“I got the first round, guys!” Rob put his hand up. Shauna bounced next to me at the bar and her curly locks came bouncing right along with her.
“I’m going with a mimosa. How ‘bout you?” she said.
I scanned the menu. “Midnight in Paris. That’s my pick.”
“Ooo la la! I like, mamacita.” I giggled and hugged her to me. Shauna was one of my dearest friends from campus and there was nobody I would rather party with. The music turned to a song by Pitbull. Rob started shaking his hips, which was a sight to see. He did have a little rhythm. Just funny, the way he spontaneously broke out like that.
“This is my jam! Come on, Celine, let’s go bust a move on the dance floor,” he yelled. He yanked Celine’s hand and some of her drink spilled over. She just laughed. I shook my head at my friends. I needed to get warmed up first. Our exquisite drinks were prepared, and I dived into the first sip.
“Mmm, this is so good! Here, do you wanna do a swap?” I asked.
“Uh, no. I want all of my mimosa. Besides, you only took one sip. Damn!” she playfully retorted.
“Okay, girlfriend. I will have a Midnight in Paris all by myself.” I clicked my fingers at her.
“I betcha you will be having one of those tomorrow after your date,” she whispered cheekily. I raised my eyebrows at her.
“I’m not that easy. He’s got to work for it. But he is one I would consider giving it up for a little quicker.” I scrunched my nose and giggled. She sipped her cocktail and closed her eyes.
“Girl, he is finer than fine. You did good. So bold going up to him like that. I would never!”
“Had to. I couldn’t let all that man just sit there without me saying anything. That’s loco!” I said loudly. She slapped my leg in jest and drank.
“You right about that.” We clinked our glasses together. Shauna slapped her hand on the bar.
“I knew it. Right in the middle of my drink. I gotta go pee. Are you okay here for a minute or do you want to go to the dance floor with the others?” she asked. We always looked out for one another when we were out. I eyed the bathroom. It was about ten steps away and I could see her and where everything was. Nobody that looked like a threat was around. People were low-key, chill.
“No. Go ahead. I’ll be fine here. Don’t worry. I can see you.” I waved her to the bathroom.
“Scream if anything happens.” We laughed together. It would give me time to see what was up. Nice beats. I could see Rob’s head bobbing on the dance floor and they’d hit the strobe lighting. The DJ looked like he was setting up in the dance floor section. It was about to be lit.
“Hello, mamacita. You looking real good.” An energy of darkness swam around me as a guy with dark eyes, a long nose and leather jacket rolled up on the right of me at the bar. My pace of breathing shot up instantly. His eyes put me off. His smile was sleazy. I froze for a minute.
“Hey.” I clammed up and my face dropped. Shit. I should have moved when Shauna asked.
“Are you here with friends?” the guy asked. His looks resembled a snake. He bent in a little too close, with no regard for my personal space. His rancid breath was close to my face. I pulled my head back a little.
“Yeah. I am, in fact. They’re right over there and my other friends will be here any minute.” I raised my voice to get him to leave and pointed to the dance floor. He didn’t take the hint. His strong cologne made my throat tickle came up.
“Interesting. So you like to fuck or what?” He spat out the question with force. He had an accent. I shot up out of my seat and splashed the drink on his face. Angry eyes leered back at me and the guy stuck his tongue out in a lecherous way. He wiped the water off his face with his sleeve. The bartender was at the other end of the bar and serving drinks.
“Get away from me, you asshole!” I yelled vehemently. He let out an evil husky laugh.
“I take that as a yes. Let me get you another drink.” I watched the bathroom door. What the hell is Shauna doing in there? Before I knew it, another guy came from the other side of me. I saw his hand only. I was busy dealing with the ugly cretin in front of me. On the inside webbing of his finger was a teardrop. That was all I saw. I was boxed in and couldn't get out. My body went into lockdown and I felt frantic. The guy on the right was practically trying to straddle my knees. If you looked from the outside, my head was covered. Rob wouldn’t be able to see me. Fuck.
“Move, you asshole!” I shouted and pushed his shoulder out of the way so I could be seen by the public. The music had stepped up a notch since the DJ was playing. The bartender looked at me from the other end when he heard a loud voice. The guy tapped his friend behind me.
“Come on, let’s go,” he said.
“Hey! Leave her alone!” the bartender shouted and rushed to my end of the bar. The sleazy snake waved at him.
“No harm, no foul. We leave now.” The guy spoke with a thick European accent. I held my throat as a tear trickled down my face. Shauna floated out of the bathroom and her face turned cold as she locked eyes with mine. The guy flicked his long pink tongue out at me as I watched him walk out the door. The other guy was dressed all in black and looked like a full roll of dough. Dark hair and dark glassy eyes like the other guy. I couldn’t get the teardrop out of my mind. It seemed significant.
“Babe, are you okay?” Shauna tracked my eyes to the door and saw the back of the two dudes. Her instinct made her angle to move to them. I pulled her arm back.
“Don’t. Please don’t. They look dangerous.”
The bartender looked at me with concern.
“Do you want me to call the cops? Seriously, what did he say to you?” he asked, angry.
“Just a sleazebag. Nothing I want to repeat.” Celine and Rob were still on the dance floor and hadn’t seen what happened. Shauna put her arms around me.
“Do you want to go? What do you want to do?” Shauna pressed.
My hands were trembling as I tried to gather myself and think. “The guy had a gang symbol, I think, on the inside of his hand.”
Shauna’s eyes widened. “Holy fuck, that’s crazy.”
I chewed my bottom lip from nervousness. “I’m scared to go outside. What if they’re out there? Shit.”
Shauna tightened her grip on me. “I don’t think they’re hanging around,” she said. Shakily, I reached inside my purse and texted my brother. The bartender, seeing I was okay, served a few other customers.
“Hey bro can you come pick me up?”
“Are you ok? Now?”
“Yes now”
“Ok be there in 5”
I sensed Palo would know who they were. That symbol. The guy's eyes looked like death. Like he had no soul. There had been scratches all over his fingers and he smelled heavily of cigarettes. Palo came and picked me up and I left the others there together. Shauna wanted to come with me.
“No, stay. Have fun for me. I just have to go home now. I can’t be here.” We hugged and I walked out of the club and ran to Palo. We sat quietly for a while and he looked at me with concern in the car.
“What happened?”
“Two guys tried to close in on me at the bar. I couldn’t get out,” I relayed.