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63. Attractions
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2024-10-29 19:42:56They arrived almost in silence. The guys in the back seat were not eager to discuss, so Jo didn’t push them. She enjoyed the peace; she only exchanged insights on what was happening in the streets with Elen once in a while.
They had a deal they would meet in front of the main entrance to the parking lot near the restaurant Jo had invited everyone to. Until the last moment, she had not revealed where she was taking everyone to dinner.
When Eve and Rose saw Jo surrounded by her friends, they weren’t very pleased. It meant they had no way of getting the information they wanted from her.
Peter was so happy to see Jo that he didn’t hide his enthusiasm. He had met her a few times on the plane, but had no chance to go out with her, because she was always busy.
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Elen was indeed delighted. The Sin, one of the most posh places in the city, was more of a concert club focusing on intimate performances, mostly rock and pop. Also some artistic performances and themed events were organized there during the week.She knew that it would be possible to meet at least a dozen people from the front pages of gossip newspapers, especially over the weekend. She didn't like scandalmongers, but she didn't mind taking a close look at famous people.Elen had been in The Sin many times with Jo at some concerts. She never asked her how she managed to get admission tickets to these usually small, tucked-in parties or gigs with an audience of two or three hundred people, and not thousands, like in big concert halls.&ldq
The Bet 65. Perfect stranger
“Hi, sweetheart. Do you have a problem? Should I pound your comrade?”“Hello handsome. No, I am not in trouble this time.” Jo admitted honestly. “Yet…” She added after a moment of hesitation.“What are you doing here?”“Came for a few drinks with my friends.”“Why didn’t you call and tell me that you'll be coming. I missed you.”“Oh, really?”“Really.”“I don’t believe you! You missed messing around with me.”“That’s right, I missed that too. I want to g
The Bet 66. Lesson
Mike and Matthew immediately sobered up. They walked over to Elen, who was standing with an empty glass in her hand and looking in the direction where Julian was sitting on the floor. He was holding an ice bag to his swollen face. There were some traces of blood on his light blue shirt.His photographer was sitting next to him, in a similar condition with a swollen face and a bleeding nose. The remains of his camera lay beside him.“Wow!!! Excellent job!” Mike was excited seeing those two in such poor condition.“Elen, what happened suddenly?” Matthew asked, indeed interested in whatever new drama Julian had brought over.“Those two assholes just came across the thugs they are worthy of. Not surprised though, they deserved it.”
The Bet 67. Confrontation
Jo woke up with a terrible headache. She definitely over-estimated her vigor and stamina to have fun based on her youthful glory the previous day. She gently turned her head. ‘Damn it!’ She cursed in her mind. She was on her big sofa bed in the living room.‘What the fuck? What happened here last night?’ That question was the only one flashing in her mind when she carefully examined Mike, who was sleeping next to her. The lad had blue eyes like a panda, some bruises on his face and a bandaged neck. Not to mention, the dressing was soaked with blood.She wanted to get up from the other side of the sofa bed, but got another shock. Matthew was sleeping on the other side.‘Ow snap! Did I drink so much that I have no memory of them putting me to sleep? I didn't even drink with them, so what&
The Bet 68. Failure
Matthew was left at home alone with his thoughts. After repeatedly watching all the shots from all the security cameras with Nick and Mike last night, he had no idea what line of defence to take. Jo was ruthless and unscrupulous towards her opponent. The moment she knew she was going to be a victim, she was sophisticated to the limit. She perfectly played the drug-stunned victim. As soon as Julian's hand moved to her lower back and his fingers were flexing against her bare back and spine, she had fury in her eyes. When he tried to force her out of the room, she spared no effort to beat him in. Julian was lucky that the security guards showed up almost immediately, because she was ruthless. Only the bodyguards failed to arrive at
The Bet 69. Fight
“What are you singing, guys? It’s fucking depressing.” Mike slowly articulated as he appeared in the kitchen holding the wall.“Those are great lyrics! What do you want from it?” Nick asked him. “What are you doing here, man?”“I’m starving.”Nick grabbed him from under his arm and led him to the kitchen table.“You are on very strong painkillers; you should lay down, man.”“Don’t talk shit like me. I don’t buy it. I am fine, despite all the nausea and dizziness.”“Sure, man.”Mike wanted to sit without any assistance but he fini
The Bet 70. Perturbations
“I said shut up, both of you!” Nick warned them in a firm voice with a menacing face, once looking at one, then at the other. A moment longer, and they would have been ready to leap at each other's throats. If not for their condition, he would place them around the corners, as far as he could from each other.He truly sympathized with Matthew. It was tough even to imagine taking care of this duo for the next few days. He was indeed fed up after a few hours spent with them and he was beginning to understand why they weren't together.A few times he had heard stories about Mike, when Jo talked to his sister, during some parties. He felt that Jo was exaggerating and aggrandizing her ex’s imperfections and disadvantages. Sometimes she had tendencies to do that. He was aw
The Bet 71. Uncertainty
Nick left in an even worse mood than he was in the morning when he realized what kind of shit Jo was in. After what he had witnessed during the day in the clinic, he wondered what psychological shit he was also in. He had to deal with it as quickly as possible in order to be able to help others, as that was a part of his work.After spending the day with Jo and Mike, he was sure that both of them failed to deal with their breakup trauma. He was certain that there were still unresolved issues between them and needed help.They swore they were friends, but at times they acted like they were the worst enemies. Despite the time lapse, they still have some grudges against each other.He had to admit genuinely that he admired both of them. He wouldn't be able to talk to his ex calmly, like they did; he hated her so
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“We already had dinner; Martin took care of our meals today.” Jack informed them.“Good guy! He also brought food for us.” Patrick realized that they had such a good time that he didn't even call and thank them for the catering. “I should call and at least say thank you.”“I already did that. We will have the catering all week.”“Sounds good, but I wish I could make use of the kitchen here too.” Patrick had some plans.“Why don't you spend your holidays far away from the kitchen? There are so many beautiful places to visit around. Besides, I'll take care of Mike.” Jack really wished that they would have a good time.“We cannot burden you with caring for him. We have to get a nurse tomorrow. And you should travel with us.”Jack was glad to hear that he wouldn't have to babysit Mike even though that one didn’t cause him any problems throughout the day. He had a great time with the bunch of big kids, and he wanted to spend some time traveling around too.Besides, his boss had clearly mar
The Bet 132. Boring day
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The Bet 131. Unexpected inconvenience
”Are you worrying about Mike?” Patrick asked, seeing consternation and some kind of sadness on Jo’s face.“No, I am not worried about that asshole. He deserved it.”“Nobody deserves anything like this, badass.”“That’s not what I meant.”Patrick looked at her expecting some more explanations.“He shouldn't have gone out with you the previous day. He knew it perfectly well, so it was one hundred percent his fault. So, in that sense, he deserves it.”“I agree, but still, he is a man. You don’t understand male pride, badass.”“I understand him more than you can imagine. It’s just his fucking character.”“All of us, we have ‘interesting’ personalities, badass. For most of the people around us, we are assholes.”“I am not questioning it, Pat.” She hesitated for a moment. “But this fucking macho is one of his kind...”Patrick was speechless. He couldn’t argue with that. While he had a lot of understanding of the people around him, Mike was still a special case to him. But still he tolerated
The Bet 130. A blow
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The Bet 129. A bitter morning
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The Bet 128. Existential meditation
Mike felt much better after a nutritious lunch. There was no sign of a hangover; the only thing that bothered him, even after strong painkillers, was the ache in his ankle.He was changing the ice packs, and putting on more anti-inflammatory creams, but it didn’t help much. As soon as he was trying to put his foot flat on the floor, he saw ‘all the stars in the sky’ from pain.He didn't know if he would trigger the alarm again by opening the bedroom door, and he didn't feel like testing it.He went out onto the terrace a few times, but it was too hot to stay there.‘Why do I have to sit alone, in a deserted place like that?’ He thought. ‘I didn't have to travel so many kilometers to be accompanied only by empty walls. Did I?’ He wondered looking around the empty room.‘It is no different from my everyday life. Should holidays be like that? Do I deserve it?’ Hundreds of thoughts swirled in his head.Despite his exhaustion, he couldn’t sleep. There was no TV in the room, and watching mo
The Bet 127. Redemption
Mike was lying on his stomach with his head covered with a pillow, asking the heavens for silence. He had never imagined in his life that he would ask for such trivial things. He didn't know for how long he prayed, but he was at the end of his tether. Even if he wanted to leave the house to relocate somewhere in the garden or on the terrace, to not hear the alarm, he was not able to move that far jumping only on his uninjured leg.‘I know it's my fault, but why doesn't Jo have any pity on me? I always thought that she was an angel with a golden heart, but why is she heartless now?’ He made assumptions. ‘She knows I have a goddamn hangover. Plus, I smashed my ankle. Isn't it enough punishment for me to be here, in the middle of nowhere, alone?’Mike thought about so many things looking for a solution and he was really desperate. Finally, some clue appeared in his sore brain. He recalled that when Jo was taking a shower, there was absolutely no noise outside, so there must have been g
The Bet 126. Painful lesson
Mike was really pissed off. He screwed up his vacation, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to accept and bear with it. As soon as he heard that the car drove away, he got up and jumped on one leg to his suitcase, and pulled out clothes which would be less obstructive in his general movements like, a loose T-shirt and short cotton shorts. He hung his ironed clothes on the armchair standing next to the bed. He returned to the bed and unwrapped the bandage. His ankle didn't look the best. The hematoma was visible on the entire surface of his ankle, despite the already quite large swelling. Considering the state of his injury, he was sure that the best solution after all was to stay at home. He lied down, tipping from side to side impatiently for a while, but couldn't fall asleep. Too many thoughts swirled in his aching head. He got up and decided to change the atmosphere of the semi-dark room a bit. ‘Damnit! It's so dark here!' He muttered under his breath and opene
The Bet 125. Apriopriate treatment
As soon as Jo realized what had happened, she lost her good mood. ‘It was predictable! Will this asshole ever grow up?’ She cursed under her breath. She felt guilty about letting him come out of the house in such a bad shape at all. She blew into Mike's bedroom, without even knocking the door beforehand, like a hurricane with a destructive force. She was ready to deal properly with her rebellious, bullish friend and all his faults, who tried to disguise from her the fact that he had sprained his leg. The image she saw right after opening the door made her feel sick, as she predicted. She was truly disgusted. Mike's hair was still wet after the shower, and his face was perfectly shaved. He was dressed in a white polo shirt, perfectly ironed, and baggy khaki cargo pants. He was sitting on the bed with his left leg propped up on the bed. His pants were rolled up as he was bandaging his ankle. On the bed, she also noticed a tube of very strong painkiller ointment. “What a fucking as
