It was just for one night, Becky told herself. Whether that was to reassure herself she’d never do something like this again, or a bittersweet commemoration of the momentary joy she was about to feel, she wasn’t quite sure.
Either way, Becky let Jasper grab her hand and pull her towards the lobby doors with the rest of the group.
Warm air wafted over them, scented with the salt of the ocean and the nutty tang of car exhaust. The sky curved above in a dark blue bowl, speckled with stars where the swollen orange of the setting sun hadn’t quite touched yet. Billboards flashed and streetlamps glowed, adorning the city like jewels tossed by a careless hand. It was impossible not to feel the thrum of life that flowed throughout the streets—the vibrant promise of something beyond the edges of Becky’s understanding.
“Where to first?” Connie called. Her brown hair flapped about her face.
“Campbell Street!” Tucker replied with a grin. “Let’s see how much of our allowances we can blow in one night.”
Wendy rolled her eyes. “You can’t spend it all on the first go. Learn at least a little bit of restraint, Ty.”
The boy snickered as he bumped into his friend’s shoulder. “Aw, where’s the fun in that?”
A small smile tugged at Becky’s lips as Connie turned to climb into the waiting limo. At Becky and Jasper’s, he waved for her to enter before him, and she nodded at him in thanks.
A soft glow enveloped the space, slowly shifting color as it bathed across everybody’s faces. The seats enveloped in the softest leather Becky had ever felt. She scooted back to ease against the back of the bench. She almost forgot to affix her seat belt, only reminded when everybody else clicked theirs into place.
“Campbell Street,” Connie reported to the driver, who nodded before rolling up the window between the front and back seats.
A pop song drummed to life from the unseen speakers, providing an edgy and upbeat soundtrack as the limo pulled out onto the street. Becky’s nerves tingled again. She was really about to do this…about to spend a night with people she hadn’t even met but a few months ago. To go to shops she’d only ever heard about on TV and in magazines. And to be in the presence of more wealth than she’d ever thought she’d accumulate throughout her entire life.
But the tremulous threads of fear were no match for the thrills racing up and down Becky’s spine. The smile slowly livened on her face.
Maybe, against all odds, something good would come out of all this. Maybe this adventure would turn out to be exactly what she’d needed after all.
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