Flicker

IX

The rest of the week was rather uneventful. I trained a lot, to the point where I could summon and maintain small balls of fire at will. I also learned that I had to consciously think about wanting to be fireproof when handling fires I did not create. That took some getting used to. Thankfully Opal had some awesome healing cream that, when combined with her powers, healed my burns in a jiffy.

Whatever sort of moment I had with Diamond the other night was completely forgotten, and honestly, I think we both preferred it that way. I didn't care to recall my moment of weakness and he didn't care to remember that he was somewhat caring towards me, because he totally went back to being a butt.

I focused all my time and energy on mastering power management. I threw myself into practicing both controlling my powers and some other stuff people offered to teach me. I'd been taking boxing lessons from Gar, who said that for my size I could really swing. Izzy was teaching me how to sew, and Jasper was coaching me in Mortal Kombat. It was all going pretty well, until one day. I got into one of my moods again, where I didn't want to do anything but sulk about my split with Greyson. Amy, who I didn't really know very well, found me in my funk, and prescribed, "You need a girls' night out."

I reluctantly agreed, and I got dragged into a whirlwind of clothes, makeup and shoes. After Sophie, Izzy, Amy and myself got all dolled up (Opal politely declined, Pearl was out of town and no one bother to ask Debs), we strutted downstairs so Amy could slip into Diamond's office to grab car keys.

As we headed through the lobby, a wolf whistle floated in our direction, and the attention of all the guys in the room was on us. Sophie gave a small wave, while Amy flipped her hair and blew a kiss to them. I stifled a giggle. Jasper's eyes were glued to Amy, while Gar and the guy I assumed to be Reuben scanned across all of us. I caught Diamond giving me a once-over, and a slight frown of disapproval appeared at his lips, but he said nothing as Amy lead the gal parade out the door and into a bright red Porsche.

I hadn't ever been in a club before, but the Liquid Nightclub seemed to be booming. Amy handed a wad of cash and the keys to a valet, then waltzed right up to the bouncer, the other three of us in tow. Amy cleared her throat and looked at Izzy expectantly. Izzy rolled her eyes.

"Esmerelda Deshanique Ramontre Bell." Her voice contained no enthusiasm whatsoever, as though she got tired of announcing her own name. The bouncer flipped through the papers on his clipboard and then looked at us skeptically. Izzy huffed and lowered her sunglasses, so that her eyes met the bouncer's. The bouncer quickly stepped to the side and let her in. "My apologies, Miss Bell. For some reason your name wasn't printed on the list. Have a wonderful evening."

We strode inside. I didn't know much about bouncers, but I was pretty sure that if your name wasn't on the list then you weren't allowed to enter. "Why did they make an exception for us?"

"Don't you know?" Amy asked with a light laugh. It was airy but fake, like someone who had spent a lot of time listening to and adjusting it until it was perfected. "Izzy's parents and super rich and famous. Cedric and Latosha Bell?"

"Really?" I asked. "I don't think I've heard of them."

"We're in the jewelry business," Izzy explained. "It was a recent development that we became rich and famous, as of about ten years ago."

I didn't get a chance to ask what happened ten years ago, because right then, the DJ announced that it was happy hour and that all drinks were discounted. People swarmed the bars to get something, and Amy sank her claws into my wrist and dragged me towards the bar.

"Amy, aren't you forgetting something?" I asked as she plowed her way through herds of people. "We aren't twenty-one!"

"Shhh!" Amy hushed me. "What do you think fake IDs are for?"