Fire Meet Gasoline

chapter one | cocktails & heartbreak.

K I M B R A.

I didn't always hate parties.

In fact, I once was known as the life of the party. I was the girl who was always downing shots – despite being a lightweight -- dancing on tables and often could be found worshiping the porcelain throne by the end of the night. But, none of that seemed to matter because I always had Andre by my side. He was the one who took away the bottle of jack after I insisted on just making one more drink. He was the one who would pull me down from the many flimsy kitchen tables and he was the one who held my hair when all the liquor decided to make its way back up my throat. But, he's also the one who broke up with me.

And now, I hated parties.

Like now, for example. It's not just any kind of party. It's a fancy one. Hosting guests that range from the hottest pop stars to the biggest CEO's of local music companies. I felt like a weed in a garden of roses. To make matters worse, I seemed to go unnoticed in a crowd of talent and when I was noticed, it felt like most were passing judgment since I was looking around awkwardly with a glass of champagne in my hand. I looked down into my glass, trying to find some sort of distraction since I had left my phone in the coatroom but the bubbly alcohol barely did a thing. Instead, it only made me look like more of a loser.

Really, I should be ecstatic to be standing here surrounded by so much talent. I guess I was just nervous.

"You won't believe who I just saw!"

Thank God, I thought as I looked up to see my best friend Marie, standing in front of me. She was the one who invited me and she was supposed to be my date for the night but since this was her dad's party, he was always whisking her off and introducing her to someone new. Marie's dad was the founder of Gemini Records and often threw parties like this to get Marie interested in the music business, but for some reason, it only made her want to go the opposite route.

"Where have you been?" I asked with wide eyes.

Her eyes mimicked mine and she gasped. "I'm so sorry, Kimbra, but you know how my dad is. Anyway – guess who I just saw?"

Beyonce? I think in my head but I know that's not the case. Despite the many invites, she rarely ever showed up. "Who?" I asked.

She squealed, splashes of her champagne spilling out of her glass. "Bruno fucking Mars!"

A look of surprise painted my face. "No way. Where? When? How?"

She didn't bother hiding her excitement or her squealing – garnering looks from various party guests – and a wide smile crawled onto her face. "Just now. He was going into the bathroom when I was coming out and he said, 'hello' to me and everything. Do you think this is love?"

I shook my head, laughing, mostly to myself. "Marie, doesn't he have a girlfriend?"

Her smile faltered. "Shit. That's right. Damn it. Can't God give me one hot, super famous boyfriend for attending these stupid parties?"

I chuckled, stopping myself once I noticed a group of women heading our way. I stifled an eye roll as I looked at Marie and nodded their way. Isabella Granton and Jessica Thornton. Neither were talented in the least but I'm betting auto-tune would beg to differ. Marie and I had met them a few times before and they were hardly nice. But, we always were polite. We didn't want to tarnish her dad's reputation or anything.

"Kimbra, I didn't think I'd see you here," Isabella said with a sly smirk on her face.

I forced a smile. "Well, I had some time off so I decided that I might as well attend. I was invited after all."

Jessica and Isabella exchanged looks before focusing back on me.

"Oh? And where's Andre?" Jessica asked.

Something the size of a baseball crept up my throat. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about Andre. It had only been a month or so since we officially called it quits and I wasn't interested in dishing out details about it. My heart seemed to beat faster as I tried coming up with an answer that would satisfy them.

"Oh," I began. "We're on a break right now. You know, since he moved to Los Angeles to promote his album. We just thought it was for the best."

Isabella and Jessica nodded, smiling. Thank God, I thought, turning to Marie but Jessica's words stopped me.

"I'm guessing you haven't been paying attention to the latest headlines?" Jessica asked with a devious smirk.

"Huh?' I said with a blank stare. A million questions ran through my head and Jessica must have known because as I was about to continue, her pink iPhone was in my face showcasing an interview with Ellen DeGeneres and Andre about his latest single. I hadn't listened to it because I was trying to avoid all forms of my ex-boyfriend but something told me I should have so I could have been prepared for a moment like this.

Jessica played the video and there was Andre, confirming his latest single was about his newest lover: Caylor Fitz. Caylor was the latest 'girl-next-door-esque' singer. She was a blonde, blue-eyed songstress whose vocals left something to be desired but her albums had always gone platinum. Andre began playing his single "Hidden Places" and I instantly recognized it. I recognized it because I had written it.

Andre announced that he and Caylor had been an item for three months now to add even more insult to the injury. It didn't take a rocket scientist to do the math. If we had been only broken up for a month and they had been together for three months, that meant ...

"Jessica, I'm sorry to hear your last album only sold under a hundred thousand units. The label can't be happy," Marie said. I silently thanked her with my eyes as Jessica scoffed.

Marie and Jessica began a quiet argument but my head was still with Andre. How could he do this to me?

I cleared my throat, tears burning the back of my eyes. "Excuse me, I have to go to the ladies' room."

I could hear Marie calling after me but I didn't bother looking back. I needed to get away from ... all this as soon as possible. I bumped into a few guests on my way out. Knocking a drink out of the hands of a man with a velvet suit. I muttered an apology as I rushed out the front door of the penthouse and into the elevator.

It wasn't until I got to the bottom floor that I let the tears fall.