09:13 P.M.
Queen's Bar.
June 16th, the year 2018. Saturday.
Slow music erupted. The coral, marigold, and azure lights illuminated the dance floor. It made the couples sway side by side while hugging each other. The bartender behind the counter was busy. He mixed drinks and beverages to the non-stop customers coming early at night. A love song played over the speakers, reminding Margo of Xian.
Margo gripped the shot glass tightly, put it in her mouth. She tilted her head back, drank the remnants of the tequila, and swallowed it. She groaned as the alcohol rimmed her esophagus like a blazing fire. Margo squeezed the slice of lemon in between her teeth after.
It's been a day since she left Dela Ia's Abandoned House without giving notice that she's leaving. The directors and her manager must have been cracking their brains open trying to find her.
She also realized that she left her cellphone on the floor. Margo threw it over when she saw two people kissing. The heavy tears came again, dripping down over her cheeks. She wiped it with the sleeves of her sweater as she signed to the bartender to serve her one tequila more.
Her manager must be so furious with her now. She's inside her car for 24 hours. When she snapped out of her daze, she saw it was nighttime already. She drove past Clara Avenue on Bella's Main Highway. Stopping her car at the Queen's Bar, a high-class club for elites, she decided to drink after a while.
She held her forehead as she got dizzier than usual and slapped her face slightly. She squeezed her cheeks hard and pouted her lips as she shook her head while keeping her mind awake. Margo finally bowed her head down over the counter as she heard the clanking of the glass beside her ear. The bartender must have placed her tequila.
Margo opened her eyes and looked at her right side. She widened her eyes as she saw someone sitting beside her. She raised her head while her hair draped over her face. Margo realized the guy was looking at her now. She swept the hair behind her ear and looked into his eyes.
She's mesmerized by what she saw, it's as if she saw a living prince in front of her. The chestnut eyes.
He has this tawny, high skin fade with short messy top hair, unblemished skin, pointed nose, and full lips. She looks like a vampire that came to life with Margo's eyes. He is wearing a long-sleeved cobalt shirt and fitted slacks. Margo looked at her outfit and felt her cheeks flushed.
She tucked her loose hair over her repeatedly. Margo straightened her knitted sweater, chin her head up, and looked back at the hot guy. He was talking to the bartender and smiled suddenly. Margo gasped in her insides as he saw the charming smile and gulped down. She licked her lips and shifted her eyes back towards the guy.
The guy who looked like a vampire was talking to the bartender. He nodded as he walked back to the serving place and mixed some drinks. Margo couldn't leave her eyes staring at the Adonis in front of her. The guy felt like someone's scrutinizing him.
He tilted his head sidewards and met Margo's lambent eyes. He frowned as Margo held out her hand.
"Hi," Margo mumbled. The guy hesitated to reach out his hand. They shook hands, but as the guy wanted to remove his hand, Margo seemed to hold on to it.
"Before you unclasp, may I know your name?" Margo asked eagerly with eyes attentively looking through the guy. He scoffed and nodded a little.
"I'm Tristan. Tristan Dera," the guy mumbled as he removed his hand by force and looked the other way. Margo beamed and blushed beet red as she rolled the name on her tongue.
"Your name sounds so handsome," Margo uttered and smiled like crazy. Tristan looked at her and scowled. He thought that maybe the woman was drunk for her to say things like that in front of him.
"By the way, I am Margo Monteverde," Margo raised her voice for Tristan to turn his head again towards her. She smiled lovely and pursed her lips, unable to contain the happiness on her face.
"Yeah. Nice to meet you, Margo," Tristan murmured. He raised his eyebrows a little, and drank the beer from the bottle. He didn't even seem to care why Margo was sitting beside her. He was waiting for someone to arrive. He looked by the door, and took a peek on his cellphone, but there was no text from his girl.
"Are you a regular here?" Margo asked. Tristan was getting a bit irritated by Margo's inquisitiveness. He cleared his throat and simply controlled his temper.
"Yeah, I am a regular," Tristan muttered and sighed as he averted his eyes once again. He tapped his feet as he checked his wristwatch. His girl might not show up any minute now, he must be so busy with her taping.
Margo put her left elbow on the counter. She raised her hand and put her head in it. She observed Tristan's anxious face and laughed her head off. Tristan shifted his eyes suddenly and creased his forehead. He rolled his eyes as he stroked his hair, getting irritated as each second passed.
"Why do you look so worried? Is something wrong?" Margo queried, putting her chin on her hand and inching her body a little closer to him. Tristan made a defensive mechanism towards Margo. He avoided his arms from touching her chest. He crossed his arms and didn't expect nasty things would blabber in his mouth.
"What is wrong with you? Don't flirt with me, please," Tristan exhaled. Margo stood upright from her seat and looked the other way. Tristan's words replay over her mind as the tears streamed down without her realizing it. She closed her eyes as she remembered Xian kissing another woman in his hospital bed.
Tristan wanted to take back what he said and opened his mouth to say anything, but Margo faced him suddenly. He looked at her eyes, and saw the tears pouring down, still welling up.
"I'm sorry. It's just that... I'm devastated right now." Margo's tone changed to an agonizing one. She called the bartender and told him to serve one shot of the large tequila again. Tristan stared at her face, and he realized she was in grief.
"I need someone to lean on... I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable," Margo whispered. The bartender came back and served her a cold, large glass of tequila. Finishing with three slices of lemon on the side of it. She gulped it down in one chunk and wiped her mouth while angry tears were still dripping down.
"He is a bastard. He cheated on me like we were nothing," Margo told Tristan quietly. She stooped down as she felt the pain rising. Tristan doesn't want to leave his seat as he felt Margo was telling the truth. He felt the pain she was going through by looking into her gloomy eyes.
"I love him so much, but why did he do this to me?" Margo asked herself as Tristan listened to her. She sobbed uncontrollably and her shoulders shook. Tristan looked away and whispered something.
The slow, melancholy music changed into something upbeat. Margo heard the muffled shouts from different people. They circle around the dance floor and wiggle their waists and body off. The Queen's Bar became lively once the music had changed. Tristan shifted again his eyes towards the door, but what he had been waiting for an hour now was not coming.
Margo lay down her head on the counter and cried again. Tristan sighed and said something.
"Margo, overcome that grief unless it can kill you," Tristan mumbled closely to her. That made Margo look up from the counter. She locked her gaze towards those mesmerizing eyes and she felt the tears stop. She observed his face as Tristan stared at Margo's angelic face.
In a matter of seconds, the beat of the music slowed down. Margo can't seem to hear anything. The two of them breathing the air in between as they stared into each other's eyes. When she knows this was the perfect time to look at those lips, Margo seems to drift apart from herself.
She kissed Tristan suddenly. Tristan widened his eyes as he felt Margo's lips moving in their own accord. His conscience was trying to command him to push her away, but Tristan was falling into the trap. Margo moved her lips aggressively. She paved her hands from the counter up to the nape of Tristan's neck. Tristan coiled his hands-on Margo's waist as they kissed each other passionately.
When they felt they were out of breath, Margo was the one who broke the kiss. She leaned her forehead into Tristan's as she smiled. Tristan closed his eyes, swallowed, and came back into reality when he opened his eyes. He was astonished to hear someone shouting at the door.
He darted his eyes quickly over there. He saw his girl, Katrina Fajardo, clenching her jaw and knuckling her fists.