The Game Of Love (#1)

Chapter 1 Hazel Connery

"Yeah, babe...I totally get it," Madison Meare sighed, throwing one long leg over the other as she tried to beat the heat with the old fashion portable air cooler.

 It was a hot day today and even a hotter evening was on the horizon and even though she needed to get dressed and ready for work, she just kept giving herself two more minutes before she was compelled to pull on the body-hugging leather vest and shorts. Those bloody things leave no room for even a small wisp of air to pass in her body. Normally, it wouldn't feel that bad especially with the full-on air conditioning at the club. But it was not a normal day today. It was too hot even for New York City. 

"Ah...how it would be like to lie on the exotic sand of Barbados and enjoy Martinis and huge men in their trunks," She sighed again, lost in her dream world. "Life isn't fair, I tell you that," The person on the other side agreed on wholeheartedly and added her own take of fantasy to the conversation. 

Madison opened her mouth to say something when she heard a familiar groaning noise amongst the whirring of the cooler. "Jade, I will call you back," She murmured and cutting the call, threw the phone on the couch, listening closely.

 "Please...no...please," The groaning turned into full-blown sobs and Madison scooted up from the couch at the speed of lightning, heading straight for her best friend's room. She has dealt with this enough times over the past two years to know what was going on. She threw open the door and scrambled over to the writhing figure on the bed.

 "Hazel! Hazel...open your eyes," She shook the asleep girl on the bed, her face constricted as if she was in utmost pain, her flimsy white T-shirt drenched in sweat and her brunette hair sticking all over her face. Her whole body shook as the nightmare jerked the hell out of her and helplessly, Madison grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand and threw whatever water was left in it on her face. Greyish brown eyes flew open and she stared up at Madison with a horrified expression as if she has never seen her before.

 Madison softly rubbed her best friend's arm, sympathy filling her insides and she dearly wished that life was not so hard and ruthless for her. Shook again by the reoccurring nightmares that she has been dealing with for the past two and half years, Hazel finally managed to sit up straight on the bed with the help of her best friend and flat mate, Madison Meare. Her whole body felt weak and the room stifling like a shoebox as she placed her face in her hands and tried to calm her wits. 

"Again?" Madison asked softly, rubbing her back and she nodded weakly. It was embarrassing to think that Madison has got used to her having these sudden fits and even sleep paralysis sometimes to the point that she knew what to do. 

"Sorry," Hazel muttered, finally gathering herself. "I always end up bothering you," 

"I was in the neighborhood," The tall blonde joked and that brought a wry smile on her face. Hazel rubbed her face harder and sat up straight finally managing to gather herself a bit. Glancing out of the window, she noticed that dusk was unfolding with no sign of respite from the heat. She knew she has to get ready for work but just the way it always happens after the nightmare hits, she felt completely drained out of energy. The thought of working until the early hours in that crowded space and deafening music was already making her wary as hell. 

"Take a leave if you don't feel like working," Madison prompted, and tempting as that sounded, Hazel shook her head. 

"I am still short on money for Mom," She muttered, gathering her work clothes and towel. She has to have a cold shower to knock some sense back in her brain and body before she could prepare to face the night. 

"I will lend you some," Madison offered and Hazel gave her a grateful smile. Of course, she can't take the money. It was not like Madison's life was any easier than hers but still, she was grateful that even in the tough times, she offered the help. 

"Aren't you saving up for your portfolio shoot?" Hazel murmured and Madison shrugged nonchalantly. "I can do that next to next month. No hurry," She answered cheerfully and Hazel knew that was a lie. Madison has been waiting her entire life for this. Ever since she ran away from her orthodox family in Alabama three years ago and came to New York, the city of her dreams, to try her luck in modeling. 

She was young and carefree then, eyes full of wishes and hopes to be the next Kendall Jenner in line. However, it took all but six months here to realize that dreams won't take her anywhere until she has a strong financial foundation to back that up. She was stunning by all means. Long sexy body with even longer legs that made Hazel highly self-conscious of hers sometimes and features that seemed as if she was not from Alabama but some exotic place like Puerto Rico or something. She even has the perfect attitude needed to become a top model but again not the financial back-up that she needed to get really out there. 

And after three years of working her ass off and saving up every single penny she can afford, Madison was finally closer to achieving that. To the very means that could blow her luck out of proportion. A portfolio shoot with the celebrity photographer, Brian Carter. It took six months of waiting and the immense risk of emptying her bank account to finally see her dreams slowly materializing. And despite all the struggle she has gone through, her offering money to Hazel without any second thought really touched her heart.

 "Thank you but I will manage," Hazel kissed the top of her best friend's head before heading into the bathroom. "Just spare me a room to stay when you end up buying that chic apartment on the Upper East Side," She added with a wink, peeking from behind the door and Madison rolled her eyes at her before a foolish grin made its way on her perfect full lips as she flopped down on the bed, getting lost in her wishful dreams. 

In the bathroom, Hazel stared at her gaunt reflection and sighed. She looked exhausted. Because she was exhausted. Working two demanding jobs was taking a toll on her. But she couldn't afford to just stop and rest. She needed to survive in this city where nobody cared about anybody. She also needed to pay the hospital bills for her mother that took almost all the money she earned working her two part-time jobs. She was exhausted from inside but every day when she woke up, Hazel tried her best not to get that to her. She was still hopeful that one day, her life might change. Sighing again, she stripped in quick time and stood under the hot torrents as she tried to mentally prepare herself for a never-ending long night.

Her life was never perfect. Well, not since high school. But she sometimes still can't imagine how worse it got for her in the last three years. And the worse part was that she can't even blame anyone except for herself. If only she didn't...She shook her head. This was definitely not the time to think about that. 

 "I hate DJ nights. I swear," Carl grimaced, cleaning the already shining champagne flutes over and over again with frustration. He was a good friend and her colleague, the head bartender at Champagne, a chic club in Manhattan where Hazel and Madison worked. The former was a bartender and the latter, a cocktail server.

 The money was decent even if the working hours stretched up to the early hours in the morning. But even before the two girls knew, they had already worked two years here. It was here that Hazel ran into Madison and both found a kindred spirit in each other. Hazel knew nothing more than the basics of bartending when she joined Champagne and she got a pass at that time because the club has just started then.

 Over the years, Carl has kindly taught her the tips and tricks needed to maintain her job and with her short-term degree in bartending that she took last year, she can very much call herself a professional now. And she was more or less proud of that. 

"You get to meet some really great guys," Hazel winked and Carl grinned at the comment. He was tall and striking, all buffed up and Hazel knew that if he hadn't been interested in men, they might have hit it off. He was sweet and kind, totally her type but after knowing that Carl was gay she didn't drag her imagination any further from that.

 "Hmm, that's surely a plus," He smiled, finally stopping with his incessant cleaning. "What about you baby girl, when was the last time you got laid? No guy worth your time here?"

 "I have stopped hooking up with men from the club ever since that guy, six months ago," She answered, checking in on the liquor bottles with the quantity mentioned in her list. "I don't want to have another humiliating experience like that in my entire lifetime," 

"I don't see why you are still so worked up about it," Carl shrugged. "I mean you had a wild night and you got money for having an orgasm. What more do you want? Only if life was as easier for me," Hazel shot him a deadly look and he threw up his hands in defeat, quickly scooting to the storeroom for safety. 

Jesus, every time she remembers the incident, her blood boils. No one has ever made her feel so cheap and filthy like that guy and that has evoked a sense of aversion in her to rich men that ruled this place. "Ugh," She stomped her feet in disgust and got back to her work, pushing the imagery of that night back in her mind. She poured herself a little vodka and dug it down in one go as the club geared up for the Saturday night hiatus.

 Rockabye boomed through the speakers and Hazel was amazed at how quickly the place filled up, just half an hour after opening. New Yorkers sure love to party. Plastering a fake smile on her lips, she went through entertaining the customers counting the hours in her mind before the chaos ends. The music was so loud that her ears felt like they would pop and it was giving her an intense headache which she was forced to ignore at the moment. 

"Hazel!" Madison grabbed her arm and dragged her away in the back looking red with excitement. 

"What?" Hazel hissed, eyeing the bar which was piling up fast. "I am busy...can't you see? It's freaking crazy!" 

"He is here," Madison was almost jumping. 

"Maddy...can you be clear?" Hazel demanded, exasperated. "Who is here?" 

"Him...your hotshot lover boy," Madison grinned wildly and Hazel's eyes widened in surprise.

 Oh, dear Lord, this was the last thing she wanted. 

"Where?" She inquired so that she can move as discreetly away from him as possible. 

"Where else. The VIP lounge," She chuckled. "Isn't it cute? So that he can look right at you all the while. And he has brought another hottie with him today. Ah! Hazel...my darling please make this work," 

"Shut up. And please don't act nuts. I don't want him to think that we are interested. We will go out there and do what we are supposed to do. Okay?" She ordered and Madison made a face at her but agreed nevertheless. 

She took a deep breath and walked back out, plastering the same fake smile on her lips. Carl shot her a questioning look and she shook her head lightly before getting back to tend to her customers. She tried to focus as hard as she could but despite the crowd and sheer amount of people present between them, she could still feel his eyes on her. Slowly and cautiously, she peeked up, and sure, there he sat talking to another guy whose back was to her. He looked a little grim, the usual friendly smile missing but his eyes slowly flitted to hers and Hazel quickly looked away, embarrassed. When she dared to looked up again, he stood right in front of her, his grey eyes assessing her curiously. She froze as he smiled at her and deep down she knew.

There was no escaping now...