32. Christa
The music thumpedhard outside the club. I tugged my skirt down, very uncomfortable with the low-cut dress Emily forced me to wear. It was tight and black, and totally not my style. But this was all about getting out of my comfort zone. I was pushing the boundaries and finding out what I was comfortable with. I could do this.
I strutted forward, trying to sashay my hips.
“What are you doing?” Emily hissed.
“I’m walking with some swing in my step.”
“Well, stop it! You look like a newborn giraffe.”
I grimaced as I caught sight of myself in the mirrors outside the club. The bouncer looked Emily up and down, then glanced at me, shaking his head. “You’re good to go in. You,” he said to me. “Are you sure you want to be here?”
If it weren’t for Emily coming to my aid, I probably would have run away. We walked through the doors and were instantly showered with streamers and little pieces of crepe paper floating around. I choked when I accidentally inhaled one.
“Christa,” Emily said between a fake smile she had plastered on her face. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“I choked on the paper. Don’t they know that’s not safe?”
“Sweetie, nothing about this club is safe. You need to loosen up and stop acting like you just walked out of church.”
“I’m not?—”
“You’re pursing your lips,” she cut me off. “You need to look sexy.” She led me over to the bar and ordered drinks, shouting over the other patrons waiting their turn.
I covered my ears as the music blared. It was so loud. How did anyone think around here? “Should we find a seat?” I shouted.
“What?”
“A seat!”
She waved, then turned back to the bar and grabbed the drinks, holding one out to me. “You pay!”
She danced past me, leaving me to foot the bill. Grabbing my wallet, I held out a twenty to the man, shocked when he thanked me and pocketed the change. I was about to argue, but he was already helping someone else.
“The bartender stole my money,” I grumbled as I took a seat at a high-top table. “Wow, you’re lucky you got these seats.”
She pointed at some girls a few feet away, pouting at us. “I kicked them out.”
“What?” I gaped at my friend, wondering why she was being so mean. “Emily?—”
“Don’t start with me. That bitch had it coming. Drink up. We need to dance!”
I took a sip, then a longer sip when she glared at me. This was a very bad idea. Everything I did with her today got me into trouble, and my shoulder was still sore from where the baseball hit me earlier.
“This music is terrible!”
“It’s dance music,” she laughed. “It’s supposed to have a good rhythm.”
It was making my ears bleed. And once again, I regretted coming out tonight. I swallowed the rest of my drink, hoping it would make all of this seem a lot more fun than it was.
“Finally!” Emily grinned, grabbing my hand. “Let’s go!”
I nearly fell off my stool as she dragged me out onto the dance floor. Sweaty bodies filled the large space, all dancing too close to each other. And when they rubbed against me, all I wanted to do was squirm away. This was not my scene at all.
“Loosen up!” she screamed, throwing her hands up in the air. Her dress nearly showed off her boobs as it slid down slightly, but she didn’t seem to care. I tried to dance like her, but as I danced from one foot to the other, I just felt awkward.
“Maybe I should—” I cut off immediately when I felt a warm body press against my back…along with a very distinguishable bulge.
“Hey, baby.”
Greasy, grimy hands wrapped around my waist, giving me a huge ick factor. I pried them off and stumbled away from the wandering hands.
“Uh, thanks, but I’m not interested.”
He shrugged and walked away. I took a deep breath as Emily laughed beside me. “You should have seen the look on your face!”
“It’s not funny! That was super creepy! Do you know how many predators could be hanging out here?”
“Yeah, do you also know that we’re not in some big city? People around here are generally decent people just looking to have a little fun. Come on! Loosen up!”
I glanced around and was surprised at how many people I noticed from our own town. This club was in ‘the big city’ as everyone called it—a good half-hour drive from where I lived. Still, with so many people I knew, maybe I was overreacting just a little.
It took a few songs, but I finally loosened up, just enjoying the music. Of course, it helped that Emily plied me with drinks, making me chill out a lot faster than if I did it on my own. After about the twentieth song, I was actually laughing and dancing with her, not caring at all how I looked. Bodies rubbed against me, and some kind of glittery substance coated my skin. But I didn’t care. I was having the time of my life.
“Isn’t this fun?” Emily laughed.
It could have been the alcohol, but yes, I was having fun. That is, until I turned around and caught sight of a pink Hawaiian shirt dancing very close to a slutty woman.
“What’s wrong?” Emily followed my gaze and gasped. “Is that?—”
“Max,” I snarled. “Can you believe he’s here with some…some…floozy? What kind of woman throws herself at a man? Doesn’t she have any self-respect? This is a bar!”
“Um…yeah.”
I spun, glaring at her. “That didn’t sound very supportive.”
“Well, not to point out the obvious, but he met you in a bar and brought you home.”
“Yes, and he should be with me, not her!”
“I thought you didn’t want to be with him?”
“Yes, but he’s not supposed to be with her either!”
The room was spinning, and I knew it was from the alcohol. What I needed to do was leave, but instead, I found myself marching over to the little hussie and grabbing her by the back of the hair, spinning her to face me.
“Listen, bitch! This is my man, so keep your hands off!” I swung back and nailed the bitch right in the face. My hand throbbed as she fell backward on her sky-high heels.
“Hey, get your hands off my fiancé.” The man grabbed onto my arm and spun me around. I gasped when I stared into the eyes of a very angry man. Just not the man I expected.
He was shorter than Max, not at all as muscular as I thought, and he didn’t even have the same hair length. I was losing it. What the hell was I thinking?
“Um…” Panic washed over me and sweat trickled down my spine. I just punched a woman—this man’s fiancé! I blinked back the tears that instantly formed, wishing the ground would swallow me whole. Thankfully, Emily rushed over and defused the situation while I did my best not to break down in tears. I wasn’t sure what she said, but she somehow calmed the man down.
All I could do was stare at the woman who was holding her jaw and glaring at me. “I’m so sorry. I thought— He looked just like my boyfriend from behind. Well, not exactly like him, but close enough. And he’s not even my boyfriend anymore,” I cried. “He broke up with me.” I let out a sob, clasping my hand over my mouth. “That’s a lie too. I only slept with him a few times. And then he dumped me because I accidentally cut him with my retainer!”
I felt Emily’s hands on my shoulders, trying to pull me away. I was the psycho lady in the club, crying over her sad relationship.
“It’s okay,” the woman cringed. “I…can definitely understand. He sounds horrible.”
“He’s not,” I whimpered. “He was so nice. I mean, really nice in bed.”
“I think that’s enough,” Emily laughed, trying to drag me away.
I spun and faced the man. “If you ever leave her because she accidentally almost castrates you, I will hunt you down.” I could feel my nostrils flaring with anger. This was so unlike me. I didn’t threaten people. Ever. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “I will hunt you down and make you apologize. Are we clear?”
The man looked at Emily, and then back at me. “Uh…sure.”
“Sure? That’s all you have to say for what you did to your fiancé?”
“I didn’t do anything,” he snapped.
I jabbed a finger in his direction as Emily hauled me away. “I will find you! I will hunt you down and force you to apologize! You make me sick!”
“Alright,” Emily laughed. “I think we’ve had enough fun for one night!”
But as we stumbled away from the man, I knew I needed at least one more drink. One more drink to put away the memory of Max dancing with another woman right in front of me.
One more drink and then we could leave.
Flashes of leatherand body glitter filled my head as I stumbled out of bed. I tripped over something below my feet and smacked my face into the hardwood floor.
“Son of a bitch!”
Emily.
Well, that explained the massive hangover.
And the glitter all over my hand. I groaned, pressing my fingers to my forehead. I felt slimy and gross, but that was nothing compared to the burn I felt down by my lady parts. Even with only a strip missing, I was in a massive amount of pain. Well, itching. Everything itched. I slid my hand under my pajamas and went to town, moaning at how wonderful it felt to get some relief. Except, the itch grew exponentially with every second that passed.
“You better not be getting off right now,” Emily mumbled.
I lifted my head off the floor and shot her a dirty look. She wasn’t even looking at me. “I’m itching.”
“Thank God. I don’t think I could move if I wanted to. I’d just have to lay here and listen to your sex noises.”
“I don’t make sex noises,” I hissed.
“Everyone does. You can’t stop it.”
I didn’t want to talk about sex or sex noises. All I wanted was for this pounding in my head to stop. “You know, in the past week, I’ve been drunk more times than not. And I blame you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Seriously, why did my vagina ever listen to you?”
This time, she lifted her head off the ground. “Because it was filled with cobwebs, and knew this was the only way forward.”
She was right about that, even if I didn’t want to admit it. “I still haven’t figured out anything more than I had two days ago.”
“You don’t have to figure out your life in one day,” she muttered. “You just have to get out there and be at peace with who you are.”
That was a good point, and she was right. I was unsettled because I didn’t know myself. I needed a change, and sleeping with Max wasn’t enough. I had to do something with my life that really meant something to me. And I knew in that instant that being the choral director at the church wasn’t it for me.
“I’m going to quit my job.”
Her head snapped up, and then she covered her mouth quickly. “Oh, God. I almost puked. Give a girl a little warning.”
“Sorry.”
“Why are you quitting your job?”
“Because it’s not what I want to do.”
“Okay, and do you have something else in mind?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea, but if I stay there, I won’t look for anything else. I need to figure it out in my own way.”
“I like where you’re going with this. But do you think you could come to these realizations a little later in the day? It’s too early for conversations like this without coffee.”
I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. “It’s eleven-thirty.”
“Well,” she sighed. “I might be looking for a job right alongside you. I’ll probably be fired since I didn’t call in sick.”
“We could start our own company,” I chuckled. “We could find clients who are in the same position as me, get them drunk, and then wait for the wake-up call.”
“I don’t see that being a very lucrative business, but I’m willing to give it a try.”
“Yeah, but eventually, we won’t want to party all the time.”
“I didn’t want to party last night,” she grumbled.
I sat up, glaring at her. I knew my hair looked like a beehive, my makeup was smeared all over my face, and the amount of body glitter on me made me look like a stripper. “Say what?”
“Hey, you were the one who insisted we go to that club.”
“Yes, but you were the one who made me stay.”
“As I recall, it was sometime after the three-hour mark that you said, “Bitch, I’m all dressed up and have no one to hump. Let’s go find me some penis.”
That made me laugh. “There is no way I said that.”
She scrambled around for something. “Where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
She snatched her phone from under my bed and held it high. “Just you wait.”
After a few seconds, she hit play and our voices echoed around the room.
“Say that again. I’m going to need evidence of this tomorrow.”
My laughter sounded obnoxious through the phone. “Bitch, I’m all dressed up and have no one to hump. Let’s go find me some penis.”
I slapped a hand over my mouth, horrified by what I said. But it wasn’t just that. Hearing myself drunk and having a good time only reiterated how lonely my life had been up to this point. I never knew how to have fun, and even though I was drunk in the message, there was truth to the way that girl spoke.
“See?” she grinned. “I told you.”
There was no denying it. “So, where do we go from here?”
“Coffee,” she grumbled. “Lots and lots of coffee.”
“I meant, where do I go from here so I can figure out what to do with my life?”
“No, I got that. But if you want me to think of anything other than the fact that I kinda want to throw up, I’m gonna need coffee. And maybe something really greasy to soak up all this alcohol.”
“I don’t want to cook,” I groaned, flopping back on the ground.
“I wasn’t suggesting you should.”
We both looked at each other. “Diner,” we said at the same time.
“I’ve got the shower first.”
She snagged my leg as I stumbled to my feet, making me trip and fall. “Bitch, you did this to me. I get the shower first.”
I glared at her, but allowed her first dibs on the shower. After all, she was risking her job to help me. I snatched my phone out of my purse that was strewn across the floor. Chapstick, lip gloss, my wallet, and condoms spilled out everywhere. I didn’t want to think about the condoms at the moment, so I grabbed my phone out of my purse and checked for any missed calls. Not surprisingly, there were several missed calls from my dad. I’d have to deal with him eventually, but not until I had some food in my stomach.
But the text that made my palms grow sweaty was from none other than Max. I could only see the first few words without unlocking the screen, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that. Once I opened the text, it was there. I had to face it. I hadn’t heard from him for days, and it was part of the reason I got so drunk last night.
“What is it?” Emily asked, walking out of the bathroom. Her towel was tucked up around her breasts, and she had one of my hair towels wrapped around her head.
“Um…Max texted me.”
“Oh,” she nodded knowingly.
“I was…a little upset about him last night.”
“I never would have known that.” Her voice dripped sarcasm.
Was I really that obvious? “I was trying not to let him get to me.”
“Yeah, you did a great job. I’m guessing you don’t remember a lot from last night.”
I didn’t really understand what she was saying at first. And then I remembered someone wearing a straw hat. I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand. “Oh God, was he there last night?”
“No, but you thought he was. You stormed across the dance floor and slugged the woman he was hitting on. I believe his name was Brian, and the girl you hit was his fiancé.”
I bent forward, groaning as it all came rushing back to me. The surprise on her face as I hit her, the anger on her fiancé’s face, and the way Emily had to step in and calm them down so they didn’t call the police. “Oh my God! I can’t believe I did that! Why didn’t you stop me?”
“I tried, but you were on a mission. And then you were spouting all your problems to Jessica.”
“Who’s Jessica?” I shrieked.
“The fiancé.”
It just got worse and worse. “Just stop. Don’t tell me anymore.”
“So, you don’t want to hear about the bouncer you hit on? Or the really hot guy that offered to give you a night of relief?”
“Stop,” I said, holding up my hand. “I can’t deal with this right now. I need tomato juice and an omelet.”
“Tomato juice? Really?”
“Hey, I like it!”
“I would go with the hair of the dog, but you do you.”
I stood, only wobbling slightly as the room swayed. “That’s it. I am officially calling off all drinking. It’s ended badly every time since I started. And it’s all your fault!”
“Hey, you called me. I was at work, perfectly happy to go on with my boring day. I had a whole plan laid out with nothing but making crank calls and eating Twizzlers. You were the one who insisted on getting out and living life.”
She was right, but I still flipped her off.