Chapter Six

''Shooters.''She threw me a tiny bottle of cinnamon liquer.

''You want me to get drunk befor I go to the the club?''

''I just thought it might help you open up abit , you know?Get you excited for tonight.''

I looked down at the bottle. I needed a drink badly . Thre was no way I was going to waste this. It went down hard and left me with the aftertaste of cheap liqour . Then, it hit my stomach and I fetlt a warm glow sorrounding me .''Fuck yeah.''I hopped in the car.''Come on.''

''Whoooo''Laura thew her arm in the air and jumped in .''Party''

She turned the radio on and blasted a pop beat while we made our way downtown.

We pulled up at the club, dancing , clapping and singing . She handed me another shot before we got out .I took it quick .''How many of those do you have?'' I asked.

''Not enough '' she said playfully.''Come on .Lets go inside . The guys probably already here .'' She got , and I followed her,

''How do you know?''Did they text you?''

''Brandon said that they'd be here around nine-thirty , and it's almost ten . They probably think we arent coming at all.''

''Let's just see what happens .''I waited across the street for the light to turn red so we could run across . The line at the club was ridiculously long, and it didnt show any sign of shrinking . In fact ,people were coming in by dozens , all of them scarmbling to get inside .''Do you think we'll get in?'' I asked Laura when we got to tha back of the line.

''Probably .''She pointed at the front door , where the bouncer was starting to let people inside.

''Good . Let's just hope the place doesnt reach maximum capacity . I want a drink.'' We moved slowly with Laura scanned the crowd for the twins . They weren't outside , so we figjure out they 'd be inside when we went in.

Thre was no way to tell, though. We had to wait at the entrance just to get through to the bar . I didnt mind I was aslready buzzing , moving around just a bit . Laura was right, This was a fantastic idea.

Finally , they let us in . I wanted to dive into the dance floor and let the music wash alway all the stress that'd been building up over the years . I earned this . I worked hard , an I was succeeding . There was no reason to worry . Atleast, not tonight.

Laura walked off and got us a table while I walked up to the bar . Most of the people there were younger . Ther was alot of college students and business interns , along with the usual thuggish rabble that I expected to find a place like this.

I din't fit in . I looked like I did but I was mature. I'd seen this world , I knew what was going on -people doing coke in the bathroom and screwing each other in the stalls.Oxygen was a shrine to unrepentant indulgence , where people spent their entire check in one night and dran to the point of blacking out . I didn't want anything to do with that life . It simply wasn't me .But I did enjoy the music and the glances I got from the groups of men clustered at the dance floor . It gave me a aboost of confidence . I waited on the edge of the bar while the bartenders worked the crowd. Maybe we should've gone somewhere else. I wanted a real man , not an infantile minute man that had no idea where the clitoris was or what it could do.

''Hey'' Laura walked up behind me.''Have you seen the twins at all?''

No., have you tried calling them?''

''I want to, but its too loud in here.''

''It doesn't really matter , though does it?''

''You just want that guy.''

''Who wouldnt?'' she walked back to the table while I waited . There must've been atleast two doxen people crowding the bar , and most of them were waiting for drinks.

''Hey,'' I called out to the bartender . He didnt seem to notice .

''Hey.'' He didn't answer .''Jesus .'' i took a seat . There was a man standing next to me . His bright green eyes sliced down my body and a smile crossed his lips . He wasn't even trying to play it off . I wasn't going to give him the time of day , not after he gave me a look like that. I kept my eys staraight and did my best to ignore him , but this wasn't the kind of man who could be ignored . He was too big , too rough , with five o'clock shadow and his sleeves rolled up to reveal an armfull of tattoos . This was a real man.

I could tell he wanted to tell me something , So I decided to walk over to the other side of the bar whwre the bartendr was pulling aa beer out of the fridge.''I need a drink.''

''You'll have to wait .'' He stood up and started to walk away.

''i've been here for nearly an hour''. The bartender sighed and walked away to give a acustomer their beer.''Wait.'' he didnt turn back. Instead , he leaned in and talked to the girl ordering the beer .

''I'm going to kill him ,'' I said to myself.

''Look,'' She pointed to the entrance . ''It's Mr Beetle .''

''What?No way.'' He was there standing next to the DJ booth, staring directly at me.

''Let's go .''Laura garabbed my arm and pulled me outside to the patio .''I think h saw you.''

''He did.'' I sat down at a table . Laura sat down across from me .

''What is he doing here?''

''I dont know. I can't believe they let him in.''

''Well , they did , and now he knows I'm here .''I said.

''I think we should go somewhere else.'' Laura started to get up.

''I dont know, Laura. What about the twins?''

''I could give a fuck about the twins . Right now , I'm woried about you.'' Her eyes shifted to something behind me.''All right.'' She walked around table to confront Mr. Beetle , who was standing behind me , sending out waved of body odor.''You need to go.''

I got up.''No Laura..''

''No .''She said .''You're a freak ..''

''Luara , I dont want to fight with you.'' he said.

''Yeah lets avoid a confrontation ,''I agreed .

''Than you .''He turned to me and reached out for my hand .''Will you dance with me?''

Uh.'' I pulled my hand away and he jumped back , eyes wide.

''Get out of here'' Laura said.

''Excuse me, sir''The voice was so deep , it hit me right in the gut . I turned around . It was the man from the bar . The one with the green eyes.

''i dont want to talk to you ,''Mr Beetle said .

''You think you can walk up to my girlfriend and start harrasing her?"

''Y-Your girlfriend ,''Mr Beetle stammered .

''Yup,'' laura said .''Now get out of here.''

He looked from me to Laura and finally to the man from the bar , who was staring at Mr.Beetle like he was ready to rush him.''You.. dont want me here ?" he asked me.

''I'll see you later,'' I said as nicely as I could.

''Mmm,'' he groaned and stamped off.

''Your girlfriend?I confronted the man.

''If he thinks you're taked , he won't bother you.''The man took a seat.''Besides , you look like you could use some company.''

''Hmm . Well , you did rescue me.''

''And he's sexy as sin,'' Laura whispered .

''What are you having ladies ?''

''Don't even bother. You'll just end up waiting infront of the bar the entire night.''

''My friend got a drink pretty quick.''

''He did?'' I asked

''Yup,'' he said .''Hey Moses.''He called a man staring at his phone a couple tables away.

''What's up ?'' his friend called out.

''Go get these girls something to drink.''

''What'll it be ?'' Moses walked up.He was just as rough as his girlfriend with the same staight -backed military posture.

''Vodka tonic.'' I wanted to get drunk.

''Sex on the beach,'' Laura added enthusiastically.

''Coming right up.''Moses turnes around and walked back to the bar leaving us sitting around awkwardly . I didnt know what to do say to the guy. He was too intense , the king of his word. A man like that wouldnt waste his time on boring conversations. If it didnt fit his interest , he'd probably just walk away,and I wasn't sure I wanted him to walk away.

''What's your name?'' Laura asked , cutting through the silence .

''Archer,'' he said.

''This is Maya. She's here to get as drunk as possible and go home witha sexy guy like you, but she's too shy to say so. You should hit her over the head with a club and take her back to your cave,''

''Laura''

''What? You weren't going to say anything.''

''That doesn't..Jesus .''I sat back in my chair .''You're not getting with me tonight ,''I told him.

''I'm not your type?''

''No you are ,'' Laura inetejected . ''She's just stubborn and uptight because she forgot what it means to ahve fun.''

''Laura.''I tensed up.''Why don't you go talk to Archer's friend?''

''Is he taken?'' she asked.

''No'' he said laughing .''He's kind of a lone wolf.''

''Good '' she waled off , her hips moving to the music.

''You 're not going to ask me to dance , are you ? I have two left feet.'' ''I have three ,'' he said , a little playfully.

''Thank God .''

He leaned in , suddenly serious, with his eyes trained on mine . My staomach jumped .''Tell me.'' His voice was soft and dark, like hot fudge.''Are you really here to meet somebody?''

''No,''I said.

''Good, cause I like a challenge.''A man like him would never accept a no for an answer.I was powerles to stop him , and he knew it. He just wanted to play with me before he took me home, like a cat that lets a mouse get far enough way to make them think thy're safe before the cat pounces on top of them.''