The Lies He Told | PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER ROMANCE |

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

In the blink of an eye, the alcohol was flowing like a river, swirling and cascading through my body. Its warmth spread from my fingertips to my toes, loosening my inhibitions and encouraging me to let go. My hair, usually neatly pinned back, now tumbled freely around my shoulders, wild and untamed like my newfound sense of freedom.

It also got extra hot in my biker's absence (that's what I'm calling him from now on), so I stripped out of the suffocating long-sleeved jumper, leaving myself in a thin vest, which did wonders for the body heat that had crept on me. I was no longer sweltering like a pig.

To my complete and utter surprise, I got on with Nikita (the green-haired barmaid) like a house on fire. And let's not forget the other strangers who had surrounded me during the course of the night. I seemed to have made a good impression.

The jubilant clamour of cheers and laughter resounded through the air as I indulged in yet another drink, the alcohol flowing down my throat like water. Everything was a blur of noise and movement. I was drowning in the comforting numbness and never wanted it to come to an end.

Using the back of my hand, I wiped away any remaining liquid from my lips and forcefully placed the now-empty glass on the table. Then, raising my hands in the air, I hailed down more alcohol. "Another one!"

The crowd cheered once more, and strangers offered celebratory backslaps. Tonight, I was the heart of the party, a social dynamo. Who knew a quiet wallflower like me could steal the spotlight? It was all so wonderfully ridiculous.

"Mrs Lewis," the cool, chatty girl with bright pink hair to my right boomed in my ear. I loved her. She smelt a little sweaty and chain-smoked, with ash stale on her breath, but I still loved her. In fact, I wanted to be her. "You're gonna be walking sideways in a minute."

"I love you," I told her for the umpteenth time since we met, knotting the liquor-stained jumper around my waist—creased textiles were the least of my problems. "Have I ever told you that?"

"Yes," she replied with a laugh, keeping an arm around my waist as she reached for most shots, and this time, they came in glow-in-the-dark test tubes. "Only about a hundred times since we met earlier. And—"

As she began to speak, I quickly covered her mouth with my hand. A familiar song came to my ears, a low, menacing thrum that grew stronger with each passing second. It was a primal sound, resonating deep within me. "I attended a college party once, and this song came on, and I was like, wow, okay, this is a good beat."

"Sandstorm?" she mumbled, gently removing my hand from her mouth. Yeah, I mean, it's a classic. Everyone knows this banger."

"Especially me!" My heart fluttered with anticipation as I watched the electricity of excitement surge through the warehouse, pulsating in time with the hypnotic techno lights. "We must dance at once!"

Leaving my new friend at the bar with the best barmaid I have ever met, along with all the other new faces I have met yet cannot for the life of me remember the names of, I pushed my way through the horde of sweaty, glow-painted bodies just as the iconic synth line pierced the darkness and billowed clouds of mist.

The pulsating rhythm of the music grew stronger and stronger, the beat building on the last until it reached a fever pitch. And then, like a tidal wave crashing down on the dance floor, the beat dropped and unleashed the full force of electronic dance music onto the enthralled audience.

The wild assemblage erupted a frenzied display of pure, cathartic release. It was more than just music now—a visceral, transformative adventure consumed every fibre of my being. I was lost in the midst of it all, raving my ass off as the pounding beat sluiced through my veins and carried me away.