***
PRESENT...
If it was going to be her last, she might as well live it as recklessly as possible, introvert or not and that also include getting down with a complete stranger tonight.
With a giggle, she swung herself around on the barstool, her hair following suit and wrapping around her sweaty face. She pushed it away from her view, scanning around for hunks who ticked her boxes.
Pumped with energy she didn't knew she had, it suddenly became too sweaty inside her clothes. She ripped open her denim jacket, swinging it over her head in tune with the jam, then she let it fly.
Left on her C cup breasts was her crochet bralette rubbing against her skin. Luckily, she got the attention as a few men pivoted their lustful eyes in her direction, devouring the sight of her creamy skin.
The women they came with, however, didn't seem to appreciate her actions.
She spun back to face the bartender, who looked like a snack to covet for the night, with a lopsided grin.
"Pour me more shots."
His face mirrored worry but he did as she'd ordered anyway, mixing up crème de cassis, lime juice, soda water and then toppin it off with a generous amount of tequila, all in a shot glass.
With the mannerism of a pro, he slid the glass over to her.
With equal energy, she grabbed the glass and tipping her head back, she emptied the content into her mouth, making a scrunched up face as the acidic taste of the liquer kicked in.
She dropped the glass back down with a thud, her hair falling in front of her sweaty face.
"Mo--"
"I think that's enough drinking for tonight, Hermosa. You look like you're about to pass out drunk." The bartender replied, his tone laced with a latin accent.
She glared at him with her nose flared like he was an impudent insect she couldn't wait to trample upon.
"You won't decide for me how to spend my money. Speaking of spend, how much will it cost you to follow me home?"
Although he grinned at her question, a beautiful one that exposed his dimples, he didn't stop mixing drinks. "I'm quite a catch, Hermosa. Not sure you can afford the luxury of me."
At his words, Octavia allowed her eyes to fully drink in the sight of him. Thick lashes, kissable rosy lips, biceps that said 'yeah, I hit the gym as often as one should' and curly hair that-- Her train of thought stopped abruptly as she wondered. "Are you in any way Latino?"
"Half latin. My mom's African." He winked flirtatiously, then averted his eyes in an unashamed game of innocence while he served the other customers.
"When's your shift going to be over?" She inquired as soon as he stepped close to her. His biceps flexed as he went back to work, mixing up cocktails and serving them to the customers who were lined up along the bar.
Without looking and still juggling the large tin cup around himself, he winked at another customer who in turn made a clawing motion at him in a seductive play of fierceness, her pearly whites bared in display.
"As soon as the person who's to take over from me arrives."
Just as he mentioned that, a red head slipped in through a door and into the space next to him.
Octavia half reclined on the counter almost drunk. She watched with evident jealousy as the bartenders flirted with each other before he took off his black apron and went out through the backdoor.
"Get a grip on yourself, Tavia. That's why it's called a club. If you want people who don't openly flirt with each other, visit the holy grounds or something." She berated herself, her purse slapping the side of her head as she called out each word.
With a drunk sigh, she dropped her head on the counter, staring blankly at her barely covered thighs as she waited for the bartender.
"Shall we?"
The words were spoken right next to her ears but the tremors that followed right after had her thighs snapping shut.
The barstool she sat on was swung and she came face to face with the bartender. He looked even more dangerously sexy without the bland white shirt and black bow tie.
He was donned in a navy blue shirt with a few buttons popped open to reveal a beautiful swirl of chest hair. The oxygen in her lungs was swiped right out of her at how mouthwatering he was.
Having understood the effect he had on her, held out a sturdy hand to curl the other around her waist, keeping her steady. "It's almost like I can smell your arousal all the way from here. When I'm done with you, I promise you'll be daydreaming about it for months to come."
"Can't wait for that." She replied, biting back a moan when she felt his hand drop low to cup her buttocks teasingly.
Once he'd settled in the driver's seat, she wasted no time in reeling him in for a kiss. He tasted like mint with a dash of buttermilk as his tongue swiped into her mouth.
In no time, they migrated to the back seat of the car, clothes discarded with reckless abandon. With hips raised, she lowered herself down onto the hardness poking at her inner thighs, rocking slightly on her heels to get used to him being inside her.
There came the familiar sting on the inside of her left wrist. It pulled relentlessly but due to the alcohol still abuzz in her system, it managed to dull the ache.
She felt cold lips latch onto one of her nipples just as fingers kneaded the other. That was all it took to make her lose all interest.
"Stop. Stop." She unattached herself from him, reaching blindly for the rest of her clothes.
Pretty boy sat with a shocked expression.
As eager as she'd been initially, it soon dwindled to nothing. She sighed, disappointment flooding in her system. Just when she thought she'd be able to last, she dried up faster than the sands of Sahara after a desert rain. She managed to tug on the last of her clothing.
"What was that about?" He quizzed, confusion written on his handsome face.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She apologized profusely, dragging her fingers through her hair, exasperated.
How on earth was she to explain to him that whenever the sting on her wrist hit, it quelled her hunger for sex or any sexual attachment to anyone she was with?
"I'm sorry I dragged you out here for this to happen. Thing is, I like you alright? But it's not enough to let this... I'm sorry."
He smiled, reached for his pair of jeans tossed to the front seat and struggled to put it on. For someone of his height, it was indeed a struggle.
"Don't beat yourself up about it. Since you began hitting on me in there, I knew it was just the alcohol speaking. I played along cos I wanted to see where the night would lead us. Apparently, it brought us here. This is where I say goodnight. Drive home safe, Hermosa."
He planted a chaste kiss on her crown, stepped out of the car shirtless, waved at some person before walking up to them.
Tavia craned her neck and saw that some other lady already had her claws all over him.
With regret, she watched him slide into the lady's car. They wasted no time in turning on the ignition and driving off. Her eyes followed them until they were no longer in sight.
Replaying the events of today and how everything had unfortunately turned out to be, a sudden blanket of sadness wrapped itself around her.
Tears burned in her vision and she blinked them away as she'd trained herself to. Emotions kept in check, she hopped out of the car to the driver's seat.
An illumination casted the interior in a warm glow and when she turned to look, it was a message notification from her phone.
It was from the very person she only wanted to talk to.
She dialed the number, raised the phone to her ear as she waited for the other line to be opened. As soon as the voice of the person filtered through, relief flooded into her.
"Expect me in two days." She announced.