The Last Flameling of Solnis

Outing

"Welcome to Fever where it's always lit! You listenin' to DJ HeatWave and you see how we do it up in here! Ladies, this one's for you! And if you listenin' to my broadcast at home, shake a lil somethin' in ya living room for the one time!" DJ HeatWave screams as we step into the hottest teen club in Black Hills. He scratches and mixes over the savage remix and the crowd shifts in waves as they vibe. Stylish bodies sync and whine to a pulsing beat as I shuffle through the crowd.

     My bros, Dustin and Tory, tow behind me but quickly get lured into the crowd by swaying hips and the promise of action. When we won tonight's football game, they won a bet with their latest girlfriends Hazel and Celeste. They rush to find them in the crowd and collect on the trade-off of a full night for keeping an undefeated record.

     I choose to shy away from my touchy-feely peers—football fans patting the broad shoulders of the MVP wide receiver who saved the Friday night game, beautiful girls copping a feel for my tight abs. My polite smile says, 'Thanks for cheering me on'. My apologetic eyes ask, 'Save me a dance?'. And my hands are just itching for the crimson leather circle booth in the corner. It's where the music struggles to rattle my eardrums.

     This isn't even how I like to spend my weekends. The introvert in me prefers the intimate. The calm quiet. I'd rather sit around a fire pit mingling in tight, familiar circles or snuggling under cozy blankets counting stars. At this point though, it's tradition to celebrate the varsity victories of Black Hills Academy here so I force a front to remain some kind of normal. But there's only one way I can tolerate the obnoxious crowd.

     I reach and cling to the numbing security of the water bottle beneath my leather jacket. I'll make the most of the night tucked behind the black, half-moon table booth with a wet treat taken from my mom's liquor cabinet. To anyone else it's just the normal bottle of water they sell here at Heat, but the burn of Belvedere that coats my throat says otherwise. I've already downed a fourth of the bottle when Dustin and Tory return back with the girls they probably had to pry off the dance floor.

     "Damn. Save some for us bro!" Dustin yells as they file around the semi-circle seat and DJ HeatWave transitions into Go Crazy.

     "Ay. Don't be hot D," Tory warns reeling in a boisterous Dustin as security sweeps by us. Tory plays it cool as always and wraps a tanned arm around his girl Celeste. She adjusts her silked charcoal locks over her shoulder and cuts a raised brow at me.

     We truly lock brown eyes for the first time in almost two months and it's like the world around me stops. She takes me in. Her eyes glance over big lips she used to kiss, chestnut cheeks she used to pinch, and thick locs she used to twist, but I can't tell what she's feeling.

     Her glowing smile and her beat face have always been a mask since I've met her freshman year. And she took her mask off and let her hair draw up for me once, but I messed it up. Whatever she thinks of me now, I know she doesn't want to talk.

     A full glance of her black beauty is still too much sometimes so I return to her a halfhearted wave before looking away into the crowd of dancing bodies. The shine of her skin is like a mirror being held up at me. Her full, smiling lips are still a reminder of all the happiness I wish I could give her. Just looking at her makes me wish I could do more than just give her a stupid wave.

     I wish I could wrap my bronzed arms around her mahogany shoulders and squeeze her tight. I wish I could tell her how good she looked in her velvet rose bodycon dress. But guilt will consume me if I confuse her again.

     "Bro! Shi!" Dustin snaps his golden fingers in my face. "You gon pass that?" he yells pulling me out of a daze with a laugh. I quickly notice and ease up my grip on the bottle. I begrudgingly slide it over to him as Tory's curious eyes take me in. Dustin takes a distracting, generous sip of the vodka and vigorously shakes off the burn. "Shit!" he laughs as he pulls Hazel into his lap.