HARU
The band begins to play some sort of slow, sensual tune that enters my ears whole but reaches my brain distorted. I can't focus on it for the life of me. The joint in between my lips takes up full capacity of my mind and I'm not mad about it.
I've had a totally shit day, a day that I really shouldn't have spent alone.
It's the third Sunday of June: Father's Day.
"Holy. Fucking. Shit, bro." Alek enunciates from beside me.
Leon snickers, hiding his wide smile behind a skinny hand, "Hey. You've got a bit of drool there, let me just—"
He reaches forwards to wipe at the corner of Alek's mouth.
"Get off me!" Alek swipes his hands through the air, "Look at her, man."
I do as he says, even though he isn't talking to me, and plant my eyes on the stage. On the centre pole. And on the woman wrapping her legs around the top of it.
"She's an angel." Alek continues to babble. I laugh at him.
Naksh seems to be in agreement with Buzzcut, "I've actually never seen a girl move like that before."
"You do realise it's the pole that's moving, right? Not her." Leon informs us, sipping on his Jack and Coke before darting his eyes back to the dancer. He can pretend to be nonchalant all he wants, but I can tell he's enchanted as well.
I probably would be, but I'm too busy laughing my arse off at nothing in particular. I try to relax and enjoy what's in front of me, an absolute vixen of a woman with a body so hot that all the men in the vicinity have tight pants. I can't. Whatever's in this weed is too good and too strong for me to think about anything else other than how funny everything suddenly is.
After a few minutes of silently laughing so hard that my abdomen is beginning to hurt and I have tears streaming down my cheeks, my blurry vision settles back into normality and everyone's identical twins seem to disappear.
"Haru, you aren't even looking!" Complains Alek.
"'M lookin', 'm lookin'." I mumble, looking up at the way the dancer's thighs wrap securely around the pole and she lets herself drop freely until they tighten again; not a glimpse of fear in her eyes.
I try to get a better look at her face but she's moving so fluidly that everything just blurs into one. I chuckle again, how amusing.
What I do notice, is that her hair is cut into a perfect, shoulder-length bob, stark black with a white streak running through the front of it. She is elegant and smooth, pale and (from the little I can gather) has the striking features of a fox or a cat. Her face is all sharp edges and a far cry from my much softer appearance.
What a distinctive looking woman, I've never seen such conspicuous beauty before. Or, perhaps she's just my type.
"Brothers, I'm hanging up the boots." Alek sighs dramatically, flopping back into his chair. I can hardly hear him over the methodical beat of the band's music and Cynthia Monroe's low voice.
I snort, "Yeah, I'll believe that when you say 'I do,' at the end of a fucking aisle."
"I'm deadly serious!" He suddenly gasps, making me wheeze. Everything is so funny and there isn't a thing I can do to stop it. I feel so light and airy, I am floating around in an erotic heaven, "But only for that woman."
"Good luck with that one, mate." Naksh coughs down a laugh. Alek isn't unattractive by any means. However, he's crude and has no filter, women usually run away when he waves the first red flag.
"I don't need luck." Alek frowns, "Once this glorious display is over, I'm going to ask her for her number."
"You're insane." Leon pats his shoulder, "But that's something I want to see, so I won't stop you."
"You're totally sucking my dick if I get this woman's info." Alek smirks.
I burst out laughing.
"He's doing it."
"He's actually doing it."
"He's a brave, brave man."
The three of us watch on in horror as Alek snakes his way over to the bar where the black haired woman is chatting with one of the waitresses. Now that I'm somewhat sober (only a tad) I can understand what all the fuss is about.
Her body is quite unbelievable. Long legs with large thighs hugged by black, sheer stockings and a corset wrapped so tightly around her torso that I'm surprised she can even breathe. Her tits are peaking out the top of it, perky and sitting comfortably. The woman hasn't bothered to change, perched on a barstool and pocketing all the compliments random people are giving her after the show.
"She's gonna eat him alive." Naksh gulps.
Leon sniggers, "This is pure gold, Buzzcut's a bloody legend."
Alek reaches her, leaning on the bar and flashing a bright smile. They begin to converse.
"What the fuck is happening?" I wheeze, "Am I seeing shit?"
"She's actually talking to him." Leon seems dumbfounded. I am too, ''I am not sucking his dick, by the way. No way in hell. I know Haru doesn't mind a bit of cock, but I'm not doing it."
"Can't believe you agreed to that." I mutter under a chuckle.
After a few more minutes, Alek pushes away from the bar and swaggers back over to us like he's just won the damn lottery, "Well, well, well..."
"You dawg, you!" Leon wraps an arm around Alek's neck when he sits down, pulling him into his chest and muttering something about categorically not sucking his dick.
"Did you manage to pull off the heist then?" Naksh taunts, wiggling his fingers like some sort of ghost.
Alek pronounces his 'ha ha's' individually, "Ha-ha-ha..."
We lean in, expectant.
He laces his fingers together and leans forwards on the table, "... No. I failed, comrades."
"YES!" Leon pumps his fist into the air, "I mean..! My bad, man, that sucks."
"What'd she say?" Naksh asks whilst I tilt my head back, relighting the joint and managing to get another puff out of it. I remember thinking the ceiling looked nice a short 20 minutes ago but now it appears rather plain.
"She said," Alek's tone turns grim, "she wanted to speak to the 'pretty boy over there.'"
I snap my head back up, "That's my name, though?"
"You cockblock, Haru! I'm never going out with you again." Alek wails, "That woman was going to be my wife before y—"
"Please, don't embarrass yourself, Al." Leon cackles, shaking his head, eyes briefly flickering to the woman in question at the bar, "She's looking over here, Ru. Time to go do your thing, buddy."
"Yeah?" I grin.
"No." Alek grumbles, "I saw her first, if you're a good friend you'll let me have another shot."
"C'mon, Buzz." Naksh smiles, "No point in bothering the girl again, is there?"
"It's fine." I shrug, "That cuffed chick from earlier sort of put me off women for tonight."
"What? You into dudes now?" Says Naksh.
I upturn my lips before grinning, "We all know I'm partial to it."
"Haru." Leon shakes his head, "Stop being nice just because Alek's got his knickers in a twist."
Alek grumbles something incoherent, but it sounds like approval, so I push out of my chair and carve a path to the bar— and to the woman waiting there for me.
I choose the seat on her left, the side farthest away from my friends, and side-eye her.
"Can I help you, darling..?"
"Yeah, you can." She spares me a glance, making me feel like I'm some sort of king for being able to get even this far.
Her eyes are green and have tiny freckles in them, she has high cheekbones and arching brows that have been finely plucked. The woman's lips appear round and full, they don't have much of a dip in the Cupid's bow. Her nose runs straight and cuts off flatly at her nostrils, no curve or dip to it. Everything about her is finely carved and chiselled, as though she's some sort of sculpture. No soft features in sight.
I feel intimidated.
"How?" I smile, "You want a drink?"
But I don't show it.
"No, I don't. I wanna know why you thought my performance so was fucking funny."
"Funny?" I pull my eyebrows together.
This time she turns to me in her seat, scowling. I feel like a child being berated, "Yeah, you had bloody tears streaming down your face, love. So what was so damn funny? Did I amuse you?"
"What I'm understanding is that you were looking at me." I know I'm playing with fire, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that this woman is a force to be reckoned with.
She seems to have an odd way of making me feel special just by looking in my direction, or allowing me the luxury of hearing her surprisingly strong South London accent. I grew up in Croydon, so my accent is a lot more prominent than my friends'.
"Hard not to look at such a pretty face." She compliments, analysing my expression for a moment, "Especially when it's wet with fucking tears."
"... I was high, I am high." I briefly explain, "Honestly, I didn't even want to come here tonight."
"Yeah? Rather be cooped up with your daddy and gifting him slippers for Father's Day instead?"
"... Something like that." I mumble under my breath, it isn't really any of her business, "You sure you don't want a drink, sweetheart?"
"I get my drinks for free anyway." She waves her hand through the air, calling over a bartender, "Water with lemon, thanks, Adam." Her green eyes match my gaze, "And for the lady?"
I chuckle, "The lady doesn't drink."
"Right," the woman nods to herself, "he just smokes weed wherever he isn't supposed to."
"You gonna tell on me, darling?" I ask, leaning into her ear so she can hear me.
"No." She shakes her head, "What's your name?"
"Haru Thatcher. What's yours?"
She smiles after noticing the red eyes I'm sporting, though it seems bitter and cold, "God, you really were high, weren't you?"
"Am." I correct.
"... My name's Sedah."
"Pretty name for a pretty face." I observe, "Just Sedah?"
"Just Sedah." She confirms. It seems to me that she isn't having a particularly good night despite all the compliments. In fact, she just seems downright sad.
Before I can carry on the conversation, we're interrupted by a chirpy, well-spoken voice butting in from the other side of her, "Amazing performance, Miss Hades, truly."
I want to roll my eyes into the back of my head, the man settles into the spare seat and beams a Cheshire Cat smile in Sedah's direction. I can tell from his accent and the way he holds himself that he's one of those rich Kensington idiots with too much money, "Thank you, Hugo."
Hugo? The guy's name is Hugo? What a shit name. His chestnut coloured hair parts down the middle and hangs in curtains over his forehead, he has a fresh undercut and wears a tailored suit. Overkill, if you ask me. 'Hugo' is a lot more rugged looking than I am. He has that typically handsome vibe that reminds me of Thor.
I don't turn around, if my friends see me getting cockblocked by a posh prick then I'll never hear the end of it.
"You get better and better every night, do you know that?" He divulges. Every night? He's here every night? How desperate.
Sedah dryly chuckles, "Once again, thanks. But you've interrupted my conversation."
The man looks around Sedah's body, finally clocking me, "Mind if I steal my little star here for a second?"
"A little, yeah." I play with Leon's lighter that I've claimed for the night, flicking it on and off.
His little star? I get the feeling Sedah doesn't belong to any man or woman.
"Well," he sighs, "at least I tried being polite. Come on, Sedah. Me and the guys are going back to mine for a party."
Sedah remains sat even as Hugo shrugs on his jacket.
"Are you coming? Or not?"
She wordlessly shakes her head, "Nah. I'll pass tonight. Thanks, though."
"You'd rather sit by this little runt all night?" He laughs whilst I quietly seethe. My frame isn't stocky, I'm actually quite slim, but nothing about being 6'0 makes me a 'runt.' Hugo is just abnormally tall.
And he's clearly in love with himself.
If I was a violent man, I might hit him. Though, he does have the structure of a rugby player so I'd probably lose.
Sedah takes a small sip of her water, "I like the pretty boys, sorry."
"Suit yourself." Hugo's eyes give away his surprise, "I'll see you around."
She waves once, watching as he leaves.
"If you want to go, then..." I give her the option, just in case.
"I don't." Sedah promises me, "They'll just be snorting coke off other girls' tits and then start butting heads like the senseless rugby lads they are."
She seems to know all too well what Hugo and his friends are like, so I change the subject.
"So, you like pretty boys?" I smirk.
"Pretty boys that are a little rough around the edges." She expands, probably referring to my loose clothing, messy hair and drug habit.
"I can be more than just a little rough, darling," I throw myself into the deep end, "if that's what you need from me."
"Yeah?" Sedah blinks, the perfect shine of her hair looks glossy under the light, "I've been getting praised all night, but you see..." Her lips tickle the shell of my ear, "I actually have a degradation kink, so that's simply no good."
When she pulls back to see my slackened jaw, a tiny smile tugs at the corners of her lips. My tongue presses against the inside of my cheek; she's a bad woman.
"C'mon." I stand up from the stool, offering her my hand.
"Hm?"
"You have somewhere you need to be."
"And where is that?" The woman smirks, taking my outstretched hand.
"My bed, sweetheart."