"Jes come on, it'll be fun!" Cried my best friend Lena, trying to convince me to go out with her. I had a perfectly good night of Netflix and junk food planned and it was going to take an act of God to change my mind.
"Lena, we're not in college anymore. We'll be the oldest ones in the club." I argued back. She trudged into my living room and shot me a glare.
"We will not and that's a shitty excuse. We're 23, not 50."
"It'll be packed with 16 year olds with fake ID's and I'll feel like a creeper." I whined.
"Shut up. It's a place my friend from work, Erica, told me about. It's supposed to be more upscale and you're going." I swung my head around from the tv I'd been focused on to meet her gaze. Lena was gorgeous by all accounts. She was lean and tall with blonde hair that never seemed to be out of place. Her eyes were piercing blue and she had a subtle confidence about her that was alluring. Everywhere she went she gained attention and she thrived in it. I looked her up and down noting the outfit she'd assembled for the night, a black body con dress with a plunging neckline that hugged every inch of her skin, and heels.
"If I have to dress like that it's not only a no, but a hell no."
"Shut up and go get dressed. You know you never win these arguments I'm not sure why you're even trying to fight me on this."
She had a point. I'm stubborn but I hate confrontation, it's a confusing contradiction.
"Ugggghhhhh" I groan while rolling my eyes. "If I do this you better pay for all of my drinks."
"I knew you'd cave" she replied with a laugh before returning down the hall to my room.
"You have to do my hair and makeup though, you know I'm shit at it!" I call after her.
"Already heating up the curling wand!" she yelled back.
I smiled at how well my best friend knew me. Before Lena, I'd always been rather awful at making girl friends but, when we'd met at college, I knew we'd become inseparable.
I roll from the couch to a standing position and venture back to my bedroom to find something to wear for tonight's adventure. True to her word, Lena is waiting at my vanity.
"Should I get dressed first?"
"That's probably a good idea. Do you want me to find you something?" She asks.
"No, thank you. I can at least dress myself."
"Can you really though?" She jokes.
I roll my eyes and look through my closet for something suitable. I frown and knit my eyebrows together as I flip through the articles of clothing struggling to find something. I'd thought my clubbing days were over after college, I had been engaged after all. I finally locate a pair of ripped black skinny jeans and a white crochet tank top. I pair the outfit with a pair of black strappy heels and step back to see if Lena approves.
"Well I'll be damned, that outfit's not bad actually."
I shoot her a 'go to hell' look in response before sitting down on the vanity chair and letting her get to work working her magic. Forty minutes later, Lena instructs me to smack my lips and take a look in the mirror.
When my gaze meets my reflection's in the mirror I smile, actually liking what I see for once. My tan skin is glowing and smooth, my blue eyes pop with the brown and gold eyeshadow she's applied and my lips are plump and red. She's pulled half my dark brown hair up into a bun and the rest is in loose curls down my back. The whole look makes me feel incredibly confident and sexy, even.
"If I was a boy, I'd fuck you" Lena says with a laugh and I shove her lightly.
"What time is it?" I ask her since she's staring at her phone and mines across the room.
"It's 10"
"Should we call an Uber?"
"Already ordered! It should be here in 5."
I nod and fetch my phone. I scroll through Instagram and twitter and drink the cocktail Lena made us to pregame until the car arrives.
"Let's roll, bitch" she says as she grabs her clutch and jacket and heads out my front door. I follow behind her remembering to lock the door on my way out.
We slide into the back of the silver SUV that pulls up and Lena gives the driver the address.
"What's this place called again?" I ask.
"Um, it's some place called Taboo. Erica said it's really exclusive but she's friends with the bartender and got us on the list."
"That was nice"
"Yeah well, I told her you really needed a night out."
I turn my head and meet her eyes. I glare at her harshly.
"It's been a year Jessie" she says softly. I break our eye contact and turn to stare out the window. "Let's not think about that. I just want tonight to be fun and for you to have a good time, like we used to!"
I force a smile but stay silent as the car pulls to a stop. Lena thanks the driver and we step into the street.
"Lenny where the fuck are we?" I mutter as I take in the desolate street we've been dropped off in. "You're sure this is the right address?"
"Yeah, the clubs low-key so we have to walk a block to it."
"That's super seedy."
"Well, come on. I promise it'll be fine."
"I know I've been a drag but don't kill me in an alley." I say with a sarcastic laugh.
"Shut up and come on" she replies.
We walk through the dark and empty street until we arrive at an unmarked door of an abandoned looking warehouse. Lena knocks and I cock an eyebrow, surely this can't be the place.
"Lena, I hate to break it to you but I think we have the wrong ad-" I start before I'm stopped by the door opening to reveal two very scary looking security guards.
"ID's please?" I'm a little scared but Lena seems unphased and offers her drivers license so I do the same. The guys check our ID's against a list and seems satisfied.
"Follow the hall and then take the staircase to the right. Be careful on the stairs!" He says the last part directly to Lena like I'm invisible, though when she's around I basically am. It's fine though, I usually prefer to be unnoticed.
We follow his instructions and find our self in a darkened staircase. I want to ask Lena if she's sure about this again as I see no signs of life at all but when she pulls the door at the top of the stairs I am pleasantly surprised. The door opens to a rooftop bar. The whole room is walled in with glass that offers a view of the city lights. I'm surprised at how luxe the whole thing is. The decor is tasteful, plush, and shockingly unsticky.
"Okay, you were right this is kind of cool" I offer to Lena who only smiles in her 'told you so' way.
"Do you see any tables?"
I glance around before finally spotting one. "Over in the corner there." I point the four person table out to her and we make our way over. I throw my jacket over the chair back and plop down.
"Stay with our things while I get us a round?" She asks and I nod in answer. As she leaves to fetch the drinks I take a moment and really look around. The place is full but not overly crowded in a way that is uncomfortable. Everyone around me seems to be having a great time and surprisingly around my age.
Lena returns from the bar and hands me my usual whiskey sour. "Have you seen anyone famous yet?"
I give her a questioning look. "Lena, that's why the bar is so hidden, it's clientele is a bit more known than you an I. This is where the elite come to party when they don't want to get caught falling out of a club downtown. Look around and really look at the people."
I do as she says and suddenly I see it, a former bachelor contestant here, a housewife there. "So we'll be getting smashed with B-rated celebrities. Nice."
"You never know who might turn up." She offers before grabbing my hand and leading me to the dance floor. The music is pulsating through the room making it easy to lose myself in it. Lena and I have only been dancing for a few moments when she is swept away by a blonde guy with huge muscles that I swear was on some reality show that I can't place. As she moves to dance with him I decide to hit the bar. I order another whiskey sour this one a double hoping the alcohol will ease my mind and let me enjoy tonight.
I finish my drink and order another before deciding to step out onto the small patio area to cool down for a minute. No one else is outside at the moment so it's quite peaceful compared to the loud club inside. I sip my drink and peer out into the distance enjoying the view and the way the late summer night air feels on my skin. I hear the door behind me open and a deep voice with an accent I can't quite put my finger on asks:
"What's a pretty girl like you doing out here all alone?"