When another bossy text came through on my phone, I grabbed my leather jacket and bag and headed downstairs.
One look at the girls waiting for me was all it took to make my anger spike. Unlike me, they were dressed completely casually.
Feyza had on black leather leggings, a black T-shirt, a burgundy leather jacket, and burgundy suede heels; Aylin wore dark blue skinny jeans, a white T-shirt with a black print, a matte dark green leather jacket, and black converse.
I turned to Feyza in annoyance, pointing at Aylin.
"Why does she look like she's going to a derby match while I look like 'I'm out hunting for a wild one-night stand with the first guy I see?'"
She grinned at me with a wicked expression. "Being an avenging angel requires sacrifices, baby."
"Forget Freud! You're definitely related to Hitler."
I gave us all another once-over. She had to be joking!
"Why do we look like a rock band whose debut album just blew up, all 'we wear leather because we're so hardcore, dude'?"
My friend's giggle made it clear she was thoroughly enjoying this.
"I was waiting for you to say that. Come on, admit it—you like it too."
I narrowed my eyes and spoke in a threatening tone. "Just so you know, I'm seriously considering writing your dad a very long email about why he should cancel that unlimited credit card."
Aylin, who had been enjoying our bickering, waved her hands between us. "Come on, you can continue this fight in the car. We're running late."
Dragging my feet, I followed them. When I saw a very familiar car and Feyza getting behind the wheel, I turned to her in surprise. "Didn't you get your license suspended for drunk driving?"
"It'll be fine. If anything happens, Aylin has a license."
Aylin asked the other important question."Okay, but whose car is this?"
"I borrowed it from Atlas."
Once we hit the road, the car filled with ear-shattering music, and Aylin and I covered our ears at the same time. Whose brilliant, psychopathic idea was it to record a guy being strangled and call it a song? Laughing at our reaction, Feyza turned the volume down.
Making small talk along the way hadn't really helped ease my nerves, and getting out of the car to see the mini-palace clearly built to compete with the Queen of England's place only made things worse.
When we reached the door, it opened before we even had a chance to ring the bell. At that exact moment, Rüzgar glanced at the girls, then fixed those icy eyes of his on me.
I barely managed to suppress the urge to step back.
A moment later, Kerem appeared behind him. He looked at Rüzgar first, then at me. It was strange.
"Come in. Nil's been waiting for you," Kerem said.
As we stepped inside, Rüzgar was already throwing his jacket over his shoulders and hurrying out. Kerem followed right after him. There seemed to be some tension between the two. I wanted to know what it was about, but the girls dragged me further inside.
Loud music, a crowd dancing in the middle of the living room, couples in dark corners exploring human anatomy in ways that were far from scientific—basically, everything you'd expect from a party was there.
Nil was waving at us as she came down the stairs. She walked over to us with a bright smile. "Welcome," she said, hugging each of us one by one.
Her warmth felt completely genuine—there was no room for doubt. "Come on, let me introduce you to my people."
As we followed her outside, the first thing that caught my eye was the huge, shimmering pool. The second was the seating area across the pool, where wood and concrete blended together elegantly.
The hosts clearly had good taste. No question about it.
When we reached the large table surrounded by comfy lounge chairs, Nil took charge of the introductions. "Girls, this is my boyfriend, Bora. That's Demir, and his girlfriend, Ece. Guys, say hi to Feyza, Aylin, and Duru."
Bora, with his light brown, slightly long curly hair and warm brown eyes, looked like a fun, sweet guy.
Demir, on the other hand, with his military-cut short brown hair, brown eyes, masculine features, and imposing build, looked cool and intimidating.
While both guys greeted us politely, the girl named Ece didn't seem too pleased with our presence. At least, her forced smile said as much. With her overly flashy, attention-grabbing style, she wasn't exactly someone I warmed up to either.
As the three of us took our seats, Nil sat between me and Bora and leaned toward my ear. "Don't worry, she's not that bad. Just extremely jealous."
She had probably noticed me eyeing Ece a moment earlier. I smiled and leaned toward her ear in return. "I'm guessing the real danger hiding under all that sweetness is actually you."
Her genuine laugh drew Bora's attention away from the girls. When he draped an arm over Nil's shoulder and said cheerfully, "So you're the famous Duru," I wasn't sure what he meant. When he added with a grin, "The elevator cat, I mean," I rolled my eyes dramatically and grumbled.
"Another nickname! Why am I not surprised! What is that guy's problem with my name anyway?"