The Singles Game
Page 71
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Charlie’s and Natalya’s eyes met and Natalya’s entire expression filled with a rage so pure, Charlie was certain the girl would kill her. ‘Get the fuck out of here,’ she snarled, her accent all but disappearing. ‘And if you tell anyone, I will make sure you regret it.’
The last part got cut off when Charlie yanked the door closed. She stumbled back into the living room, where a group had begun playing a drinking game that involved poker chips and cereal bowls, and walked into the bedroom to find another bathroom. There she found Marco, Rinaldo, and a model huddled together. Not them too, Charlie thought, but she soon saw they were watching a funny video on the model’s phone.
‘Charlie! Come here, baby,’ Marco said, holding out his arm to her. Once again she felt instant pride and then hated herself for it.
The model took a long drag off the electronic cigarette she was holding in between her perfectly manicured fingers and held it out to Marco. None of the players would have ever, under any circumstances, smoked a regular Marlboro, but clearly there was a contingent of them that thought the vaporizers had no harmful side effects. She had assumed everyone took extra-good care of themselves the night before a match, but that was before she walked in on the number-one-ranked woman on earth doing lines off a hotel sink.
Marco took a long drag and the electronic end glowed brightly, as though it were actually burning. The languorous stream of vapor that Marco exhaled looked exactly like smoke but had no smell at all.
Someone stuck his head in the room and called the model away. With a squeeze of Marco’s forearm, she made no effort to disguise her look of disappointment before she scampered off.
‘She seems nice,’ Charlie said, because she wasn’t able to stop herself.
‘Who?’ Marco asked, pulling her close. He kissed her hard on the mouth. ‘Here, take a drag. It’ll relax you.’
‘I’m feeling great already,’ Charlie said, nibbling his bottom lip. She felt his hand slip under the back of her shirt and begin to rub her shoulders. Before she knew what was happening, he was grinding himself into her as he kissed her neck.
‘Get a room!’ someone called from the living room.
They broke apart and looked at each other, laughing. Marco said, ‘Maybe we should go back to my room.’
He held out his hand and helped her off the bed. Charlie followed him into the living room. Everywhere she looked, people were drinking, smoking, and making out. A group of appreciative guys watched as Natalya danced with abandon to Beyoncé, but Benjy wasn’t one of them. Charlie glanced around the room and realized he was gone.
‘Here,’ Marco said, handing her the vaporizer. ‘Take this.’
‘I don’t want it,’ Charlie said.
‘Just hold on to it for me. I’ll be right back.’
She watched as Marco walked into the kitchenette area. All around her, people were laughing and chatting, and she suddenly felt awkward standing there alone. For no other reason than needing to look busy, she put the vaporizer to her lips and took a long, deep drag. It burned the back of her throat, but she was grateful to have something to do with her hands. It’s just water vapor, she thought as she slowly exhaled.
Almost immediately she felt all her muscles relax. Her shoulders lowered and her neck loosened and her mind quieted. She did it again. And then once more.
It could have been five seconds or five minutes – Charlie had instantly lost track of time – but she knew that whatever had been in that cigarette had affected her mind. Everything around her had softened and grown quieter. A group of guys were laughing raucously, but their voices barely registered with her. Nearby, Charlie could see Marco calling to her from across the room, but she was more interested in the movements his mouth made than in the words he was speaking. A flash went off, and then another, but it felt like it was happening in slow motion.
‘Hey, not cool,’ someone said in the general direction of the camera.
Natalya shrugged. Her cheeks were the color of sherbet, and a sheen of perspiration along her collarbone only made her more gorgeous. She was holding aloft a phone with a supersized screen. ‘Whatever,’ she said, waving her hand.
Charlie hadn’t seen him approach or heard a word he had said, but suddenly she was aware Marco’s hands were around her waist. She turned around and saw him grinning.
‘You okay, love?’ he asked, crinkling his eyes with a mixture of amusement and concern.
‘I feel a little weird,’ Charlie managed, not quite sure if she was calibrating her own voice to an appropriate volume.
‘You feel a little high is all.’ Marco drained half a water bottle and handed the remainder to Charlie. ‘I didn’t think you’d actually smoke it.’
Charlie meant to take a small sip from the bottle, but the water tasted so delicious that she couldn’t stop herself from finishing it. The instant it was gone, she was thirsty again.
‘Smoke what?’ she asked, trying to shake the last little droplets into her mouth.
‘That was THC oil in there.’
‘What?’
‘It was weed. We were vaping it. I only ever take one drag, just to take the edges off – is that how you say it?’
‘I just smoked weed? The night before a match?’
‘One drag is only like a glass of champagne. It will not affect your play.’
‘I smoked more than that!’ Charlie could hear her own hysteria.
Marco’s brow furrowed and he pulled her in close. ‘Shh. I’ll take you back to your room; you’re going to be fine.’
‘I’m not going to be fine!’ Charlie whispered in a voice that must have been loud, because the group sitting nearest them turned to look. ‘I’m all fucked-up, Marco! I need this to stop. I need it to stop right now!’ Where there had been waves of relaxation moments before, there was now only panic. In her twenty-five years, she had never, ever smoked pot. It seemed almost inconceivable, this lapse in ordinary teenage experimentation, but it was true.
‘Charlie, try to relax. There’s nothing to worry about.’ Marco had her tightly by the wrist and was leading her to the door. When he pulled her into the hallway, she was shocked at how bright everything looked, and how normal. There was a young father carrying a sleeping child back to their room while the mother followed behind pushing an empty stroller; a waiter balancing a tray with what looked like the most delectable ice cream sundae in all the world; a couple dressed to go out, waiting for the elevator.
The last part got cut off when Charlie yanked the door closed. She stumbled back into the living room, where a group had begun playing a drinking game that involved poker chips and cereal bowls, and walked into the bedroom to find another bathroom. There she found Marco, Rinaldo, and a model huddled together. Not them too, Charlie thought, but she soon saw they were watching a funny video on the model’s phone.
‘Charlie! Come here, baby,’ Marco said, holding out his arm to her. Once again she felt instant pride and then hated herself for it.
The model took a long drag off the electronic cigarette she was holding in between her perfectly manicured fingers and held it out to Marco. None of the players would have ever, under any circumstances, smoked a regular Marlboro, but clearly there was a contingent of them that thought the vaporizers had no harmful side effects. She had assumed everyone took extra-good care of themselves the night before a match, but that was before she walked in on the number-one-ranked woman on earth doing lines off a hotel sink.
Marco took a long drag and the electronic end glowed brightly, as though it were actually burning. The languorous stream of vapor that Marco exhaled looked exactly like smoke but had no smell at all.
Someone stuck his head in the room and called the model away. With a squeeze of Marco’s forearm, she made no effort to disguise her look of disappointment before she scampered off.
‘She seems nice,’ Charlie said, because she wasn’t able to stop herself.
‘Who?’ Marco asked, pulling her close. He kissed her hard on the mouth. ‘Here, take a drag. It’ll relax you.’
‘I’m feeling great already,’ Charlie said, nibbling his bottom lip. She felt his hand slip under the back of her shirt and begin to rub her shoulders. Before she knew what was happening, he was grinding himself into her as he kissed her neck.
‘Get a room!’ someone called from the living room.
They broke apart and looked at each other, laughing. Marco said, ‘Maybe we should go back to my room.’
He held out his hand and helped her off the bed. Charlie followed him into the living room. Everywhere she looked, people were drinking, smoking, and making out. A group of appreciative guys watched as Natalya danced with abandon to Beyoncé, but Benjy wasn’t one of them. Charlie glanced around the room and realized he was gone.
‘Here,’ Marco said, handing her the vaporizer. ‘Take this.’
‘I don’t want it,’ Charlie said.
‘Just hold on to it for me. I’ll be right back.’
She watched as Marco walked into the kitchenette area. All around her, people were laughing and chatting, and she suddenly felt awkward standing there alone. For no other reason than needing to look busy, she put the vaporizer to her lips and took a long, deep drag. It burned the back of her throat, but she was grateful to have something to do with her hands. It’s just water vapor, she thought as she slowly exhaled.
Almost immediately she felt all her muscles relax. Her shoulders lowered and her neck loosened and her mind quieted. She did it again. And then once more.
It could have been five seconds or five minutes – Charlie had instantly lost track of time – but she knew that whatever had been in that cigarette had affected her mind. Everything around her had softened and grown quieter. A group of guys were laughing raucously, but their voices barely registered with her. Nearby, Charlie could see Marco calling to her from across the room, but she was more interested in the movements his mouth made than in the words he was speaking. A flash went off, and then another, but it felt like it was happening in slow motion.
‘Hey, not cool,’ someone said in the general direction of the camera.
Natalya shrugged. Her cheeks were the color of sherbet, and a sheen of perspiration along her collarbone only made her more gorgeous. She was holding aloft a phone with a supersized screen. ‘Whatever,’ she said, waving her hand.
Charlie hadn’t seen him approach or heard a word he had said, but suddenly she was aware Marco’s hands were around her waist. She turned around and saw him grinning.
‘You okay, love?’ he asked, crinkling his eyes with a mixture of amusement and concern.
‘I feel a little weird,’ Charlie managed, not quite sure if she was calibrating her own voice to an appropriate volume.
‘You feel a little high is all.’ Marco drained half a water bottle and handed the remainder to Charlie. ‘I didn’t think you’d actually smoke it.’
Charlie meant to take a small sip from the bottle, but the water tasted so delicious that she couldn’t stop herself from finishing it. The instant it was gone, she was thirsty again.
‘Smoke what?’ she asked, trying to shake the last little droplets into her mouth.
‘That was THC oil in there.’
‘What?’
‘It was weed. We were vaping it. I only ever take one drag, just to take the edges off – is that how you say it?’
‘I just smoked weed? The night before a match?’
‘One drag is only like a glass of champagne. It will not affect your play.’
‘I smoked more than that!’ Charlie could hear her own hysteria.
Marco’s brow furrowed and he pulled her in close. ‘Shh. I’ll take you back to your room; you’re going to be fine.’
‘I’m not going to be fine!’ Charlie whispered in a voice that must have been loud, because the group sitting nearest them turned to look. ‘I’m all fucked-up, Marco! I need this to stop. I need it to stop right now!’ Where there had been waves of relaxation moments before, there was now only panic. In her twenty-five years, she had never, ever smoked pot. It seemed almost inconceivable, this lapse in ordinary teenage experimentation, but it was true.
‘Charlie, try to relax. There’s nothing to worry about.’ Marco had her tightly by the wrist and was leading her to the door. When he pulled her into the hallway, she was shocked at how bright everything looked, and how normal. There was a young father carrying a sleeping child back to their room while the mother followed behind pushing an empty stroller; a waiter balancing a tray with what looked like the most delectable ice cream sundae in all the world; a couple dressed to go out, waiting for the elevator.
