A Season of Firsts

Chapter 26

The bass is pounding through the speakers of the night club, but it doesn't seep inside my body and make me want to move in the way it usually does. I feel as if I'm trapped inside a bubble, watching Hallie and Mabel from afar, like they're dancing with someone else.

My face is made up, my golden hair falls lightly around my face in soft waves, and my trim figure from days of barely eating looks incredible in a skin-tight dress. I look so put-together, but looks can be deceiving.

"Let's go back to the booth," Mabel shouts over the din. "My feet need a break." We've been here for a few hours already, and midnight is fast approaching. She leads us back to the VIP booth that she reserved for us in advance. I assume she had to use her parent's connections to get it, because this is one of the nicest clubs in the city, and it's New Year's Eve – I've never seen so many people crammed into one place before. Not that I'm complaining about the cocktails on tap.

An arm grabs my elbow as I weave through the bodies on the dance floor behind Mabel and Hallie, and I am instantly on edge. I relax slightly when I see who it belongs to, but only slightly. Why is he here? Felix smiles at me timidly, and leans towards my ear so I can hear him when he says, "Hi, fancy seeing you here!" Yeah, fancy that. I bet he bribed someone to find out where I was going tonight. "I wanted to apologise about the other day at work. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

My energy has been drained from the dancing and drinking, and I don't have it in me to hold a grudge tonight, so I reply, "It's okay, don't worry about it."

He visibly exhales, and builds up his courage to ask, "Can I buy you a drink? As a peace offering." He holds his hand out to me, pleading me with his eyes to take it.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Felix – I've got to get back to my friends." I start to back away slowly, hoping he won't notice.

"Just text them and tell them you're at the bar. Please, Addy, I can't live with my favourite colleague hating me." He gives me his best puppy dog eyes, and catches my wrist with his hand to prevent my escape.

"Fine, one drink," I concede to prevent more of his pleading, and brush past him to go to the bar, careful to avoid any physical contact.

I don't bother texting Hallie and Mabel, because I don't plan on being in his company for longer than it takes for me to get my drink and say "thank you, bye". "What are you drinking?" he says as he sidles up next to me, resting his elbows on the chrome black bar top.

"I'll have a sidecar cocktail, please," I say with a saccharine smile, deliberately choosing one of the most expensive cocktails on the menu. If I was politer, I would have ordered something cheap. But, unfortunately for him, he has pissed me off more times than I can count in the past week, so he doesn't get gracious Addy.

"Coming right up," he says, and leans over to place our order with one of the bar tenders. I take a moment to survey the room, searching for faces I might know, but the likelihood of that when you're in a city over an hour away from home is quite slim. Yet Felix is here, I think to myself. "Who did you come here with?" I turn to him, and he looks flustered as he hands me my drink and answers, "Oh, just a few guys I live with."

"Where are they?" I probe, taking a sip from my drink. I've never actually had a sidecar before, but I enjoy the sickly-sweet flavour.

"They're sat at a table somewhere. You can't see them from here, with how crowded it is."

"You better get back to them, or they'll be missing you!" I say, my not-so-subtle attempt at getting him to leave so I can re-join my own friends.

"Nah, I'd rather spend time with you," he says, his voice low. "How's the cocktail?"

"Really nice, thank you," I say, taking another sip. "I need to get back to Hallie and Mabel, though."

"Didn't you text them to say you'd be back soon?" I get the feeling he knows I didn't text them, but he just wants to challenge me.

"Yeah," I lie, with a strained smile, barely containing my annoyance.

"Then there's no issue with you staying for a while longer. Come on, finish your drink so we can go dance."

I want to spend as little time with him as possible, so I take his suggestion and down the rest of my drink in expert fashion, ignoring the burn as it goes down. He looks pleased. "Let's go, then." I say, maybe a little too sharply, hopping down from the bar stool, and he follows quickly after me.

The DJ is currently playing a dance track, and I try to get lost in the music, shaking my hips and moving my arms to the beat. The effects of the cocktail hit me sooner than I expected, but the numbness helps me release all of my inhibitions and move like nobody's watching. Felix is next to me, aiming to mirror my movements, but his joints are stiff and he just ends up looking awkward. I know he admires the way I'm moving, though. The heat in his eyes as they sweep over my body betrays his lust.

I'm feeling really tired now, so when he moves closer to me and puts his hands on my waist, I let myself place my hands on his shoulders and lean against him, letting him take some of my weight. "You look exhausted, let's go and find somewhere to sit down," he gently suggests in my ear. A rest from dancing sounds amazing, so I nod and he keeps a firm grip on me as he leads me out of the crowd. I feel a vibration coming from my bag and I go to fish my phone out of it, but my fingers fumble with the zipper, so Felix helps me with it. "Oh, it's just your mum calling – she must have forgotten about the time difference – I'll text her and say you'll call her back."

I nod and mumble what I hope sounds like a 'thank you', but my words won't come out properly. We're in one of the back hallways of the club now, near to the fire exit, because I can make out a blur of fluorescent green above a doorway. At least I know where to go if there's a fire.

Felix's figure appears in front of me, and he touches the back of his hand to my forehead. "Addy, you're burning up, are you feeling okay?" I want to tell him that I feel dizzy, but all that comes out is a faint gurgle. What is happening? "Come on, come and sit down on this couch," he practically carries me over to a hot pink velvet couch, tucked away in a wide corner of the darkened hallway.

I need to call Mabel or Hallie so that we can go home, but I don't know where my phone is. Did Felix have it? He said my mum called me.

I replay his words in my head, and I'm burning up, but my blood runs cold.