“Hey, Hailey, this is my friend, Sarah.” I introduce her to my friend.
Hailey waves to Sarah who outright ignores her. I nudge her, surprised at her behavior, and she rolls her eyes and raises her hand in a halfhearted wave back to Hailey.
“What’s wrong with you?” I turn to my friend.
“That’s the girl from the bathroom,” she growls.
“Hailey’s friend? I’ve never met her before.”
“No, Hailey. She’s the one who was talking about scoring with Sebastian tonight.” Sarah scrunches her face up, unimpressed.
“No, you mean her friend, the leggy blonde. Hailey’s the one who waved to you, she’s the one we saw with Sebastian that night after the concert.”
“Babe, I know exactly which one it is. I’m telling you it was her.” She insists.
“Did you SEE her say it?” I need to know for sure.
“I was in the stall but I could see through the crack, I promise you it’s her.”
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter.” I wave her off, not wanting to hear any more.
But it does.
I can’t help but notice when Hailey comes over and slides in between Sebastian and Jez, laughing with them over some inside joke, and they’re tickling her and she’s obviously enjoying every moment.
I know I don’t have any right to care, having refused any attempt by Sebastian to start something between us, but I can’t help but remember that shock of seeing her with him that night, and the crushing feeling of hurt and disappointment. No matter Sebastian’s explanations about what happened and what she means to him, which now seems as though it’s not completely true anyway.
Sarah growls next to me, and I look over at her and she gestures with her head to Hailey and Sebastian again, their heads together as she’s showing him something on her phone, her hand on his leg. My heart twists in my chest and I can’t help but curse my own weakness, stopping me from being with him.
“Come on, screw this shit, let’s go have some fun, babe.” Sarah grabs my hand, forcing me to look away from the torturous scene playing out in front of me and drags me out to the dance floor.
I see Marius and Brad follow us and I turn and wait for them, pretending to look at my watch to get them to hurry up. Brad laughs and grabs my hand and the four of us push our way into the middle of the crowd.
Patrick booked an eighties cover band for after the Rock Chamber Boys set and the clubgoers are eating it up. It doesn’t take long for us to be completely lost in the nostalgic familiarity of the songs, singing along to Toni Basil’s “Oh Mickey!” and bumping and grinding next to strangers, laughing as we mix up the words.
I’m losing myself in the music and the fun that Brad, Marius, Sarah and I are having, and best of all, forgetting about the scenes of Hailey seducing Sebastian back at the booth. The crowd around us builds as people start to recognize them from their performance and hordes of women start to gather around Marius and Brad, who are lapping up the attention, but making sure Sarah and I are never too far away.
Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder, gently nudging me to the side, Sebastian and Hailey have joined us and the others are making room for them to join the dance circle. In the corner of my eye I can see Sarah glare at the two of them, and she turns to dance with a bachelorette party to the side of us. Hailey’s hand is gripping Sebastian’s shoulder, as if afraid to let him go. Even when he leans into whisper to me, “You having a good time?” I see her tugging on his shoulder and away from me.
The best way to not respond in a way that will cause me regret, I decide, is just to ignore them altogether. I turn my back to Sebastian in the guise of dancing with Marius. I lean over and make a joke about how the Rock Chamber Boys should do an ’80s retrospective some time and he laughs, taking my hand and twirling me around. Mid twirl, I catch Sebastian’s eye for a moment, and he looks hurt, but only for a second before I notice his arms around Hailey’s waist and she’s dropping her head onto his shoulder.
I twirl back to face Marius and feel a body up against me.
Sebastian.
I close my eyes telling myself, it’s OK to enjoy his touch for just a moment. I’ve been so good for so long, despite craving him with every fiber of my being. I lean back and reach behind me to touch his arm.
It’s not him. It’s not Sebastian’s arm. It’s too rough.
I look up and Marius is standing in front of me, so I know it’s not him either. Two hot hands then grab me from behind around the hips and pull me back, banging hard against the stranger’s chest. I try to turn, but the hands are holding me tight and I can feel the body start to grind against me. I feel repulsed by this uninvited assault. I start to struggle, but the hands around my hips grip me harder, almost bruising me to keep me in place.
“Get off me!” I yell, and kick my heel up behind me, trying to aim for the grabber’s shins.
Marius comes forward, his face angry and he tries to reach for the person holding onto me. I shake my head at him, not wanting him to get involved; I can take care of this dickhead myself. He stands back but keeps watching close so I know I won’t get into too much trouble. I struggle harder, lifting my leg and stomp down hard on the guy’s foot. He roars and doesn’t let go but loosens his grip. I manage to shake him off and turn around. I see him for the first time, it’s a drunk guy that had been hanging around us since we’d gotten to the dance floor. His face is red and he lurches towards me again.