I Should Have Stayed

Chapter 21

I stood by the mirror and inspected myself. I had on blood red lipstick and the beautiful red dress I had bought only a day before in the mall down the street. Sadly, Ava was out cold and I felt horrible to leave her alone, but I managed to get some shopping done for the both of us.

I left my hair down and curled it so that I was a little more on the fancy side. I definitely wasn't into dressing up, but I wanted tonight to be more about Ava rather than myself. I didn't even remember the last time I wore a dress. Graduation?

I was still lost in thought when I suddenly heard the bathroom door open and Ava came out. I couldn't help but stare at her. Her hair was done up in a loose bun and some of her hair fell out of it. The white in the dress looked absolutely stunning on her and made my heart jump slightly. My ears picked up Ava clearing her throat and she smirked at me when my eyes met hers.

"Right. Sorry. You just look..."

"Beautiful?" She answered for me.

"You took the words right from my mouth." I said smiling. She really did look beautiful. I walked up to her and held out my arm for her to grab and then off we went. We left the hotel and went straight to where I had in mind. "You ready to get wasted tonight?"

Ava started laughing at me and my stupid face I made as I said it. "Sure. As long as you don't let me get completely shit-faced in the first hour."

"Sure." I said with a smirk as we walked up to a nightclub entrance. Almost everyone standing outside looked trashy as hell. Most of the girls looked like sluts and the guys were all fuck boys. But I didn't care. I just wanted to spend the night with Ava. We finally got to the front of the line and the bouncer looked us up and down before motioning for us to go inside. I didn't realize that Ava was still clinging to me and we probably looked like a couple. I was also pretty sure that that was the only reason we got in to the nightclub. The thought made me smirk to myself.

As soon as we got in, I already had shots lined up for us. This night was going to be fun. We enjoyed a few beers together and then I dragged Ava to the dance floor. At first we went slow. I was moving to the beat and she moved with me. As the music picked up, so did we. The bodies around us moved along with the music as well, and before long I could only hear the music and smell the sweat and alcohol in the air.

I looked at Ava and saw her swept away by her surroundings and she seemed perfect. Her hips swayed with the rhythm and her hands moved around. I couldn't help but stare at her. Her eyes met mine and I didn't look away this time.

I watched as the strobe lights separated our movements and it seemed as if she was moving in slow motion as her hands came up to my face. They wrapped around my cheeks and I felt them pulling me gently towards her. Her eyes grew closer to mine until I felt soft lips touch my own. They were sweet and I tasted the lipstick on hers mixed with my own and suddenly I was swept away by it all.

We were only locked together for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. I almost didn't want it to end, but when it did, Ava rested her head on my chest and her arms around my shoulders. We moved in sync to the music even if it wasn't all that slow and I felt complete. It had been a long time since I felt that way and maybe it was time that I let myself settle into place and fix the broken pieces of me and my life.

After the song was over, I grabbed her and took her back over to the bar. We drank a few more shots and then I could feel myself getting a little drunk. We kept switching between the dance floor and the bar until I couldn't even feel my feet moving me anymore. The bodies moved around us and I felt it all start to blend together. A few times I lit up a cigarette and almost every time Ava declined one while I breathed in the air. It was a nice feeling.

I felt the beat in my chest and Ava's arms were around me holding me up as I did the same for her. Hours went by like that until I finally had enough sense to realize what time it was. I glanced at my wrist watch and it took me almost a minute before I could finally make out the numbers. It read, "2:35 am." Fuck. The nightclub wasn't emptying out anytime soon, but I knew that I needed to get some sleep before tomorrow and so did Ava. Tomorrow was the mission.

I looked at Ava in my arms and her eyes were closed. "Come on Ava. Let's go back to the hotel." My words were slurred and deformed as I spoke and I almost couldn't make out what I was saying.

I heard a groan and she looked up at me and then nodded before almost falling over and dragging me out of the nightclub. "I thought I told you not to let me become completely shit-faced in the first hour." She argued with me.

"A-Ava. We've been here for, like, 12 hours." In actuality it was about 5 or  6 hours.

"What?" She asked as we stepped outside the nightclub. Her words were even more slurred than mine. I grabbed her and held her up as we made our way back to the hotel. I couldn't even count how many times we were cat-called, and every time I'd just flip them off before wrapping my arms back around Ava and holding her up.

We made it back to the hotel in one piece and the security guards had to guide us to the right elevators. When we finally got to the room I pushed the door open and almost fell inside. I'd have a horrible hangover in the morning. I shut the door and got Ava to a bed and took off her high heels. The sight of her so drunk made me giggle before I got some water and set it on the nightstand for her and then got some for myself.

I turned off all the lights and stood by the window looking out at the lights for a second trying to sober up, but I didn't think that it was working. I felt arms around my stomach and then a body pressed up against mine. Then I felt a soft chin rest on my shoulder. "Mm, you smell nice."

I giggled at her. "Even with the alcohol and sweat?"

"Mhm." She said. I turned around and looked at her. I could see the alcohol and how much it had affected her. I probably didn't look any better. Suddenly there were lips on mine and I felt hands all over me. At first I froze, unsure if that was what I wanted, but then I gave up and kissed her back. Somehow we ended up on the bed and the blinds were already shut. I could barely see anything, and yet I felt everything.

"Wait," I said, "I'm not sure about this." My words stopped Ava in her tracks, but then I looked at her eyes and they held so much feeling. And yeah, we were probably both completely shit-faced, but in that moment everything melted away. My brain went numb, my body was on fire, and my soul was screaming inside. But whether my soul was screaming out of agony or out of excitement, I didn't know. All I knew was that I just got swept off my feet all over again. And maybe this time would last longer than the first.