It was week-end and Julie was with her friends Camille and Jade in her apartment getting ready for Saturday night.
"And he just didn't show up?" Camille asked while applying her lipstick.
Julie nodded sadly. It's been two days and Julie still didn't hear from Gianni. By now she was sure she will never see him again.
He just came into her life and disappeared again and Julie felt almost like it was a all in her imagination.
The only proof she had that it wasn't was his number on her phone. But Gianni made sure that she can't use this as a way to connect to him so he remained unreachable for her.
"If he did that to you, he isn't a good man and definitely not worth the heartache. You can do so much better than him, so don't be sad and enjoy the night."
Jade was harsh in her speech but Julie couldn't argue with her. No matter how much she liked Gianni during their date his behavior was inexcusable and she had to accept the fact that he wasn't who she thought he was.
"You are right. It's not worth it. Let's talk about something else."
Jade smiled at Julie with sympathy. She felt bad for her friend but didn't want her to dwell in negativity.
"Maybe you will get to meet your dream guy tonight. Such things always happen when you least expect them," Camille said.
'Two times in one week. That's unlikely,' Julie thought.
Julie looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a short dark blue dress that revealed one of her shoulders. In combination with that she wore block heels because they were more comfortable to dance in than normal high heels. She wanted to be able to dance the whole night without breaking her feet.
Her hair that was usually slightly wavy was now completely straightened. Camille helped her with her make-up and gave her smokey eyes with a little bit of silver glitter. In addition Julie put on lipstick in a neutral pink shape.
The girls met Pierre and Lucas in the hallway. Lucas complimented the girls for their looks and they all left together.
Pierre was stunned when he saw Julie. She always looked beautiful to him but in this short dress she was irresistible.
Pierre hoped he could dance with her tonight and keep all the other men away.
Julie often gets flirted with when they go dancing but she was never interested in any of them and Pierre gladly took the job of her protector.
They all arrived in Lucas' car at the club and didn't have to wait long in line because Jade was on the guest list.
Jade is sort of an IT girl who knows everything and everyone. She is even friends with the owner of this club what allows her to get in whenever she wants and even invite her friends.
Upon entering the club the group went straight to the bar.
"What do you want to drink ladies. I'll buy the first round," Pierre said.
Julie ordered a long drink that contained a lot of alcohol. She wasn't used to something that strong but she had the plan to get drunk. After the disaster with Gianni, she wanted to let go of all her inhibitions at least for one night.
She wasn't good at loosening up and she was sick of it. Maybe if she was a little cooler Gianni wouldn't have ghosted her.
After Julie had a second drink she went with Camille and Jade on the dance floor.
Pierre was looking at Julie from the bar. She was dancing skillfully and Pierre thought how he never saw anything sexier.
"When are you finally going to ask her out, man?" Lucas' voice interrupted Pierre's daydreaming.
"Soon."
"What do you mean 'soon'. If you wait longer another guy will snatch her away. You said that she dated someone this week. What if she goes on dates more often from now on and something turns into a serious relationship."
Pierre's ears were buzzing from the words his friend said. Will he have to fight off more guys from now on.
'No way' he thought. Julie didn't show interest in men easily. She was quite reversed and her date with Gianni seemed more like an exception to Pierre.
"I just want to work more on our relationship before I ask her out."
"The more you wait the deeper you will get into the friend zone."
Pierre only rolled his eyes at Lucas.
"Seriously. It's obvious that she just sees you as a friend and the longer you wait the more is her opinion of you manifesting. You need to change this quickly and make her at least consider you as a partner or you will never be more than a friend," Lucas pleaded.
Pierre had to admit that Lucas was right. It was obvious that Julie felt so comfortable around him because she thought that he is not interested. What will she do when she finds out about his feelings?
"I will tell her once she is over the guy who ghosted her."
Pierre told Lucas when they got ready for the party about Julie's date and how sad she was when the guy blocked her. Of course, he didn't tell him that he was the reason why that guy didn't want to see Julie anymore.
He was sure that Lucas wouldn't tell Julie but he wouldn't like what he did either and Pierre didn't want to upset his friend.
"Don't wait too long. She might be off the market very soon." Lucas pointed at Julie who was dancing with a guy. "Man, I don't know what you are waiting for but I will make use of the night."
That being said Lucas left Pierre behind who stood there gaping at the scene.
What was happening? Julie was dancing with a guy while laughing whenever he leaned forward to tell her something. It was obvious that he was flirting with her and Julie didn't seem to mind.
'Fuck, what should I do now? Will I have to spend my time planning on how to get rid off the guys who approach Julie. Lucas is right. I should ask her to date me as soon as possible. Then I won't have to worry about other guys anymore.'
Before Pierre could do anything he watched Julie and this man coming to the bar. He bought her another drink and Pierre listened a little to their conversation.
The guy bragged a lot about his money, what car he drives, the amazing job he has, his last vacation. He was a total poser.
Pierre didn't understand why Julie was hanging out with him. She hates guys like this who are all show but have no depth. And it was obvious that she was bored by his talk.
After Julie literally downed her drink, Pierre watched helplessly how Julie dragged the guy back on the dance floor.
Since he couldn't stare at her all night, he joined Lucas who was talking to two girls.
Lucas was quite popular with the ladies. When they were younger he always gave him advice about girls. Well, technically he is still doing that.
One of the girls introduced herself to Pierre and they started dancing but Pierre would look over to Julie as often as he could.
He was afraid that she would leave with him. She was way too drunk and this guy might use that to do something indecent.
But Julie seemed to have fun and the guy kept his hands to himself so Pierre relaxed a bit.
Julie came here with the intention to get drunk and have fun. She wanted to proof to herself that she was not boring and when a guy who introduced himself as Adam asked her to dance, she wanted to show the world that someone could be interested in her.
Julie didn't care for this man at all. He was talking too much about himself and about how great he was. She could tell that he had a huge ego and Julie hated this in man.
But he served the purpose of distracting her and that's what she wanted from this night.
As time went by Adam became more and more touchy. At first, he would just hold on to her waist or put his hand behind her back. But he became increasingly more confident and his hand moved lower.
Julie started to feel uncomfortable but the alcohol messed with her head and made her tolerate this man a lot more than she usually would.
When he started to touch her butt she had enough and wanted to push him away but he held her tightly in place and Julie couldn't get out of his grip.
The alcohol clouded her mind and she didn't know what to do.
"Stop that! Let me go!" She told him while pushing on his chest but he wouldn't budge.
Sober she would maybe have a chance to defend herself but like this it was hopeless.
Suddenly she could feel him grinding his crotch area against her. Julie felt a mix of anger and disgust. 'How dare this guy do this to me?,' she thought. But at the same time, she felt so helpless and a numbing fear started to grip her heart.
Julie never was in a situation like that and no matter how much she struggled and begged him to let her go Adam didn't stop.
She started tearing up when suddenly the guy was pushed back by a strong blow and fell down on the dance floor.
Adam touched his face in confusion. He had blood on his hand from a busted lip and needed a moment to process what happened.
He looked up to see Pierre standing in front of him with anger written all over his face. Julie never witnessed his angry side before, so she was shocked when she saw the murderous look on his face.
Pierre leaned down to hit Adam's face some more who was helplessly exposed to his punches. "How dare you touch her against her will," he shouted.
Camille and Jade showed up and stood protectively in front of Julie. They didn't see what happened but they knew that Pierre wouldn't beat a guy without a good reason.
Julie was watching the scene of Pierre punching the shit out of the guy who just molested her and she felt the air around her getting thinner.
"I need to get out of here." Julie went to leave the club and Jade and Camille followed after her. She needed some fresh air. Staying in there was unbearable after it dawned on her how dangerous this situation was.