For your case ooo, for your case ooo.
Music blares from large speakers, I plug my fingers into my ears and wonder again if this isn't a bad idea. Chi said we were going to a party so I can unwind but I didn't know she meant the club. When she insisted on us taking an Uber, I should have become wary.
Now here we are, standing in front of the club while waiting for the overly friendly bouncer to let us in. The air outside is chilly, I wrap my arms around myself to keep warm. Someone rushes past us to throw up in the gutter, I grimace and on further inspection see she's a lady. A man joins her soon after, he rubs her back until she straightens up then they make their way to one of the many cars parked in the garage.
The bouncer laughs at something Chi says, I eye both of them, getting slightly annoyed at being kept outside. Her black, sleeveless gown comes to stop above her knees, giving a glimpse of her fair thighs. How she's acting makes me question my response to the harsh weather, even the bouncer in his tiny tank top doesn't seem to notice the cold.
Chi staggers a bit when the bouncer makes a retort, they chuckle as she grips his shirt to steady herself and my irritation grows. She has been on heels all day long and I can't help but feel sorry for her poor feet.
"Can we go now?" I grumble out, letting the annoyance seep into my voice. She has a boyfriend, she shouldn't be this carefree with other males. "Or is the party outside?"
Their heads turn in my direction as if noticing my presence for the first time and I have to stifle the urge to roll my eyes. He offers me an apologetic smile while Chi rolls her eyes with a murmur of how much I need to loosen up. Yeah, like standing outside and making dry jokes will help me do that. After a nod from her to the bouncer and a fake smile from me, she grabs my hand and we make our way inside the club.
The music hits my ears with a force that has me fearing I'll go deaf if we stay here much longer, I wince and sigh in relief as we make our way further away from the noise. We walk a few more steps before I look back at the dancefloor where sticky bodies grind against themselves, the joy on their faces showing I am the only one who has an issue with the loudness of the music.
We finally reach a quieter place, the music fades into the background. My brows raise when Chi hesitates at the foot of the stairs to give me a onceover and seek my opinion on her choice of jewellery--a silver necklace with a box pendant that rests on the swell of her breasts. I nod my approval, she chuckles and gives my hand a small squeeze.
I stop her from taking a step forward to ask, "Are you okay? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah." She offers me a nervous laugh, I roll my eyes and she is forced to add, "I haven't seen them in a long time. I want to be sure I look my best." The glare I send her has a genuine laugh escaping her lips. She always looks her best, we both know that. "I'm serious," she takes my hand, "let's go."
There is a shift in the atmosphere as we ascend the short stairs, my eyes scan the place, trying to process everything at once. In all my twenty-four years on earth, I have never been to a club and I need no soothsayer to tell me this is the VIP section.
"Hey," Chi greets some of the men seated on the long couch with wide grins. I offer them small smiles, following behind her like a child on her first outing with her mother.
She whispers names and titles into my ear as we pass by the handsome men to take a seat. By the time she's on the introduction of the fourth person who also happens to be the son of a Senator, I tune her out. So far, we have the Governor of Calabar son here, two senators children and one House of Representatives child present. That's one too many politicians children in one place.
Their presence here leaves me with a lot of questions, questions only Chi can answer and I find myself fiddling with my pendant in the same nervous manner she inspected our outfits. This is not a party, it's more or less a gathering of Elites and Chi seems to blend effortlessly into that category.
"Udochi," one of the men starts, the finest among them and the Governor's son. We pause, my eyes flit to his outfit. The stones lining the collar of his expensive garb shimmers under the light, he has terrible fashion taste but manages to pull it off well.
Chi's hand drops from mine, she goes to sit on the space he makes available beside him, leaving me standing as the centre of attention with a contrite smile on her lips. From my peripheral vision, I notice a man in a black suit at the far end of the couch, a bit detached from everyone else, straighten up and narrow his eyes at the speaker. His stoic expression keeps me on edge, I don't remember Chi ever mentioning him to me.
The governor's son continues, "You will not introduce me--us to your fine friend?"
"Pauline," I volunteer when his gaze lands on me. Barely concealed lust dances in his big eyes, I clear my throat and reciprocate his smile while hoping I have no use for his name because I forgot it as soon as Chi mentioned it. "Nice to meet you."
He stretches his hand out to me, my eyes dart between him and Chi who implores me with her eyes to accept the handshake. I cover the distance between us without failing to notice how that same detached man's hand subtly moved to his waist.
"Nice to meet you too," he murmurs and places a kiss on the back of my hand. I spot a golden band on his third finger, our eyes clash and I flash him a smile. "Pauline."
Chi offers me a soothing smile, I bite down on my lips to stop from rolling my eyes. We were supposed to be a team. The other men seem to be okay with my introduction so I make my way to an empty sofa and my breathing doesn't return to normal until everyone starts chatting animatedly like I am invisible. They all make me antsy.
Crossing my legs, my eyes lower to the glass table at the corner. Bottles of wine sit inside a bucket of ice atop the table with empty flutes. I blink at the untouched bottles of Shisha that comes into view, glad to see no one is smoking. My hand moves down and up my knee, an odd feeling settles over me when I see everyone paired up, having fun.
"Hey," someone's voice pierces through my thoughts. I look up as the man joins me on the leather chair with a smile. "Hey, hey."
I flash him a smile. "Hey."
The stranger must have noticed my unease because he makes an attempt at a lame joke. It's not funny but I fake a laugh, even snorting in the process and he chuckles.
"You don't have to laugh at my jokes, they are quite dry," he mutters and that gets me to laugh genuinely. At least he is honest.
When my laughter dies down, I stretch my hand to him which he gladly takes. His palms are soft and his thumb caresses the back of my palm. "Pauline, Udochi's friend."
"Teddy," he replies.
"Let me guess." My eyes narrow to slits, I cock my head. "You're the president's son."
His chuckle has me laughing along. "No. I don't even have a father in politics." My lips curl into a smile, neither do I. "I'm a banker, the regional manager of First Bank."
"I'm a manager too." The statement fills me with a sense of pride and the look of awe on his face has me nodding to an inaudible tune. "Manager of Pavillion hotels."
Teddy describes Pavillion to me and I nod, smiling with pride as he recounts his one time experience at the hotel. He excuses himself to get us a drink and returns shortly with two glasses and a bottle of wine. I am reluctant to take the flute of wine he offers me but a look at Chi who is refilling her glass encourages me to accept it from him.
The first sip has my eyes widening in shock at the sweet taste. Teddy winks, I down the rest of the wine and ask for a refill. A burning sensation settles in the pit of my stomach but it's gone before I can mention it. He chuckles when I request for a refill again but obliges me, this time I sip slowly.
"You are a very beautiful woman, Pauline."
His compliment has me bowing my head shyly but I manage to utter a small thank you. I smile. "How do you know Chi?"
"Chi?" I point to a laughing Chi and he nods in understanding. "I don't know her. Today is our first time of seeing." I follow his gaze which lingers on the Governor's son. "Nsika invited me, it's his post-birthday party."
"Maybe next time you will tell your friends to come celebrate at my hotel? Our lounge is really nice," I mutter with a wink.
He chuckles and says, "I will."
My voice reduces to a whisper. "What of the guy?" I ask. "The one watching everybody."
Teddy spares the room a glance as if to confirm my statement. "Oh, Moses?" I nod; I guess that is detached man's name, it suits him. "He is Nsika's bodyguard. Ignore him."
That explains it. I spare Moses a glance, our eyes meet and I quickly look away. He makes me nervous with his piercing gaze.
"I'm going to dance, wanna come?" Chi stands in front of us, hands on her waist as she stares us down. I chuckle, she looks more relaxed than she was when we first arrived. "Pauline. Do you want to dance?"
Shaking my head, I stick my tongue out when she frowns at my refusal, ignoring the look of disappointment that crosses Teddy's face. That's what she gets for leaving me all by myself. I will have her head later, somewhere more private. Chi walks away with a promise to dance for two and I giggle at her retreating back. Lifting the cup to my lips, I groan at the lack of wine and my frown deepens into a scowl when Teddy refuses to refill my glass. I tell him it's my first time of taking this particular brand and my statement is met with a mocking laugh.
We stay in silence for a while until I turn to the dance floor, trying to find Chi among the sea of dancing bodies. I know it's futile but I still try, at least to keep my thoughts from straying to a particular someone who is the main reason for my coming here.
A couple dancing with people cheering them on catches my interest, I smile and give myself a mental slap when the question of if Paul can also dance sneaks into my mind. My eyes trail to the near-empty bar, a man is perched on a stool, guzzling clear liquid from shot glasses like he's in a drinking competition with himself.
"I have never taken a shot before," I say to Teddy. His eyes widen, I laugh and nod.
"No way."
"Yes way."
"You have to try it," he mutters. He stands and helps me to my feet, that's when I see we are alone. Comforting myself with the fact that Chi will not leave me with him if she doesn't trust him, I put my hand in his and we strut to the bar where the man I spotted earlier is nowhere to be found.
A young handsome bartender comes up to the counter, I smile, this place has a legion of fine workers. "What can I get for you?"
My eyes flit to Teddy, he smiles. For the first time, I notice his features--his small nose, bow lips and black, curly afro hair which compliment his fair skin. He is fine, not as handsome as Paul but finer than Nsika. Yes, the kind of man you can introduce to your female friends and they will gush over him.
He winks when he catches me staring at his lips and I look away. I hear him give an order to the bartender without turning around. For the second time in five minutes, Teddy and I sit in silence, hands folded on the counter until young and handsome returns with shot glasses stacked together and a bottle of clear liquid. This is it.
I blink, uncertainty seeps into my veins, am I about to do this? Yes. I nod. Yes, I am about to take shots with a not-so-random stranger. Teddy shakes the bottle, after a nod from me he pours the drink into two cups.
"Don't think, just drink," he says. He picks a shot glass, tips it in my direction. "Cheers."
My mouth opens and closes at the speed with which he downs his drink. He grins. I take a sip, smack my lips and grimace at the taste. It is nothing like what we drank upstairs. Without breaking eye contact, I gulp the rest of the liquid. My eyes water, I cough at the burning sensation which travels down my throat and give myself a thumbs up when Teddy starts laughing.
Certain I can handle the burn, I challenge him to another round. He shrugs and empties the rest of the drink into eight cups, my eyes round to saucers when he downs three of the cups without taking a breather.
Feeling left out, I empty the first and second cup, ignoring the heat that grows in my belly with each sip. "Woah," I scream.
"That's enough," Teddy says between laughs. My head buzzes, my vision blurs. When Teddy stands, I see two of him until I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand.
My hands move to my gown as if to rip the dress off. I feel constricted. I want to move, to be set free. Without asking, I pull Teddy who offers no resistance to the dance floor.
5... 4... 3... 2... Level up, level up.
Teddy's hand around my waist guides my body as I move in tune to the beat of Ciara song. We make a great dance team with our unpractised coordination. His hand moves further up my belly to the point of caressing my breasts but I don't mind, I don't care. I feel brazen, invincible which makes me grind my waist against him without a care.
Vibrations from his body force my dancing to come to a halt. I spin to face him, a small frown decorating my face as my chest rises and falls. Why now? This is the best part of the song. He mutters an apology as he makes for the phone in his pocket. One look at the screen and his countenance changes.
"I have to take this." My disappointment is palpable, he caresses my cheeks and says, "I will be right back." I nod and he smiles. "Don't have too much fun without me."
Seconds soon turn to minutes of me dancing alone while pining for Teddy and scanning the crowd for Chi or any of the familiar faces she introduced me to. Some guys offer to dance with me but I turn them down.
The dancing vibe dies when Teddy doesn't show up and the urge to urinate grips me. I stagger off the dancefloor, eyes on the lookout for a signboard, anything that will lead me in the direction of the restroom. When I don't see any, I head back to the bar.
"Anything for the lady?" The bartender asks with his teeth on display. I giggle and nod.
"Can you direct me to the restroom?"
"I can show you," a voice says from behind me and I tense. Turning to look at the volunteer, I swallow at the sight of the man towering over me. "I can show you."
"It's fine. I will locate it myself," I say with a glare trained on the bartender who has a contrite look in his eyes. I let out a low hiss, no use feigning remorse if he won't help.
The tall guy blocks my way out, I groan and facepalm. "I can show you," he reiterates.
I sigh, the need to empty my bladders grows stronger, overpowering that part of me that's tempted to lash out at this annoying creature. My hand moves to the pin tucked into my hair and my head bobs, I can stab him in the eye with it if he makes a move at me. He takes my curt nod as approval and together, we walk down a lone corridor, not stopping until we are at the front of a door with a toilet symbol drawn on it.
When he hesitates to leave, I thank him again and spin on my heels, hoping to God the lock on the door works. A slap lands on my ass, I gasp and turn to face the pervert who has an arrogant smirk on his lips.
The urge to slap him is strong but I settle for my best mean voice to say, "Fuck off."
"Or what, lady?"
My fingers move to the pin, I unlatch it from my hair, keeping it in a death-like grip. My stretched hair falls in a bouncy wave around my shoulders, I tuck a few strands behind my ear to glare at the pervert. I will not tolerate any form of harassment.
"Step away from the lady," a new voice says and my head spins so fast in that direction, I feel dizzy. I blink at the new presence.
Paul?
**********
Soooo, I have never been to a club before. I used info gotten from my friends and off google. Forgive any unclub-ish (if that's a word) incident that might have happened, and this chapter is quite long, whew.
*wipes invincible sweat*
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💝💝Mara