Chapter twelve
I applied a little more lipstick when I realized that my lips were dry and leathery, then straightened my wavy hair and left the bathroom. My grandmother was in the same place as always, in the living room, and took a good look at me.
“Wow, you look so beautiful.”
“Are you sure?” I scowled as I ran my hands over the skirt of an old denim dress that lay folded and crumpled at the bottom of my closet. Since I hardly ever went out, I only wore my teacher's clothes and stayed at home without worrying about the rest.
“Of course!”
“I don't know if it's a good idea to go clubbing with Jennifer. There's...”
“Darling,” my grandmother interrupted me before I could start a speech and cite all the reasons not to go, “you're young, you're beautiful, and you still have a lot to enjoy.”
“But you...”
“I'll be fine here with my TV companion.”
“If you feel hungry?”
“My legs still work enough for me to go to the kitchen and get something from the fridge.”
“You could fall.”
“Are you giving me a hard time?”
“Of course not!”
“Then go and enjoy yourself, miss. I'll be fine.”
“Promise you'll call me if anything happens.” The neighbor across the street...
“Hurry up, Helena!” You've lost patience with me.
“All right!” I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
I took the address Jennifer had given me and calculated the subway route to get there. I didn't have a car, and considering New York's traffic, that wasn't much of an advantage. Public transportation always got me where I needed to go.
It was almost eight o'clock on Saturday evening when I pulled up in front of the establishment. There was a queue and two truculent security guards at the door. I soon found myself thinking that it would be much better to be at home preparing lessons for my students than on this strange adventure.
I was about to turn around and make up some excuse to send a message and say I couldn't make it. Who knows, maybe if I coughed on the audio and invented a terrible cold, Jennifer wouldn't be upset by my failure. However, before I could run out of that place, I felt a hand on my arm and someone pulling me close.
“Helena!”
“Jenn.” I returned the hug.
“It seems like I saw you yesterday, but it's been so long.” She stepped back to take a closer look at me. “You haven't changed a bit, or hardly at all...” She giggled. “You're prettier.”
“Thank you.” I was a little embarrassed. “You look very pretty too.”
I noticed her hair in long braids and her black skin even more glowing than I remembered. Jennifer had always been one of the most beautiful women I'd ever met, and I still thought so.
“Come here!” She pulled me by the wrist. “I want to introduce you to some people. Old friends and others I met at the workshop.” She pointed to a group behind her. “Summer, Hopper, Julius, and Ulysses.”
“Hi, guys!”
“Hey, Helena.” As one of them said my name, I assumed that Jennifer had already introduced me.
“Let's get in line.” She took my arm and dragged me away.
As we were simple people without any privileges, it took about half an hour before we finally managed to get in. The sound was loud, and the smoke coming from a machine under the DJ's stage gave the place a ghostly air and made people look deformed. I didn't have any sight problems, but I could see in that place how people with short-sightedness could see.
Then I remembered why I didn't like environments like that. Crashing music, cramped space, people rubbing against each other, and nowhere in sight to sit.
“Do you want to...” Jennifer's voice disappeared amid the noise.
“What?”
“Would you like something to drink?” She tilted her head to bring her mouth close to my ear.
“A bottle of water?”
“How about something a bit stronger?”
“Water is fine for now.”
“I'd forgotten what you were like.” She burst out laughing, and when she turned her head away, I could no longer hear what she was saying.
I noticed the group that had come with her. They were already moving to the beat of the music and seemed much more excited about the atmosphere around us than I was. My grandmother was right; maybe I should just cheer up a bit more and let the fun infect me.
I forced a smile and shook my shoulders from side to side as Jennifer leaned over the counter. From the time she spent talking to the guy who was serving her, I imagined she was flirting with him.
“Here's your water.”
“Thank you.” I opened the bottle cap and took a sip.
“I got you a shot of tequila.” Julius handed me a glass, and I stared at it for several minutes.
“If you don't want it, I will.” Summer giggled, and I handed her the glass.
“Thank you.” You took it all in one go.
I could even say that I wasn't really trying, but it was becoming increasingly clear that this wasn't the environment for me.
Time went by, and the others were distracted and relaxed by the sound and, above all, the drink. I had already lost count of how many shots and drinks each of them had consumed.
“You're very beautiful.” Julius approached me, putting his hand around my waist.
“Oh, thank you!” I was completely taken aback.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No, but...” I immediately regretted that thoughtless answer.
“I'd love to be.” He grinned at me, bringing his other hand up to my face.
“I think you've had a bit too much to drink.” I dodged, turning in the other direction, but he didn't let go.
“I'm fine!”
“Apparently not.”
“Come and dance with me.” He pulled me closer to the dance floor.
“I don't want to dance.”
“Just loosen up a bit.”
“I'm terrible at it.”
“Let me help you.”
“Let go!” I tried to pull his hand away from my waist, but he squeezed even harder, to the point of causing me pain. “Ouch!”
“You came here to have fun, so let's have fun.”
“Stop it, please...”
I looked from one side to the other, hoping that someone would be able to help me escape from this uncomfortable situation, but Jennifer was too busy with her tongue in another guy's mouth to notice what was happening to me.
Julius tilted his head in my direction, but before he could put his mouth to mine, I turned my face, and he sniffed my neck.
“You smell so good.” He moved his mouth up to my ear.
“Get away!” I tried to put my hands on his shoulders, but the tall, muscular guy was much stronger than me.
“Oh, my!”
I was ready to bite his mouth or do anything to get him to let me go, but before I needed to take drastic action, someone pulled him by the shoulder and pulled him away from me.
“Didn't you hear what the girl said?”
“What do you think you're doing?” Julius growled at the guy.
“Preventing you from committing something crazy that could land you in jail.”
Julius seemed to get even angrier, and from the way he leaned toward the guy, I thought he might start a fight. However, the little bit of rationality he still had in him stopped him. Snorting, he turned his back and walked away.
It was at that moment that my savior turned to me, and the lights and smoke didn't prevent me from distinguishing his face. Those deep blue eyes and well-drawn goatee were not something I expected to find in the crowded space of a nightclub.
“Mr. Lennox?”
“Are you all right?”
I just shook my head yes.
“Great! Watch out for drunks. Some can use drunkenness as an excuse to avoid a no.”
“O-ob-thank you.” She was still stuttering as if she couldn't pronounce a complete sentence.
After my encounters and the stressful moments I had spent with that man, I would never have imagined that he would be the one to defend me against a guy who couldn't understand boundaries.
“What's going on here?” A woman approached him and placed her hand with its red-painted nails on the man's shoulder, emphasizing an intimacy that I admit made me even more uncomfortable.
She was beautiful and tall, with long, dark hair that was very well-groomed. Red lipstick highlighted her lips, and a long black dress with a side slit made her look very sexy and enviable.
Thomas looked deep into my eyes before answering.
“Nothing.”
“I ordered us a drink; let's go and get it.”
“All right.” He agreed, leaving with her.
I stood still, as if frozen, while they disappeared into the crowd as if they were figments of my mind.