Recap
"Blaze relax, nothing can go wrong. You are feeling tense just because of the atmosphere." Blaze said to herself out loud. She was trying to make herself believe that nothing can go wrong.
***
"Oh my God, I might get lucky tonight." Ash said to Stephnie, one of her closest friends through the loud music in the bar.
"Really! That's really nice. You have been dry for quite a while. It was getting on your attitude." Stephnie said, rolling her grey eyes and running her hand over her shoulder length blue hair.
"What the hell Steph? I had sex last week. Don't you remember?" Ash asked, raising her eyebrows in confusion.
"I was being sarcastic you idiot." Stephnie said through gritted teeth, recieving an even confused look from Ash.
"Anyways, tell me about this chick. When did you meet her, everything." Stephnie picked a more interesting topic for herself. She fixed her plain black T-shirt and her rainbow bracelet.
"You remember the girl named Aliya I was talking to on social media who said she works in this bar and saw me earlier blah blah blah." Ash said, recieving series of nods from Stephnie.
"So she asked me if we could meet in the changing rooms for the staff. She said she would keep it unlocked. Also, she will be wearing a silver short dress with her black shoulder length hair open." Ash said while grinning from ear to ear.
"Cool, lucky you! I have so much trouble finding a girl who stays nearby and the guys I find are always creepy. Besides, your names match too, you know Ashley Aliya. Cool." Stephnie said sulking about her misery but already planning her friend's wedding in her head.
"Hey! Don't call me Ashley. It doesn't sound cool." Ash said and Stephnie automatically appologised.
"But imagine if you could get married to her, it would be awesome." Stephnie said dreamily and Ash's face dropped.
"Only if this torturous government allows us to love peacefully." Ash said with a mix of anger and dissappointment in her voice.
"If." Stephnie repeated to herself and signed in unison with Ash.
***
Blaze wiped off her sweaty palms on her silver dress which she was wearing only to be identified by her client. The amount of nervousness she was showing was clearly making her stand out of the crowd and this fact itself was making Blaze more nervous.
Blaze wore her earpiece in her left ear, praying that Eagle is already there on the other side. Thinking about Eagle oddly calmed her down in every situations.
"Yeah, tell me, why are you calling?" Eagle said from the other side of Blaze's earpiece. Hearing their voice brought a small smile on Blaze's face. She liked the fact that Eagle was always there. They were always there for her.
"Um... I can't find my client and honestly, I don't know why but...Urgh! This is fucking embarrassing! I am nervous." Blaze said, trying really hard to not scream in frustration.
"Stop cursing you bitch! Go to the staff's changing room that's where your client will meet you. I can't believe you forgot where you were supposed to meet your client after looking at pretty ladies." Eagle replied.
"No. I am not looking at anyone!" Blaze whisper screamed and almost ripped off her own ear while pulling off her earpiece. Her face was burning in embarrasment.
"You don't like girls Blaze, you don't. Your reality can never revolve around love and like." Blaze reminded herself and summoned her phone from her sling bag to look at the map of the bar so that she could find the staff's changing room without any chaos.
***
*Where are you babe? I am waiting in front of the staff's changing room.* Ash texted Aliya. She was getting worried of being ditched.
*Oh! I am on my way ;) I got caught up in work. I am wearing a silver dress remember? What are you wearing?* Ash immediately received a text from Aliya which soothed her down.
"Hey! Careful miss." Ash said as someone bumped into her. She diverted her eyes towards the one who crashed on her to find a find a woman in her early thirties, wearing a red dress which reached below her knee. Her dark brown hair was diseveled and her green eyes wandered everywhere. Looking at her condition Ash realized that this woman was not in a good state of mind.
Did someone drug her, Ash thought to herself. But then she couldn't remember any incident of people getting unknowingly drugged in "Duck and Smile."
"May I help you?" Ash asked with concern. She not want to let go of this golden opportunity of getting hooked up but nothing was more important than someone's life.
"D-do you know s-s-someone wearing a silver dress?" The woman stuttered with her desperate voice.
"Yes, but w-" Ash was answering, thinking about Aliya in the back of her mind before getting interupted.
The woman pulled Ash's hand forward, surprising her and placed a small brown envelope in her hand.
"Please, I beg you, please give it to her. I don't want to get dragged in this anymore. I just want to go home please." The woman said, she was a teary mess and Ash would have declined if this woman did not look so miserable.
"Ok. I will. What's inside this?" Ash said and proceeded to open the envelope.
"No!" The woman screamed and grabbed Ash's hand. Recieving glances from others in the bar.
"Okay. I won't open it." Ash said with widened eyes. She was completely freaked out and was betting her life on the fact that there was some sort of drug in that envelope. The woman turned around and skittered away. Leaving Ash perplexed.
But she received some relieve after spotting a girl with silver dress and black shoulder length hair coming towards the staff's changing room. The girl advancing towards Ash was on her phone. Ash had the widest smile on her face. It was like the woman in red dress never appeared.
Ash quickly put that envelope in her jeans pocket, rushed inside the changing room and turned the lights off. She was excited to see Aliya. Well, she was excited for what was going to happen next.
***
Blaze finally found the staff's changing room through the crowd of hormonal women. She was already tired. She made a mental note to never come into a bar ever again. She would rather kill a bunch of people than be in any kind of bar.
Blaze looked around to find that nobody was giving a fuck about her existence. The only thing which was going alright today for her. Her morning went with almost her and Blade getting caught. She did not want to challenge her luck today anymore.
She peeked inside the changing room and found no one in there, even the lights were turned off. Blaze's patience's limit was at its peak. She groaned and was about to call Eagle to connect her with her client.
That's when someone pulled her inside. She would have fought back. She was strong enough to fight back but it was so sudden that Blaze got pulled inside.
She found herself being wrapped by strong, warm arms. Her face was flushed against soft chest. She was warm. She was warm after a long while. This wasn't the type of feeling one would get in a bar filled with sweaty people. This was the feeling one would get when they are wrapped inside their blanket inside their homes on a snowy night. The warmth someone would get in their house.
She wanted to fight back. Punch whoever this higger was on their face. But, she was warm. For once she wanted to forget who she was and just be warm. Just for once. She inhaled her hugger's scent. It was sandalwood. She smiled at the unusual choice of perfume of this person.
Her face was lifted up by long, gentle fingers. She could guess that the one holding her was tall. A lot taller than her. Since her hugger had to bend to hug Blaze.
"Hey, you made me wait for a long time." A woman's deep voice told her and her face was being cupped. This woman pecked Blaze's cheek. Blaze couldn't fail to notice how soft those lips were. Before she knew her hands went up to touch the hands of this unknown person.
This person left trails of kisses from Blaze's cheek to the corner of lips before taking her mouth on hers. Blaze's eyes widened. She freezed, she could not believe that this was happening in her life.
She was pulled closer by her waist as this person kept kissing her. Blaze gave up, she closed her eyes and started moving her lips in coordination.
This was the first time in years, she didn't feel like a monster. First time in years she felt warmth. First time in years, she felt human. Blaze melted in the warmth of this person whom she couldn't even see.
***