Outside Brian waited in line to pay the cover charge, feeling like a tool. He was out of place and out of his element, a long-haired guy standing next to corporate tourists in pastel blazers, two girls toddling drunkenly on toothpick heels, a married couple who looked as baffled as he did. Inside it would be better… the crush of people, the option to down shots and take the edge off. He realized he didn’t get out of enough. The Dive didn’t count.
Brian tried not to bounce as he waited for the doorman to stamp a girl’s hand under 21 – like the bartender would see the letters and turn down whatever tip she flashed. He handed the bouncer a five and ducked into the club. Colors spun from the ceiling lights; there were mirrors on the walls, meant to make the place look larger and he guessed they were the club’s namesake. He cut a path to the bar and asked for a jack and coke, which he downed so fast his teeth hurt, and then he got a second one.
Stairs descended into a pit that doubled as a dance floor. Brian found a spot on the handrail and looked over the crowd, trying to spot either Valerie or Maddy.
The third blonde head was hers. The slayer’s eyes were closed and the overhead lights turned the crown of her head pink. He felt emotion clutch his gut, turning it to lead. She used to be his girl. Brian squeezed the rail. Don’t freak out, do not freak out, he cajoled. He wiped a hand over his mouth and gulped his drink, but there was no place to set the empty glass. At that moment, he spotted Maddy on the opposite end of the dance floor. She jumped up and down to catch his eye and now she grabbed her crotch and jerked a thumb into the air, before turning around to grind on a guy in a skinny tie.
Weirdo.
Leave it to her to shake Brian out of his head.
He ate a piece of ice and found someplace to stash his empty glass. Brian pushed his hair back and shook out his fingers. In his head, this had all been different. As the first few notes of West End Girls played, he lowered his head and took the stairs into the pit, moving with a purpose past bare arms, twisting hips, elbows at eye level, a pretty girl who smiled at him. Brian tried to see past all those faces. Valerie appeared and disappeared like a buoy in a choppy ocean. One moment she was gone and the next, right in front of him, her back turned.
Brian claimed the space before another person could get in his way. He wanted to touch her but she wouldn’t know it was him. So he put his mouth to her ear and said, “Mind if I dance with you?”
no subject
Brian tried not to bounce as he waited for the doorman to stamp a girl’s hand under 21 – like the bartender would see the letters and turn down whatever tip she flashed. He handed the bouncer a five and ducked into the club. Colors spun from the ceiling lights; there were mirrors on the walls, meant to make the place look larger and he guessed they were the club’s namesake. He cut a path to the bar and asked for a jack and coke, which he downed so fast his teeth hurt, and then he got a second one.
Stairs descended into a pit that doubled as a dance floor. Brian found a spot on the handrail and looked over the crowd, trying to spot either Valerie or Maddy.
The third blonde head was hers. The slayer’s eyes were closed and the overhead lights turned the crown of her head pink. He felt emotion clutch his gut, turning it to lead. She used to be his girl. Brian squeezed the rail. Don’t freak out, do not freak out, he cajoled. He wiped a hand over his mouth and gulped his drink, but there was no place to set the empty glass. At that moment, he spotted Maddy on the opposite end of the dance floor. She jumped up and down to catch his eye and now she grabbed her crotch and jerked a thumb into the air, before turning around to grind on a guy in a skinny tie.
Weirdo.
Leave it to her to shake Brian out of his head.
He ate a piece of ice and found someplace to stash his empty glass. Brian pushed his hair back and shook out his fingers. In his head, this had all been different. As the first few notes of West End Girls played, he lowered his head and took the stairs into the pit, moving with a purpose past bare arms, twisting hips, elbows at eye level, a pretty girl who smiled at him. Brian tried to see past all those faces. Valerie appeared and disappeared like a buoy in a choppy ocean. One moment she was gone and the next, right in front of him, her back turned.
Brian claimed the space before another person could get in his way. He wanted to touch her but she wouldn’t know it was him. So he put his mouth to her ear and said, “Mind if I dance with you?”