NERTHUS
“Jax! Jax!” Jenna jumps up and down, getting the bouncer’s attention. He smiles as he opens his arms to hug her, and I ask myself how he could even recognize her with his sunglasses on.
We walk into the club and I’m still hugging myself as my skin slowly gets warmed up by the crowded space we step into. Jenna takes my hand and I follow her to the bar where we take a round of shots. After we feel inebriated enough, we hit the dance floor. If it was for me, I would only go to woman-only clubs, but as Jenna sometimes loves the attention she gets from men and also uses this as her marketing scheme, I tag along and find myself disgustingly getting out of random men wrapping their arms around me, fighting off unwanted compliments or even worse. As another man starts rubbing himself on to me while shouting in my ear how hot I am, I wind myself out of his grasp and step closer to Jenna, telling him that I’m not interested. He insults me but still turns away with a scowl.
Charming.
“I need a drink.” Jenna nods and we make a beeline to the bar, sitting on two free bar stools and start sipping our Caipirinhas.
“Are you alright?”
I nod repeatedly before taking another sip of my drink. And she smiles at me while tapping my knee.
“Next time we will go to the club you like. The one with the hot lesbians.” I laugh, pocking my crushed ice with my straw.
“You are such a pervert.”
She shrugs, flashing me a big smile. “Maybe we could enlarge our repertoire.”
Shanking my head, I take another sip off my drink. “You love your work too much, babes. That’s highly unhealthy.”
We crack up and are already back to chatting lightly as a man steps up to our side. I’m about to send him away as my eyes lock on his blue ones and I smile, recognizing him.
“Whores are not allowed in the club.” His voice is deep and authoritative. He speaks calmly even if disrupted by the music.
“We are not working.” I shout back with a grin and feel Jenna squeezing my knee.
“It’s OK. We will leave.” As I look at her, I face her panicky expression just before she fumbles at her purse, wanting to hop down the bar stool, but I stop her.
“The hell we are.” I shout at her, and she repays me with looking at me wide-eyed. “We aren’t working. So, tell your boss to suck it up.”
“Amber!” Jenna squeals panicky but I squeeze her knee while grinning at Mr. blue-eyes. “Off you go!”
I can sense that he is highly unpleased about turning around and walking away.
I guess their ego is higher than Mount Everest.
Chuckling to myself, I turn to Jenna, who is looking at me agape. “Do you have a death wish?” She grabs her purse and gets up hastily, slapping my hand off her. Hopping off the barstool, she is already sprinting through the club to reach the exit.
“Jenna!” I shout after her as I push through the crowd. “Jenna, wait. Please.”
Finally getting to her, I grab her wrist right before the exit and get her to stop. “Wait!”
“No.” She turns around to yell at me. “Are you crazy? We have to leave.”
“No, babes.” I giggle but her face has me stopping immediately. “I know that guy. I hook up with his boss. He is just playing with us.”
She squits her eyes at me, crossing her arms across her chest. “You have to be out of your mind.”
“Come on, babes. We messed up already. Let’s at least party on. Trust me, we are surely more safe in here.”
I hold my hand out to her, closing and opening it repeatedly. “Come.”
Her arms slump, her purse hitting her thigh with the chain of the handle tingling. She turns to the door and then back to me. “I didn’t grow up like you. I don’t have those guts or experience points. Those people scare me and I’m sure that you should feel some fear too.”
“What do you mean by ‘those people’?”
She tilts her head, looking at me incredulously. “Are you for real now?”
I shrug, and buckle while pleading. “Come on, now. Dance with me.”
Rolling her eyes, she takes a step forward and takes my hand. “I hope Gigi will have enough money to buy us pretty graves. I laugh as I drag her back to the dance floor. “He can take ours to buy them, hon.”
Finally, I get her to smile and a heartbeat later, we are already back to dancing carefreely. It takes another few moments before she accepts the advances of men unbothered and isn’t clinging on to me too much anymore.
As the fear slips from her, I get to feeling fully relaxed as well. I sense someone getting closer to me from behind me, even if I’m moving in a big ass crowd anyway. My skin prickles delightfully even before his fingers graze my skin. I gasp audibly as he grabs my thighs right beneath the seam of my mini-skirt. Pressing my back against his front, he increases the pressure of his hold slightly, making me claw on his forearms. His face buries into my hair and his husky whisper has my nerves buzzing.
“Not working, huh?”
I answer him by shaking my head and as I look up I see Jenna looking back at me frozen in her spot. The lights of the club and the people moving around us, make it seem like a highly disturbing scene out of a movie. Burying my nails into his skin, I turn my head as much as I can.
“Stop it. You are scaring her!”
He breathes me in before he moves his head away from me to have me turn my head further.
“I said stop it.” He glances at Jenna annoyed and I feel like it takes him forever to look back at me. He releases me from his grip and wraps his arms around my waist. Burying his head back into the crook of my neck. I flash Jenna a smile, hoping my racing heart doesn’t show in it.
Lifting my hand, I pinch my index finger with my thumb, creating a small heart. Showing this to each other is our universal sign that everything is alright. She nods slowly, concentrating on a guy who is trying to get her attention for quite a while already.
“Come with me.” His voice disrupts the pumping music, vibrating through my skin. I nod, smiling shyly and let him take my hand to spin me around. As I follow him off the dance floor, I turn around to show the little heart to Jenna once again.
I giggle to myself at the thought that this would be a cute story for her to tell, should I disappear into the night without reemerging again this time.