Just My Luck

Chapter 2

"This is your car?" My eyes were wide, my mouth agape. My hands stroked the jet-black Bentley's hood appreciatively.

He smirked. "Here in the Syndicate, we drive in style or we don't drive."

I sucked in a breath. "Does that mean I get a car of my choice?"

He threw his head back, releasing a hearty guffaw. "Just get in."

Frowning, I did as he said.

My senses were gloriously assaulted with the smell of leather. The interior was also completely black. Black was one of my favorite colors, so maybe I'll fit in after all.

He followed suit before resting his hands securely on the steering wheel. After a moment, we were on the road.

It was silent for a while, neither of us really knowing what to say.

Isaac reached for the volume button on the radio, turning it up loud enough to be background noise. He then proceeded to reach into his pocket and pull out a cigarette.

I scrunched my nose up in disgust as he lit it.

He raised it to his lips, breathing in a deep drag.

"You know that'll kill you, right?" I spoke, voice deadpanned.

I hate smoking. I hate the way it smells, and how it lingers in the air. I hate the way it turns things yellow. I hate the way that it's a silent killer.

He released a throaty laugh, the smoke spiraling out of his mouth and into the car.

I coughed, swatting it away, annoyance clear across my features.

"I walk out the door every day with the chance that I might not live to see another day, Adeline. I don't think smoking will kill me any sooner."

I didn't know what to say to that.

"What do you think about this one?" I fidgeted nervously as I opened the changing room door and stepped out to show Isaac my outfit.

Black leather pants and a slightly cropped, black, three-quarter sleeve shirt adorned my relatively small body. I tugged anxiously at the ends of the shirt. The shirt I had borrowed from Grayson, along with the pants from before, lay uselessly in my fitting room.

Isaac grinned. "It looks great. You know that just because you've joined a gang doesn't mean you have to wear all black, though, right?"

I was shocked at how openly he used the word 'gang' in public - anyone could overhear us.

I raised my eyebrows, motioning to his all black attire. "Uh huh. Clearly. It doesn't matter, anyways; black is my favorite color."

His warm smile didn't waver. "The outfit is very flattering for you. Can you move around in it?"

I nodded, doing a few karate chops and kicks to show him how flexible they were.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "You're going to need something fancier, a dress perhaps, for if we have to infiltrate a big event."

"I already have one in here!" I exclaimed, my grin broadening.

Waltzing back into the dressing room, I slid the clothes off before taking a look at the dress on the hanger in front of me. The cherry/maroon color would go fantastically with my skin tone. A niggling thought in the back of my head told me that I had subconsciously picked this color because it reminded me of "crimson", but I chose to ignore it.

With a renewed excitement, I slid the new material over my head, shimmying a bit to get the tight dress over my curves.

Once it rested comfortably, I took a deep breath before stepping out to show Isaac. As the stall door closed behind me, I nervously met his gaze.