Isabela Part 2

I arrive at the hall where the party is taking place. High black walls surround the space, colorful lights beam from ceiling-mounted spotlights, illuminating strips of the dance floor in waves in different directions. A DJ booth energizes the place with electronic music, and a massive bar serves drinks... It seems just like a regular nightclub.
I’ve just grabbed a beer at the bar, sit on a stool, and observe the scene. It’s packed with people, but it’s surreal how terribly alone I feel. Cris didn’t want to come, saying she went to the last one and met Vitor, who now calls himself her boyfriend. To avoid hurting the guy’s feelings, she wouldn’t come. It would be simpler to say, “I’m dating someone, so I can’t attend a party where the goal is to end the night having sex with a stranger.” But for some reason, Cris seems to never admit anything with Vitor.
I scan the room while feeling the music reverberate through the walls. I spot a scrawny guy wandering through the crowd. I notice the exact moment he exchanges a bill for what looks like a colorful sticker. I click my tongue disapprovingly. I watch the other guy, an athletic type, slide the newly bought sticker into his mouth. I observe him patiently, occasionally glancing at my phone, waiting for many minutes until he starts dancing, spinning like a top on the floor while bending his mouth around a lollipop and shaking his arms non-stop. Seriously...
My eyes hunt for the dealer, the scrawny guy who just sold the hallucinogenic sticker to the student. He’s wearing faded jeans, a long, extremely baggy tank top that looks three sizes too big for him. He moves among the people, exchanging drugs for money with some, then heads up a narrow black stairway to a raised area overlooking the dance floor. I focus on a VIP deck on the second floor, where people with different masks watch the scene below. Their masks are black, and only one man has a red one. I recognize the woman who gave me the invitation to the party. She’s perched on the neck of the guy with the red mask, whispering something in his ear and leaving a kiss on his chin. But what surprises me is that both she and her friends are wearing black hoods.
Got it. They must be the seniors, that’s why they’re wearing different clothes...
I keep watching as the only guy with a distinct mask grabs the dealer by the collar of his shirt when he was about to hand over a small bag that from afar looked like it contained tea to one of the girls... And it certainly wasn’t tea. The guy, whom I mentally nickname “Wolf,” seems to snarl something at the criminal, who raises his hands in surrender and, looking frightened, runs away from the VIP area.
I take a few more sips of my beer and feel a shiver down my spine as I notice that Wolf is leaning over the black iron railing, watching the scene below. I can’t see his eyes because of the distance and the red mask, but I have the impression that they are fixed on me. I start blushing and immediately turn my body towards the bar, feeling a sudden tremor of tension as I turn my back to the man.
Damn it! I hope he didn’t see me watching the damn drug scheme. I don’t want to make enemies right now. Whoever this guy is, just by the different mask, it’s clear he has some special position in the “pack.” I hand over the Budweiser bottle and order another from the bartender. I drum my nails on the black wooden bar and, taking a deep breath, finally pull the hood over my hair.
This is what I came for, right?
Courage, bitch!
I grab the new beer and head back towards the dance floor, eager to start observing what interests me, some target worthy of my attention, but the large, perfumed body in front of me makes my heart race.
Damn it!
The damn “Wolf” is standing right in front of me, arms crossed. What... the hell! My heart is racing, and I feel the beer trembling slightly in my hands. The space seems to have shrunk ten times. I swallow hard while trying to slide my body further back on the stool, because Wolf is so close that his legs almost brush against my knees. If he touches me, I’ll end up panicking and freezing.
“Hello, Little Red Riding Hood!” he greets, snatching the beer from my trembling and useless hand, then taking a deep gulp of the drink. “It’s not very nice to be snooping around other people’s lives.”
I open my mouth to respond, but I don’t even know what to say and...
and... I find myself staring at the only things visible beneath the red mask: the pale skin, the slightly square and well-defined jaw, the long chin, and the handsome mouth... Some tattoos decorate the left side of his neck.
He seems like a wall in front of my body, with his exaggerated height intimidating me. He isn’t very strong, but he has muscles straining against his tight black shirt. I can’t see his arms because they’re wrapped in a black leather jacket. His thighs press against the dark jeans, making it clear that there are rigid and defined muscles there. His musky scent makes something warm stir in my abdomen, and I almost manage to force my subconscious to say what he reminds me of. But I’m interrupted by the way he coughs theatrically, bringing me back to the moment.
“I... I don’t...” I stammer. Damn, Isabela, you’re not a little girl anymore! “Why would I be snooping around? I’m just observing the environment and looking for the best way to end my night. And you know what? Get lost... You’re blocking the view!”
I try to push him out of my way, digging my nails into his leather jacket, but Wolf doesn’t even flinch. Damn it! I huff, conceding defeat, crossing my arms and looking up at the curve of the white smile framing his handsome lips.