingly in love," she sang, half-jokingly. "And I'm going to die alone with newspapers and cats."

  She heard clapping noises and glanced over to see Mrs. Rosencrantz next door, sitting on her own patio a mere fifty yards away. "Sounds lovely, dear," she said.

  Domino laughed, giving Mrs. Rosencrantz a wave, then retreated inside.

  She felt agitated after hearing about the dinner party. A date? She never brought dates to anything. Her sister gets a girlfriend and suddenly Domino needed to be coupled up, too? She raked her fingers through her hair, huffing out a frustrated sigh.

  She needed a distraction. She scrolled through her phone and settled on calling Julia, the one party animal who was always up for a good time.

  Chapter Four

  Sabrina

  Isla was sitting on the couch when Sabrina walked into the foyer, kicking off the flip-flops that Domino had let her take.

  Sabrina looked up to find Isla mid-sip of a cup of tea, staring at her with wide eyes.

  “You slept with Domino Rush,” Isla said, a mixture of reverence and scandal in her voice.

  “What? No,” Sabrina said quickly, setting down her muddy bag and the plastic sack containing her ruined dress and heels.

  “You saucy minx,” Isla said, setting down her tea.

  “First of all, it’s like three in the afternoon,” Sabrina said, as though that proved a point.

  “Yes, of course, no one has ever had sex before the sun has set,” Isla said, nodding with mock understanding.

  Sabrina rolled her eyes. “Second, you think I have relations with my clients?”

  Isla grinned. “Relations,” she repeated. “Sure, yeah, relations .”

  Sabrina scowled at her. “If you must know, she hit me with her bike and made me fall and ruin my dress,” she said.

  Isla stared at her with wide eyes.

  Sabrina sat down on the couch, retelling the story. She ran her hands over the soft fabric of the sweatpants that Domino had loaned her, remembering the look on Domino’s face as she sat on the curb.

  “Let me get this straight. You extorted her into becoming a bigger client?” Isla asked.

  In essence, that was exactly what she had done. It had felt less slimy at the time.

  Nothing Sabrina could do would ever come close to how much of a presence Domino had in a room. Domino had made Sabrina’s deal seem like less of a threat, more of a joking understanding.

  Of course, she hadn’t really meant she’d sue Domino. Did she want to smack her when she re
alized her favorite dress was ruined? Sure. Did she want to flip a freaking farmhouse dining table when she saw that her favorite heels were broken? Of course.

  And yet, something about Domino had simultaneously made her problems seem small, and her actions seem less… extortion-y.

  “I can see you’re thinking about this quite a bit, so I’m going to go with yes, you blackmailed Domino Rush into letting you do whatever you want,” Isla said.

  “Does that make me a bad person?” Sabrina asked, second-guessing her actions.

  Isla burst out laughing. “You played the player,” she said. “I think it’s fantastic. Domino is like the most badass woman on the scene. And here you are, getting her to agree to whatever you want. How many women would want to be in your shoes, myself included?”

  A pang of jealousy stabbed Sabrina in the chest with Isla’s comment. “She’s my client. That’s all,” she said.

  Domino Rush was her client.

  She hadn’t noticed how Domino was even more stunning up-close, and how Domino’s tanned, toned shoulders flexed as she leaned back in a chair, reaching to stretch her arm around the back of another.

  She definitely hadn’t noticed how Domino’s smile came out crooked, and how the cupid’s bow in her top lip disappeared when she laughed.

  The only thing she had noticed was how much of a dang disaster the woman’s house was. Seriously, she had dishes in the sink, her linen closet exploded when Sabrina opened it, and her shoe rack didn’t know when to say enough was enough –– it was literally bending under the weight of stacks on stacks of shoes.

  “So, what you’re saying is, you bagged a huge new client today,” Isla reiterated.

  Sabrina nodded, grinning.

  “Well, I think that calls for a celebration. Let’s go out tonight,” Isla said excitedly.

  “Tonight? I don’t know. My hip…” Sabrina looked down at her skinned palms.

  “I won’t hear no for an answer,” Isla said.

  “I don’t…” Sabrina trailed off, trying to think of a good excuse not to. She was exhausted from the emotionally and physically taxing day, and going out with Isla was always a bit of a mess. Isla was a social butterfly who talked to everyone and anyone, and Sabrina was much more shy when it came to talking to new people.

  Isla grabbed Sabrina by the shoulders. “Go pregame with a nap, I’ll make us something to carb-load for dinner so that you don’t get white girl wasted off two drinks, and then put on your dancing shoes, because we’re doing the damn thing,” she said with a squeal.

  How could Sabrina say no to such an offer?

  Sabrina shivered in the cool night air as they stood outside in the line to get in. She hadn’t worn seasonally-appropriate clothing, since she knew the second she got in anywhere, she’d be peeling off layers.

  Instead, she was in Isla’s very thin slip dress with sequins. It showed a lot of skin.

  Isla had persuaded her to try out a new lesbian club that just opened, R Bar. A little cheesy, but Sabrina appreciated a good pun.

  By the look of the line, everyone else had roughly the same idea.

  They were about six people away from the bouncers, so she was staying hopeful, but at the same time, they had been in line for thirty minutes already.

  A sports car pulled up to the front of the club and the driver’s side door swung open, revealing none other than Domino Rush.

  Sabrina’s jaw dropped as she saw that Domino had styled her hair messy and was wearing a tank top cut to show off her athletic shoulders. Her jeans looked painted on. She looked both carefree and perfectly styled.

  Then, a woman got out of the passenger’s side door. The woman was wearing an even smaller dress than Sabrina, but on her waif-like figure, it looked as though it would fall off at any moment. She was surely a model or something along those lines.

  Sabrina tried not to glare.

  Isla peered over the crowd to see what everyone was staring at and murmuring about.

  “Oh hey, it’s your new best friend,” Isla said.

  Domino walked around the edge of the car but didn’t take the other woman’s hand or even link arms. Instead, she just paused as the woman straightened out her purse strap so that they could walk in.

  “Domino!” Isla cried out.

  Somewhere in the distance, a record came to a scratching halt. Silence overcame the crowd. Sabrina could have heard a single hoop earring drop to the ground.

  She tried her best to melt into the sidewalk as Domino glanced towards the sound of her name with a curious head tilt.

  “Domino,” Isla said again with a wave, grabbing Sabrina out of where she had tried to hide behind a very large man.

  The moment she stepped out of the crowd, she saw the recognition dawn on Domino's face. She wasn't exactly sure why that made her heart thump a bit harder, but it did. Domino didn't smile, exactly, but it was clear to Sabrina that she recognized her.

  After all, how could she not?

  Sabrina gave a small wave, and Domino gave a small, casual wave that struck Sabrina as more of a tiny flick of the wrist.

  Then, Domino passed the bouncers, handed someone her keys, and walked into the club.

  "What the frog just happened?" Sabrina asked, turning back to Isla. She was mortified. Domino clearly didn't want to talk to her or even be seen knowing who she was.

  "That bitch," Isla growled.

  "Easy, tiger," Sabrina said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We can't all be rock star royalty, no matter how adjacent we may find––"

  "Excuse me, Miss?" Someone was standing beside them.

  Sabrina looked up to find one of the large, bald bouncers looking at them with his hands clasped. He looked very severe, as though he had never smiled one day in his life. "Can you come with me?" He asked.

  Sabrina's stomach sank. Great. Just great. Now they were getting kicked out of the line for yelling at Domino. Had she said something to him? Had she gotten them kicked out of line?

  "Uh, yes, uh officer," Sabrina murmured. She awkwardly ducked under the rope lining, straightening her dress. What little dignity she had left, she used it to stand up straight and smooth out the front of her tiny dress.

  "I'm coming, too," Isla said, swinging her leg over the rope after Sabrina.

  The bouncer's eyes flicked to Isla, but he didn't protest. "Right this way," he said, walking back towards the entrance.

  Sabrina glanced back towards the line of people who were silently watching with curious stares. Was she about to be arrested? Was she going to jail? Her mouth went dry with the thought. She was too soft for jail. Maybe she could trade her organizing skills to the commissary for protection against Piper Chapman's gang.

  She turned to Isla to make a quick blood pact, but she saw that her friend didn't look bothered at all. Sure, Isla was the fun and adventurous one of the pair, but surely, even she understood the gravity of the situation.

  They walked slowly to the front of the club, and then the bouncer unhooked the rope and gestured them towards the door. "Have a fun night, ladies," he said, still not smiling.

  Sabrina paused, looking between him and the door to the club. "Really? We can go in?"

  The bouncer looked confused, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Isla. She shrugged and high-fived him. "Thanks," Isla said, and put an arm around Sabrina to drag her inside.

  "I thought we were getting kicked out," Isla said with a laugh.

  "I thought we were going to jail," Sabrina said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

  Isla paused, furrowing her brow. "You're so weird," she said, and then they stepped into the club.

  It was dark, but colored lights set up around the room illuminated the bar and dance floor. Sections of couches lined two of the walls. Upstairs, people stood at the railing, watching the dancing below.

  "Do you think Domino got us in?" Isla said into Sabrina's ear.

  Sabrina shrugged, looking around for any sign of Domino. She wasn't on the couches, and she didn
't appear to be at the bar.

  They walked up to the bar and Isla ordered a vodka cranberry. Sabrina panicked about making the bartender wait on her order when it was so busy, and quickly ordered a rum and coke. She didn't even like rum.

  Isla gave her a strange look. "You are really off your game tonight," she said.

  As the bartender set down the drinks, Sabrina handed him her card, but he waved her hand away. "The woman at the end of the bar already paid for them," he said, pointing.

  Sabrina leaned forward, straining her neck.

  "Is Domino down there? Do I have a fairy godmother or what?" She yelled over her shoulder to Isla.

  Isla cleared her throat, tugging the back of Sabrina's dress.

  Sabrina turned to find that Domino was standing directly behind her with a small smirk on her face. "Fairy godmother, at your service," she said.

  They were all standing very close to try to hear one another over the music.

  "Wow, cool, hey, uh, thanks," Sabrina said, trying to sound cool and casual.

  Domino looked sideways at Isla. "Hey, I'm Domino," she said, holding out her hand.

  How was she so effortless? Even at introducing herself, she looked completely relaxed.

  Isla shook Domino's hand, introducing herself. "Thanks for getting us in here. That line was horrible," she said.

  "It's the least I could do. You know, to avoid getting sued and all that," Domino said with a mischievous smile.

  Sabrina took a large swig of her drink and cringed at the taste, coughing as she swallowed.

  Isla quickly replaced the drink in Sabrina's hands with the vodka cranberry she had ordered.

  Domino watched the exchange with a curious glint in her eye but didn't comment on it.

  "Where's your pretty friend?" Sabrina asked, attempting to look as casual as possible as she chased the straw around her glass with her mouth.

  Isla elbowed her.

  "Oh, she's upstairs, I think," Domino said, glancing up.

  An awkward silence stretched between them.

  "Well, thanks again for the drinks and for getting us in," Sabrina said, trying to make it seem as though Domino didn't have to hang out with them if she didn't want to.