My Saving Grace

Chapter 12

Saturday night couldn't come soon enough; the past two days, I'd been counting down the hours until Drake's concert. Nick and I had been fans of his since high school, and his hit album, "More Life," was one of my all-time favorites.

Glancing at the clock, I decided to start getting dressed since Nick would be coming to pick me up in an hour. The majority of my wardrobe now contained business casual apparel for work, but in my drawers, I kept tops and bottoms suitable for more fun nights out. Like tonight.

After minutes of digging through my clothes, I selected a padded, black lace crop cami top and ripped, high-waisted jean shorts. With an extra bounce to my step, I headed into the bathroom to change.

For once in a long time, the woman staring back at me in the mirror looked nothing like Sophia the process engineer who handled chemicals better than she handled her men. Instead, she looked like Sophia the wild party animal who was ready to have an unforgettable night and pick up any guy she wanted.

Only the guy I wanted was Antonio Rossi, who hadn't texted or called since we exchanged numbers on Wednesday.

I'd debated texting him myself but then decided against it. If he was interested, he'd make a move first, and besides, I didn't want to appear desperate.

Taking out my makeup bag, I applied some shimmery gold eyeshadow and black top liner, followed by a coat of mascara which made my brown eyes pop. For the finishing touch, I put on some silvery pink lipstick then went to put on a pair of diamond studs.

The doorbell rang at six, and grabbing my clutch, I headed out of my bedroom to go greet Nick.

"Damn, sis, is this a throwback to college or what?", he remarked, a teasing glint in his eyes as he glanced at my outfit.

"Am I revealing too much?"

He laughed wholeheartedly.

"Nah, you're good, Soph. I was just messing with you." He playfully ruffled my hair.

"That's what brothers are for." I smiled up at him.

Nick wore a black tshirt with black designer jeans, and his dark hair was styled to look like he'd just gotten out of bed. It was his signature look that had gotten all of the girls back when he was in college. As he'd grown older, his resemblance to Dad became more striking, while people said I looked like a mix of both our parents.

"You want anything to eat quick before we go?", I asked Nick.

"Just a bottle of water is fine."

I grabbed him a water from the fridge and then we headed out to his shiny black Porsche. He'd also inherited Dad's taste for nice wheels.

The entire car ride, we put "More Life" on full blast, and I laughed at Nick's attempts to rap along with Drake. An hour later, we arrived at Staples Center, and finding a parking space proved to be absolutely chaotic; There were just too many people.

Just like I'd expected, the teenage girls were practically drooling over Nick as we made our way down to the floor level of the arena after going through security check.

Nick kept on walking, with me close behind him, until we reached the third row from the stage. Already, there was a huge crowd of people on their feet around us.

"You got us spots this close up?", I asked excitedly.

"The birthday girl only deserves the best," he replied with a grin.

"You're the greatest, Nick. You know that?"

"Of course I do." He smirked, and I pulled him into a side hug.