ZOE
I laid on my couch and placed my bowl of popcorn on my lap.
It was Friday night, that meant I would find some killer series and binge-watch until I fell asleep.
While my friends were out on Friday nights, I stayed at home watching a romance movie about 'true love' that clearly didn't exist.
'Just because your life is sad doesn't mean everyone else's is.' A soft voice said in my head
I finally settled on the vampire diaries after scrolling and searching for about ten minutes. It was my all-time favourite. No matter how many times I watched it, I still found myself surprised by what happened next.
I filled my mouth with popcorn as I watched Damon and Katherine driving away from Mystic Falls.
My cell phone rang, interrupting me from the series.
It was my best friend Reina. It was a routine now, calling me every Friday night as if I needed to be baby sat. She was probably calling to invite me to some stupid nightclub or something.
"Hi Reina," I said trying to sound as cheerful as possible.
"Abby and I going to Starlight diamonds. Abby knows a friend who knows the owner, she managed to get us some passes. You should come. Meet me at my house." She said.
I was right, another nightclub.
"I can't, I'm busy tonight." I lied.
"With what? Binge-watching some dumb series, you can do that any other night." Reina said.
"First of all, The vampire diaries isn't dumb," I corrected her. "And lastly I'm very busy tonight, I have something going on." I lied again.
"Fine," Reina said with a sigh. "You are not going to get away with this next Friday... "She said.
"Okay, bye. Love you," I interrupted her then hung up before she tried to lecture me.
Usually, she would keep calling until I agree to go with her, only for me to cancel on the last minute.
I placed my phone on my wooden coffee table.
I rested my head on the pillow getting back to the series.
Just as I had made myself comfortable, my phone vibrated on the table indicating that I had a notification.
I took my phone off the table and viewed the message.
You are invited to Emma's baby shower.
The message read.
"Baby," A voice inside of my head repeated.
I would have loved to be a mother myself, life just never gave me the chance.
I found myself thinking of my ex-fiance Girard. We were going to get married, three weeks before our wedding I found him in bed with his secretary.
Only heaven knows how long he had been cheating on me.
After three years in a relationship, he still cheated. My other ex-boyfriends before that, didn't last a month before they started cheating.
You can say, I have trust issues.
Probably just bad taste.
Girard and I were going to get married and start a family. I would have had children of my own. Reina said it was for the best that I found out about his cheating sooner rather than when we were married and with a two-year-old child.
I still couldn't think about what happened without falling apart.
When I start thinking of him and all the other happy moments we shared, it doesn't stop.
I'm still living in that fantasy.
Reina was right, I should have joined her and Abby.
I needed to get my mind off of things.
I dialled her number and placed my phone next to my ear, she answered on the first ring.
"Does the offer still stand?" I whispered into the phone.
"Of course, meet us outside of the club. We are on our way there." Reina said.
I hung up and got off the couch, going straight to the shower.
I had showered when I arrived home from work, but I felt like I needed another one. I'm probably the cause of the water crisis.
I turned the tap onto the cold water. The water ran down my body, sending shivers down my spine. After a cold shower, my muscles always felt relaxed.
After about five minutes, I turned the tap off and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around me.
I walked into my walk-in closet. I have no idea what to wear, sure I had been to night clubs but, it was always a dilemma when it came to choosing what to wear.
I wanted to wear something sexy but not sluty which was difficult. I hated it when some people just assumed that because you dressed nice, you doing it to get men's attention.
I ended up settling on a black opened back dress that reached just above my knees. I tied my hair into a neat low ponytail then applied makeup. I wore my four-inch heels.
I looked at myself in the mirror, happy with my reflection.
I took my car keys along with a small bag. I locked the door to my apartment then took the elevator downstairs to the residents parking lot.
I got into my car then punched in the name of the nightclub on my iPhone to get the location.
When I arrived, Reina and Abby were already waiting in the parking lot.
Looking around, I couldn't help but notice all the luxurious sports cars and a couple of the latest car models. My car stood out from the rest, making me feel unsettled.
As soon as Reina and Abby noticed me parking my car, they ran towards me like a bunch of hooligans. It was definitely too late to back out now.
"I can't believe you came!" Abby yelled in excitement as I got out of my car.
"You look so sexy, Mamacita." Reina said in a deep 'guy like' voice.
I shook my head at her.
The evening air whistled hitting my bareback sending a shiver.
"Is everyone ready," I asked.
"Yap, I got us some VIP tickets baby!" Reina said waving the tickets out.
Reina walked straight to the guards skipping the long line of people already waiting. She simply flashed the tickets out in front of the guards, allowing us in. I gave an apologetic look to the girls standing in front of the line as I walked in.
Walking into the club, it was dark with disco lights flashing everywhere.
The club was extremely packed with drunk people dancing everywhere.
The music was so loud I could feel the ground shaking.
And on the stage, several DJs were playing the music.
In the far corner was the bar, pumped with drunk customers.
Reina grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the stairs.
We struggled through the crowd to get to the other side.
By the time we got to the stairs, my body was aching after being squashed in the crowd. We went up the stairs after showing the two guards our passes. I already felt like a fish out of water.
I thought the VIP section wouldn't be any crazier but, I was wrong.
A few strippers wearing masks dressed in black panties and bras were dancing in a far corner, in front of a few sickening old men. I bet they were all married.
I could see the tall buildings of New York in the background through the glass wall.
On the opposite corner, a few metres from where we were standing, there was a large sitting area with a set of blood-red couches that matched the mood. A few men were sitting there with girls on their laps, throwing their money at them.
Near the couches was where the bar was situated.
On the other corner, a couple of men were playing poker.
They were a lot of people dancing in the centre but just enough for you to move your way freely.
The music was just loud enough for people to dance to but not too loud that people couldn't have a conversation.
I didn't want to be here. I didn't fit in with any of these people.
"I want to go home," I said into Reina's ear.
"Come on, we just got here. Let's dance." She said.
She grabbed my arm along with Abby's and pulled us to the dance floor.
I reluctantly agreed, following her lead.
The song please by Cardi B and Bruno Mars started playing.
I needed this, to help me get my mind off things.
I swayed my hips, jumping up and down to the music, well as high as I could in my heels.
I guess I got too carried away in the music, maybe a little too much.
I accidentally tripped on my leg causing me to bump into a hard chest behind me.
A bottle of champagne fell behind me, hitting the ground.
I felt hands on my shoulder, putting me back on my feet.
"What the hell is wrong with you," A deep mellifluous voice yelled over the music.
I quickly turned around, my body still in shock.
I looked on the floor at the bottle of champagne now in pieces.
I looked up at the guy standing in front of you.
I couldn't help but notice his dark hair and his piercing grey eyes.
His eyes, for a moment, I was lost in them.
Until he rudely yelled at me, again. "What's your problem, that's not the way to look for attention!" He yelled.
"I'm sorry, it was an accident. I'll buy you another bottle." I said apologetically.
"By that displeasing dress you're wearing, I doubt you can afford it." He mocked.
"What's your problem? I said I'll buy you another bottle!" I yelled.
"It's three hundred dollars," he said narcissistically then folded his arms in a challenging manner.
What idiot buys a bottle of champagne for three hundred dollars?
I certainly didn't have $300 in my purse.
Or even two hundred.
"I'll..."
"What is going on here?" Another voice interrupted me.
"She just broke my full bottle of $300 champagne." The guy answered. "Justin, this is supposed to be an exclusive club. Since when did you start letting beggers in?"
That moment I felt like slapping some sense into his entitled, arrogant, self-centred face. How dare he?
"Alex, I'll handle this. We can get another bottle. It's on me." The guy who I assumed was Justin said.
The so-called guy named Alex walked away, not after yelling back "Don't bother,"
"I'll pay you back," I yelled after him.
"I'm sorry about that," Justin said. "He is not usually such an ass. He is a douchebag when he's drunk," he continued.
He gave me a small smile and a pat on the shoulder then walked away to Alex.
"What was that about?" Reina asked.
"I don't want to talk about it, let's do something fun," I said.
Usually, when you come to a nightclub, the plan is to get wasted and hopefully not end up in a stranger's bed in the morning.
Well, that only applies when everything isn't so damn expensive. A shot of tequila costs around $50, I'd be mad to spend a dime in here.
Abby, Reina and I sat on the bar stools. Reina was trying to figure out if they had some sort of discount here.
I couldn't help but notice the guy I bumped into earlier, staring at me from across the room. I wonder how someone could be so arrogant. I bet all he saw when he looked at me is that three hundred dollar bottle I just broke.
The other guy Justin walked towards us, a smirk on his face.
"I just want to apologize again for my friend's behaviour earlier on," he said.
"He was rude, we should report him to the owner. "I said.
"Baby, I am the owner." He said leaning onto the table. "Just to make up for what he did, you and your friends can have anything you want in here." He said.
"No, I don't need your pity." I insisted.
"Come on, it's on me. You can tell your other pretty friends to come here the next time." He said flirtatiously.
"Come on Zoe, he is offering," Reina said over my shoulder.
"Fine," I said. I turned to the bartender and said "Give us a bottle of your strongest liquor,"
Justin smiled at me then walked away.
Let's just say, Reina really knows how to take advantage of a situation.
Within hours, we were all drunk.
Reina just kept ordering bottles after bottles.
I didn't see Justin again that night, which was good because he would have probably changed his mind and asked us to pay for all that liquor.
"I'm so glad I came here with you guys." I said.
"We are glad you're here too," Abby said pulling me into a hug.
"Earlier, I was thinking about Girard and I was really sad," I spoke.
"You should stop thinking about that idiot, you deserve better," Reina said.
"I know, it's just so hard. We had plans. We were going to live in a beautiful house and have children. "I said.
"You can have all that, you don't need to have a man to live in a beautiful house or have children," Abby said nearly falling off the stool.
"You're right," I said to her.
After a couple more drinks, Abby called her boyfriend to pick us up. We were all too drunk to drive.