The night became wrapped in a shroud of ice, the air biting and unforgiving. Although I was inside the bar, it made no difference because Menzi's jacket didn't keep me as warm as I had hoped. I looked around the bar and realized that it was then almost empty. Many people were gone, including all of my friends. I was dying from boredom, so I continued smoking, trying to kill the cold and mask my loneliness. Menzi was chatting with his friends who were making a lot of noise in the bar.
As I savoured the last puff of my last cigarette, my mind reminded me of my warm blankets. Even the too much alcohol I had got absorbed by the situation. I thought of calling Viola to hear how she went, but as I clicked on my phone, I realized it was out of battery. I sighed and looked at the back where Menzi and his friends were, but he was no longer there and there was silence in the bar. My chest echoed in fear as I was frightened, thinking he left me, but my other gut told me otherwise. When I was still questioning myself about his whereabouts, I felt his hands touching both of my shoulders. My body reacted to his touches. I glanced at him. He ran his other hand to my chest, but I stopped him. He smiled and kissed my cheek.
"Your skin is freezing," he said, holding my hands.
"At least you realize it," I sighed, looked at his face, and asked, "Do you even have a house?"
He giggled and pulled me from the stool. He then squeezed me within his steel body.
"Menzi, respond to me. I want to sleep," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Oh, little one, have patience," he convinced, squashing me, and then added, "Give me ten more minutes. I am waiting for someone."
"Okay, fine! It's not like I have a say," I screamed, lacking the persuasive power.
He didn't say a word. Instead, he let go of me and noticed I no longer had alcohol or cigarettes. So he told me to get something from the bar woman before he tried to convince me to go outside with him. He wanted to meet someone outside. I disagreed with going with him when I thought about the icy weather outside.
"Hey Kelly! Please give Lisa whatever she wants," he screamed to the bar woman as he was heading to the exit door.
"You mean anything that she wants, Menzi?" Kelly asked, and then she tried to make Menzi change his mind, "But… she's just a college student. I think she had enough whiskey already."
Menzi stopped and glanced at me.
"Kelly, two cigarettes and a quart of wine!" I commanded her.
I didn't appreciate Kelly's sudden parental tone. Who was she to stop me from drinking? She looked at Menzi, expecting him to stop me, but Menzi gave the choice to me.
"Kelly, you heard her. She's old enough to be here," Menzi said, heading outside for his errands.
In no time, I was feeling the comfort of the Mark X car. I had my glass of wine next to me, and Menzi was starting the engine. His meeting with someone went faster than I expected. I had thought he was going to spend hours and I couldn't bear the thought of thinking about me sitting on the stool and experiencing loneliness. However, at that moment, I was feeling warm in his car.
"I am sorry my errands didn't go well. It's best you stop drinking this wine because we are going somewhere else. I won't go to sleep before finishing my errands," he said, driving to the main road.
"What? I told you I want to sleep already!" I yelled at him as I realized he hadn't met the person he was waiting for.
"You don't seem like someone who's feeling sleepy now, little-one. Before possibly yes, I was going to agree, but now I'm afraid I have to disagree. Let's enjoy this night. It's not yet over," he persuaded me.
"Where are we going?" I asked as I felt a little energized.
"Kaden House… there you will meet my friends, and I expect you to be lively. And the most important thing, be next to me always," he warned, emptying my wine glass into his mouth.
"You're frightening me. How can I always be with you?" I asked. "How will I go to the restroom?"
"Well, we will go together," he laughed.
"Oh yeah, I see. You don't want your friends to flatter with me," I smiled as my body felt warm and said, "Oh! Tough man, you're jealous."
"I don't remember when the last time I felt like this was," he said, and explained, "It's been long. To have a girl of your age in my car."
Menzi seemed to have pride. Before him, I had hung out with men who looked older than he did, yet his words in my head meant that I was too young to be in his car. I ignored his words and explored the source of his pride. I asked questions about himself. Every question I asked changed his tone towards me. In the end, he told me we were going to talk some other time. I agreed with him, and to kill the conversation moment, I played the music in the car. To my surprise, it played my favourite playlist of Ed Sheeran. I sang, and he joined along with me, as we were both intoxicated from alcohol. I put the wine container, which Menzi emptied next to my seat, and I charged my phone. The music was soothing. I was enjoying the moment. Menzi continued singing along. His deep voice was harmonizing with Ed Sheeran's voice. It surprised me. He knew the lyrics to my favourite song. The music was loud, and we were both lost in the moment.
As we drove, the city lights blurred together, creating a beautiful view outside. The music became the only thing that mattered. I was having fun, and didn't want the night to end. Menzi was enjoying himself too, despite him thinking I was young. After a few songs, he turned down the volume and asked, "Are you feeling better?"
I nodded. I was feeling warm and comfortable with him. He smiled, said, "Good. We're almost there."
I looked out the window. We were driving up a hill. The houses were getting bigger, and the streets become increasingly deserted.
"Is it real exciting inside?" I asked, feeling anxious.
"Kaden House…" he replied, "It's a friendly place. We'll have some fun there."
After that, I asked no more questions. As we approached the Kaden House, I could see that it was massive. The gates were open, and we drove up the driveway. The building was lit up, and I could hear the music coming from inside. Menzi parked the car, and we got out. He took my hand as we headed towards the building. I felt awkward, but he seemed to sense my unease and he squeezed my hand reassuringly. As we entered the outer fence, a group of people who were all smiling and welcoming greeted us. It was something else to shake hands with people I didn't even know, just because Menzi was very popular.