"Stop fidgeting."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I am not."
Neela leans over to me. "Callie, you look nice, now stop moving, okay?"
The line moves, and I move with it. After Neela announced that we were going out to celebrate my birthday, I've pretty much been on auto pilot.
Neela picked out my outfit, and then she told me we were going to a party. Honestly, I'm very nervous. I haven't been out in a year now, and I honestly don't know how to behave or act. I take deep breaths, and I become a little bit calmer. I decided to take my therapist's advice, I mean, we are literally at a club, and since we are here to have a good time. That's what I'm going to do.
As I'm giving myself a pep talk, I get my hand stamped, and I enter the club. I wait in a dim hallway for Neela, and she enters chuckling. I see her tuck a piece of paper in her side pocket, but I don't ask about it.
I rub my hands on my skirt, and Neela catches my movement
"Nervous?" She asks me
"Yeah, a little," I say, grimacing
"Honestly, me too." I stare at her, shocked. She shrugs unconsciously
"What?" She says a little defensively, "I don't go out a lot, okay?"
Neela being nervous is a new thing for me. She is always so grounded and level headed, I honestly thought nothing freaked her out, so her admission makes me a little bit better, and more comfortable with her. We stand there looking at each other, and then we burst out laughing. Other people passing by us look at us like we are crazy, but I don't mind. I grab her hand and interlock our fingers.
"We are going to be fine, and if we aren't well—" I pause, exhale, and straighten my posture. I look at Neela, and she does the same.
"What does it matter? It's our business. " she looks at me and gives me a resolute nod, and we walk towards the door with a big entrance sign in front.
As soon as we open the door, I remember why I never actually liked hanging out at clubs before. I am assaulted by the bright, colourful flashing lights loud music, the smell of sweat alcohol and the other unnameable odours.
"Let's partaaaaayyyyy,"Neela yells from beside me. The music is so loud, nobody even stops to look at us twice, because voice doesn't carry. She pulls me towards the dance floor and starts dancing.
Like she does with everything else, Neela dances with exuberance and single-minded focus while I just stand there being awkward. She does the moonwalk dance to me and gives me a look that says I dare you. I bark a laugh and then give her one saying bring it on.
We circle each other for a bit and the crowd start to part to gives us room, like they already know instinctively when there is about to be a dance battle. Soon enough there's more than enough space for two people to start dancing. Neela gives me a goofy dance and the crowd chuckles.
I roll my shoulders in an attempt to let loose and I start dancing slowly at first, trying to get s feel for the mudi but then my body does the rest for me. I used to take ballroom dance lessons before the accident and even if I don't remember any official choreography, my body remembers how to move.
The stances, the turns and twirls, hand placements, how to move my body to the rhythm of the music and how to be one with the music. I just dance. I continue dancing and as the music slows, I twirl and come to a stop when I see him.
"Max" his name escapes me before I even realise it.
He just stands there, looking at me, the beauty of him, so impeccable, his hands are folded across his chest and a smile plays on his lips, and the look he gives me is so incredibly raw. I feel it, from the top of my head all the way to the tips of my toes. The crowd cheers loudly and the music slows.
He raises one perfect eyebrow and gives me an imperceptible nod and I smile, giving him an answer to his unspoken challenge and as the music picks up, the crowd closes around Neela and I as everyone else continues dancing.
"Oh my God Callie"Neela says gushing "that was beautiful.
"Thanks" I say "Now let's do it again"
Neela laughs but obliges me. I look around to hopefully catch a glimpse of him but he seems to have disappeared. I would say i imagined him, but from the way my body thrums with anticipation, I know he was here. Neela and I join the other dancing clubbers and lose ourselves to the rhythm of the song.
★☆☆★★☆☆★★☆☆★★☆☆★
We dance until my feet are killing me and I'm parched at the end Neela decides to keep dancing and Iopt for a drink instead. I walk towards the bar and seat down at one of the high stool/ chair thingy and signal for the bartender and wait for my turn.
"That was a cool dance back there"
A guy says taking the seat beside me. Instantly my sore foot and parched throat is forgotten and I feel uncomfortable. I look over at him and he has a slack expression, which is a sure indication of drunkenness. I force a smile to my face and look away pointedly.
"I'm Greg" he says sticking his hand out to me. I ignore it and him still looking straight ahead. He shifts a little closer to me invading my personal space.
"So, I haven't seen you around here before, do you stay close by or are you just here for the club" he says, and with every word he says I can smell the alcohol on his breath which makes me feel more uncomfortable. I take a step to the side but he also shifts closer to me. This guy is totally oblivious to social cues and I don't know if it's because he is drunk or if that is how he actually is but either way, I am disgusted.
I look behind me hoping to catch Neela's eye, but she is still dancing her crazy dance oblivious to everything around her.
"So that's your friend huh," the guy Greg says from beside me,
"pretty but not my type, you on the other hand are exactly my type"
I resist the urge to gag. He lifts his hand like he wants to place it around my shoulders. I know that if he does that I'll be trapped so I quickly side step and try to remove myself from this situation.
I walk away from the bar and see the universal toilet sign with an arrow. I quickly go towards the restroom hoping that Greg doesn't follow.
Just to be sure, I look behind me and I see him coming towards me. Only, his expression is no longer slack. In the time i escaped his hands, his expression went from slack to angry.
I start running in earnest, hoping that the girls' restroom has a lock. I follow the arrows, and when it leads to a dark and deserted corridor, I know I'm in serious trouble.
I can't go back because I know that if I do, he'll most likely catch me, so my best bet is to just get to the restroom. I don't make it far because he catches up to me and grabs my shoulder.
I swing without thinking, and I hit him. He lets out a grunt but doesn't let go. He grabs my hair, and for a split second, I get deja vu. I see myself struggling while someone holds me down. My deja vu moment only lasts for a few seconds, and I try to take a swing at him again, but he ducks, and I miss.
I seethe "Let me go," I say
he only laughs. A very ugly, disgusting laugh. He raises his hand at me, and I close my eyes, bracing myself for the impact.
Only, the impact doesn't come. There is a faint growl, and I open my eyes to see Max holding Greg's hand. I get deja vu again, but I dismiss it. I can literally hear my heartbeat. I let out a sigh of relief but tense again when I hear a faint growling sound coming from Max. In a tone that raises the hairs on my neck, Max says
"She said to let go."