Mel fidgeted with her necklace. She didn’t like the way Vicki was looking at her.
“How did you and Vanessa meet?”
“At The Lounge. I work there.”
“Oh? You didn’t meet at Lilith’s Den?”
“No,” Mel said.
“Has she taken you to Lilith’s before?” Vicki leaned lazily against the wall.
“We’ve been there,” Mel said, not mentioning that they had gone there when it was closed.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her there. I guess that’s because of you.”
As quickly as it had come about, the sliver of jealousy that Mel had felt began to fade.
But Vicki didn’t stop there. “I wasn’t kidding about her being the scene queen. There was a time when Vanessa went to Lilith’s every single weekend. I wasn’t the only one who trawled Lilith’s looking for subs.” Vicki brushed some invisible dust off her pristine jacket. “But I’ve said too much already.”
Mel frowned. She knew when she was being baited. “What did Vanessa say to you just now?”
Vicki shrugged. “Just that you were off limits and to behave myself. For some reason, Vanessa seems to think that I can’t control myself around pretty little submissive things like you.” Vicki gave Mel a penetrating look that rivaled Vanessa’s.
Mel crossed her arms and stared back at Vicki, her eyes narrowed.
“Relax. It’s clear that you’ve only got eyes for Vanessa,” Vicki said.
Mel looked across the garden to where Vanessa stood. She had hung up her phone and was walking toward them.
“That’s my cue to leave.” Vicki turned to the mirror on the fence and smoothed down her hair. “There’s a girl over there who has been checking me out all night. The man whose arm she was hanging off has finally left her alone. I’m going to go see if she needs rescuing.” Vicki turned back to Mel and flashed her a charming smile. “I’ll see you around, Melanie.”
“Bye.”
Vanessa reached Mel as Vicki was leaving. She glared at Vicki’s back as she walked away. “That woman…”
“Is everything okay?” Mel asked.
“Yes. It was a small catering mishap. What did Vicki say to you?”
“Nothing much. She just asked how we met and talked a bit about Lilith’s.”
Wrinkles formed on Vanessa’s forehead. Was she worried that Vicki had revealed something about Vanessa that she didn’t want Mel to know?
“Vicki said that you stopped going to Lilith’s?” Mel wasn’t exactly sure what she was asking.
“Yes, I suppose it has been a while. I haven’t gone there since I met you. I haven’t needed to. Come on. There are some people I’d like you to meet.”
Vanessa’s affectionate smile made Mel forget all about Vicki’s comments. She took Vanessa’s arm again. They ate, drank and mingled a little more. Vanessa introduced Mel to more of her friends. Mercifully she seemed on better terms with them than Vicki. Eventually, the winners of the silent auction were announced. Vanessa won the island getaway, which wasn’t surprising considering how much she bid on it.
The rest of the night passed by uneventfully. After what seemed like hours, the party began to die down. Vanessa and Mel sat down on the chairs at the edge of the room, watching the hall slowly empty.
“That was quite the night, wasn’t it?” Vanessa said.
“Yes, it was wonderful.” Me
l slumped back in her chair. Her feet ached, and she was ready to fall asleep right there.
“Melanie?”