Love Like That | j. green

028***

Now, Jalen felt the exact opposite: washed up, battered, alone, and bitter.

Kenyon Martin Jr. or KJ slowly rose up from a couch near the back of the section, a wide smile on his face as he reached out a hand to dap up both Jalen and Kevin, "Aye! Y'all just made it too."

Kenyon nodded towards the newly placed bottles of liquor, each one more expensive than the last. Jalen swept his eyes over the selection before carefully picking up the sleek amber-colored bottle of Don Julio 1942 tequila and then putting it down.

Jalen surveyed the dance floor below the VIP section with a wary expression before turning around to his friends, "Yeah, this was a bad idea."

Kevin rolled his eyes, "Two hours, at least give this two hours. C'mon."

Reluctantly, Jalen plopped down on the soft sofa cushion adjacent to the one that Kenyon was sitting on when a medium skinned black woman, dressed in a form fitting bodycon dress, sashayed over to the men, a waitress following her and carrying a singular cocktail with colors similar to a sunset on a tray.

"Jalen Green," The woman said, her voice low and a seductive smile on her face, "Who would've thought you would be on this side of town?"

Jalen glanced at his friends, who returned amused expressions, before turning to face the woman, "Um, do I know you?"

"No," The woman signaled for the server behind her to put it down on the glass table in front of Jalen then sat down on his immediate right, "But I know you. Jalen Green... The next Kobe."

The woman's hazel eyed gaze was unrelenting and Jalen had to blink to break the unintended staring contest between them, "Hey."

The woman chuckled a little, "I got you a drink."

Jalen flickered his eyes toward the mysterious woman then stared down at the tall glass, a little unsure what to do. The art of flirting and seduction was like a foreign language to him now.

His seventeen year old self would be ashamed.

He gingerly picked up the drink, raised it in her direction then took a moderate sized sip in order to not be rude, "So what's your name?"

"Leah," The woman smiled.

"Aye," Kevin spoke as he rose from the couch, "We're gonna go see what's going on down there. You good?"

"He's good. I'll take real good care of him," Leah answered for him, one hand on his knee.

Kenyon chuckled then led Kevin out of the VIP section and then the duo disappeared on the dance floor.

With a shake of his head, Jalen quickly picked up the drink from the glass table in front of him and gulped the liquid in an attempt to heighten his confidence.

His eyes narrowed a bit then closed completely at the slight burn of the now finished drink before springing them both open.

An intense cloud like feeling was beginning to fog his mind, causing his movements to become somewhat sluggish.

Jalen slowly lifted a hand up to his eye line and saw that the outline of his right hand was blurry and that the rest of the environment around him was blurry now too.

The empty glass stared back at him as Jalen widened his eyes. Leah's smile, once alluring, now seemed similar to the way a killer smiles before he gets his victim..

She did something to this drink.

Immediately after the realization, panic hit him similarly to a brick and in response his breathing began to become rapid and shallow.

Jalen closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to slow his anxious leg bouncing to a complete stop.

Be calm.

Be calm.

Be calm.

Leah's hand began to creep closer and closer to the zipper near the waistband of his pants and Jalen's brain was too foggy to fight back properly.

"No... No..." His words were slurred and Jalen weakly attempted to push Leah's fingers away but it was too late and he could feel the zipper being pulled all the way down in quick succession.

Her hand quickly slid underneath his boxers to grip Jalen in his most guarded spot.

"No... Stop..." Jalen spoke again, his words unclear. He managed to shove Leah off of the couch onto the floor and then very slowly and unsteadily rose to his feet.

Using the wall to keep himself upright, Jalen began to amble out of the VIP section.

The dance floor was almost as crowded as the line was outside and Jalen had to force his way through in order to find his friends.

His movements still delayed, Jalen pushed his way to Kevin, who he spotted above the crowd due to his height, "KPJ... The drink..."

Kevin looked at Jalen, his expression now full of concern as he turned away from the girl he had been interacting with, "The drink? The drink that girl gave you?"

Jalen slowly nodded before looking down at his sneaker covered feet, "I can't feel my legs, bruh... Help..."

Kevin placed Jalen's arm around his shoulders in order to support him as Jalen's knees began to lock up completely.

"Oh, God..." Jalen slurred. The cloudiness in his head was beginning to become overwhelming now, leaving him unable to focus on anything else.

"Shit, you drove." Kevin had managed to yell his way through the crowd and to the front entrance, "Fuck, fuck. I need help."

"Lani..." Jalen garbled, managing to slide his cell phone and allowed his face to unlock it, "Call my girl..."

Then Jalen's mind was completely incapitated and his body went slack.

NOTE FROM KY
promise I won't be gone as long as I was lmao
vote & comment, please!