The Scent and The Siren

fifteen

"Disney is a fucking lie, pumpkin. Always setting unrealistic expectations for hopeless cases like us." Claire necks down a fine extra Añejo neat with a lick of salt. "A bitch sleeps all day with zero Tinder or Bumble fucks to give. And somehow, she miraculously manages to snag a handsome prince who finds his way to wake her up with a kiss."

"Ugh."

"I have been dating since I was 14, yet I'm still single as shit. How onerous should it be to find one decent guy of all the men clogging this fucking city and have a HEA just like the crap tales Disney weaves?"

"A happy ever after is a myth hyped by Disney and those romance novels."  I knock back a shot of Tequila and dip a wedge of lime in some salt before sucking on it.

My mouth puckers, and my nose wrinkles at the intense sour taste hitting me.

"Sure, there are real-life tales that commence with once upon a time, but rarely do they end with a HEA." I suck on the lime wedge some more. "I am not sure how boomers achieved it. Sel is an exception."

"That slut is so lucky with Arion. I am so jealous she has someone who loves her so much while I have none. What kind of a best friend does that make me?" She slurs, grinning.

Her dramatic, shimmery aquamarine eyeshadow compliments her blue see-through mesh dress that dazzles under the neon lights.

"The whore kind." I return her grin, tilting my chin and sticking my tongue out to squeeze more lime into it. "At the risk of sounding cynical, I know Arion is a great guy and loves her so much, but I can't help living in fear of what if something goes off between them?"

"Why do you say that? Did you notice something off between them?" She frowns.

"No. I mean, they've barely known each other for 5 months and are deep in it. Can you really know someone and decide they're the one in that short time frame? She's already suffered so much. I would hate if she had to suffer more because of him."

"You're asking me? I don't know shit about relationships and love, but I know that sometimes you can be with someone for a lifetime and not know them, and sometimes just a day is enough."

"Yeah, I guess so." I sigh.

"I wouldn't worry about Arion hurting her or something going wrong between them, pumpkin." She throws her arm around my back, snuggling close to me with her head on my shoulder. "I can't be certain, but we both know the kind of guy Arion is. In fact, you're closer to him to know that he wouldn't hesitate to risk his life for Selene and Kryslian. He loves them so much."

"I worry unnecessarily." I hurry a shot. "My fears stem from my trust issues with destiny. They often clog my ability to think logically. Arion is the best thing to have happened to her. Why am I even thinking so negatively? They're made for each other."

"We might never be able to get a guy like that because we aren't lucky when it comes to relationships." She lifts her head with a sad smile on her mouth. "Does that thought ever scare you?"

As the implications of her melancholic confession sweep over me, once again, I feel grappled by the utterly forlorn emotions I am usually inundated with when I'm in my own company at night.

Lifting another Caballito, I turn around on the rotating stool and prop my elbows on the island's surface, watching the packed dance floor of this cozy, hip nightclub on the lower east side lit with only red LED and a giant silver disco ball amidst the darkness.

"It does scare the hell out of me. All of my life, I have been a fool with a hopelessly romantic heart and suffered the consequences of it." As I speak, I lift the salt-rimmed tequila to my mouth and savor it in a slow sip. "I live with trepidation that I might end up alone, and that's not even the worst part."