𝔅𝔞𝔟𝔶, 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢 || 𝔨. 𝔥𝔞𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔱

.03.

"Finally you're here! I thought you weren't coming.", I was greeted by a cheerful Stacy.

I, in turn, just didn't answer and looked more closely at my friend. She was wearing a dress like me. Her dress was burgundy and ended about mid-thigh. Like me, she wore a leather jacket. Her high heels were also burgundy. I had to admit I was a little jealous. She looked perfect. No matter what she wore, she always looked perfect.

Without thinking further, I shrugged.

"I need distraction from my thoughts. I want to finally forget Liam.", I said to her.

As soon as I said that name, her eyes darkened. Stacy hated Liam with her heart and soul. He was my ex boyfriend. And a complete dick. At some point, I wish I never met him.

"You don't need this asshole. You're a beautiful and self-reliant woman. Anyone who doesn't realize that is fucking blind.", I had heard these things from her many times.

Strong and confident. I don't know who she was saying that to but definitely not me. I'm neither strong nor confident. I was the most introverted person I knew. And that's not even an exaggeration.

"Anyways. Should we go then? I don't want to stand here forever.", I quickly changed the subject to distract her.

It was slowly getting cold and the leather jacket didn't stay warm for very long. Without giving me any warning, Stacy grabbed my arm and pulled me into the bar.

Our jackets were taken away.

It looked more like a club than a bar. I just followed Stacy to the counter as she seemed to know where to go. I've never been here, which wasn't surprising. I don't like to be in a crowd but I still love to party and just have fun.

When I got to the counter, I stood next to Stacy and watched the bartender serve a guy. I couldn't see his face because of the darkness and his hair. If I'm not mistaken, the guy has dark curly hair. But I couldn't see it very good, actually I shouldn't even care about him, yet I was interested in this guy. Whatever.

"Are you alright, Liv?", Stacy asked me.

She must have noticed that I had observed the guy, for whatever reason. He looked so familiar to me. As if I had seen him somewhere before. But I just couldn't think of where. It doesn't matter too much now.

"Yeah I'm fine.", I answered her and gave Stacy a wide and above all honest smile.

I knew she only cared about me. She knew my past better than Noah probably did. Obviously I told her everything. Down to the smallest detail. She knew why I had no self-esteem. She knew why I couldn't just trust anyone. She knew I was just broken. Broken by my own parents.

But that's not the point now. I'm here to party, after all.

"What can I do for the two lovely ladies?", a male voice called out.

The bartender now stood in front of us and gave me and Stacy a piercing look. Like he's trying to undress us with his eyes or something. How I hated that type of guy. All they wanted was quick sex. When they got what they wanted, they left the window quicker than peepers. Idiots.

"The ladies would like two short ones. Now.", I said and emphasized the now extra hurry.

Nothing really exciting had happened so far but the evening is still young and I'm still sober. The guy gave us two shots and we thanked him with a smile.

Stacy and I took the small glass and held it up. We both were smiling like crazy. That's where the fun begins, right?

"Have a good evening."

"Have a damn good evening."

Without thinking about what was in the glass, I poured the alcohol down my throat and let the small glass land on the counter with a bang. It burned. I hadn't drunk alcohol for a long time but feeling the liquid again made my body tremble.

After countless shots because I had lost count, I grabbed Stacy and pulled her onto the dance floor with me. I felt like dancing and with who else but my best friend?

I moved my body like it was my last time. Like I'm in this club for the last time. Stacy rested her hands on my hips and matched my movements. I noticed that men were watching us but I ignored the looks. Even guys who already had an escort looked in our direction.

It felt good to be the center of attention, even though I'm usually not a big fan of being in the spotlight. That I enjoyed it now was probably to blame on the alcohol.

"I need a break. My legs are getting weak.", Stacy said and I just nodded.

I, on the other hand, just kept dancing, no worries about anything in my mind. It made me happy to just relax and be watched. It sounds strange but that's the way it is when you didn't get enough attention as a child.

I can't remember when but after a while a guy danced next to me. He watched me closely. Like trying to guess when would be the best moment to dance with me. But I beat him there.

Driven by the alcohol, I approached the guy and seconds later I felt his hands find a hold on my hips. It was a gentle but firm grip. I couldn't tell what color his eyes were because of the multicolored light but it feels like they're as familiar to me as Stacy's blue ones.

"A pretty woman like you shouldn't dance alone.", he said.

Well, he probably screamed because I wouldn't understand him otherwise. I didn't know why but I felt my cheeks getting even warmer than they already were.

"I'm not alone anymore, am I? So everything is fine.", I put him to the test.

I have no idea where the thought came from but I had the feeling that it could still be a long night. Maybe with him? He didn't know me and I didn't know him. It was very unlikely that we would see each other again and we both knew it.

"That's correct. You're no longer alone. May I invite you for a drink?", he asked me.

How could I say no to that?

I don't know how, but after a while he suggested that I come with him. I knew what he was about, but I had drunk too much alcohol to be able to say no. So we stood in front of the club and waited for a taxi to drive by. After a while, one of those ugly yellow cars stopped in front of us. I hardly had time to react when my companion pulled me into the car.

He told the driver the street where he lived, although it sounded more like he was about to throw up. Then he turned to me. His brown eyes are filled with lust and if I didn't know better I would just leave him sitting here. But I was, firstly, way too drunk and, secondly, way too ready for what was about to come.

This will be fun.