Chapter 26

OLIVER

It felt like I’d immediately stepped into a warzone-if a warzone would consist of blinding lights and disco balls and deafening music.

Bodies were dancing everywhere , and I mean everywhere. I couldn’t even spot a path to take. With the promise of that guard lingering in the air behind my back and now this…I felt rooted on the spot.

My eyes roved over the space, looking for Casey. On the far right, I could vaguely spot the dj, but despite the lights overhead, I could not see a thing. And I couldn’t call him. He’d never hear me in here.

I decided to text him, ignoring the gnawing fact that Casey never replies fast to texts if he’s enjoying himself.

Me: I’m at the entrance. Where are you?????

I stared at the phone for two minutes, waiting earnestly for a reply.

No answer.

Taking a deep breath, I began to move, wedging myself between dancing people and ignoring the sharp, foul stench of alcohol. There were a lot of ‘sorrys’ involved as I passed.

He had to be here somewhere. If I find him, I’m going to give him the biggest whack on his stupid head.

Who brought himself here, though? A clear, rational voice spoke in my mind. If you’d alerted him earlier that you were coming, he would be ready to receive you. Then you wouldn’t have the hassle of looking for him like a needle in a-

Shut up, I muttered, Shut up, shut up shut up, shut-

My body bumped into something hard with such force that the recoil pushed me several feet back. A glass flew out of someone’s hand, landing with a sickening crack, and suddenly I was stepping on something heavy and wet.

A guy’s voice cut the air like a kinfe passing through. “Watch where you’re going, piece of shit.”

“I’m sorry I-“

“Made me spill my drink. Now you have to pay for that.”

I couldn’t move. Fear gripped my heart and I could feel my eyes begin to burn. I’d had one bad experience enough with that guard, and now this? I was such a mess. I should have never come here.

My breath started to come out in short, rapid pants. No, no, no, not again, I clutched my chest, anything but this.

A hand came up to my shoulder.

Jude? I wondered. I sounded almost…hopeful.

“Hey,” the owner of the hand spoke and reality soon dawned on me. The voice was too unfamiliar. It couldn’t be him.

A pang of disappointment rushed through me before I brushed it off quickly. Why was I feeling that?

“Hey, you okay?”

I took a deep breath, getting my breathing under control. There was absolutely no way I was going to have a panic attack right here in front of all these strangers.

I turned to face the owner of the hand. It was a burly asian guy-most likely korean but the first thing I noticed about him was his hair-slick and spiky like a porcupine. His nose had a piercing and his ears had those magnetic studs or something-whatever they’re called. He was several inches taller than me-not as tall as you-know-who but tall enough to overshadow me.

In short, he was absolutely gorgeous.

He removed his hand before patting his olive collared jacket that more than definitely showed off his broad defined shoulders.

At that moment, I completely took back all my previous reservations to never go to a club again. If these were the guys I’d encounter in clubs from now on, Casey will be so annoyed with how much I’ll be tagging along with him to party.

He quirked his eyebrow a bit and I realised he’d just asked me a question a while ago. And I was shamelessly staring at his face.

I cleared my throat. “I…uh…I’m fine. Thanks.”

The guy’s mouth curled into a sideways smile that almost made me melt. He was about to say something else when that annoying voice from earlier intercepted him. “Hate to interrupt your flirting, Kai but my drink? The guy made me spill my Glenfiddich.”

Gorgeous guy-Kai-sighed. “I’ll pay you on his behalf when we leave.”

“No. I want another drink now.”

I turned to get a better look at the douchebag. He was a scrawny guy with brown hair, beetle-like eyes and a bad case of rashes. With the way he talked, you’d think he looked like Brock Lesner or something.

Kai’s mouth set into a hard line. “Earnest you…” He composed himself. “Ok.”

He turned to me and nodded towards the back of the club before beginning to head toward its direction. I quickly followed him, eager not to be left alone with asshole Earnest.

The crowd began to thin the more we walked. Finally, we broke out of the plethora of dancing people and I heaved a sigh of relief I didn’t know I was holding. Nothing like a club to reinforce how much I’m an introvert, goodness.

The back of the club was at first much more serene: a closet of expensive wine behind a dude serving at a counter, lounge sofas on both sides of the counter. It definitely looked more like my jam until I realised what the people on said sofas were doing and I instantly preferred the claustrophobic dancing floor.

I spotted two women hunched over at the edge of a sofa, practically eating each other’s mouths like ravenous dogs. On another sofa, two guys and a girl-who were practically naked save for their stringy pieces of underwear were all over each other. Another sofa had a full-on orgy even worse than the smut I read in books.

My cheeks burned fiercely before looking down at my shoes. Thank god the room was dimly lit because I did not need to see any of that with clarity.

I’d completely forgotten Kai was next to me because he suddenly chuckled, startling me. “This your first time in a club?”

I nodded, trying to hide the embarrassment from my face. This was so humiliating.

Kai seemed totally unfazed by the depravities happening in those lounge sofas. He talked to the guy at the counter who nodded before starting to shake a drink in a cup.

Kai faced me. “Drinks on me.”

“What?” I said

“You heard me.”

“I…I’ve never taken shots.”

Kai smirked. “Even a bit of alcohol from your dad’s secret drawer? You’re such a wuss.”

I fumed. “I am not.” Then I realised I’d fallen into his trap.

“Then you won’t mind taking a shot or two.” Smugness floated in his eyes.

“But Earnest,” I stumbled for words, “He wants his drink now.”

He shrugged. “I know. But I’m not leaving until you take a shot or two.”

I hesitated.

“Come on. It’s your first time clubbing and you won’t take any shot? Defeats the purpose of going to a club and drowning your sorrows with bitter liquor.”

Damn he was right. I’d literally come here for a distraction but, I think everything that just happened was enough distraction in itself.

“I don’t know…”

The guy at the counter passed him two shots. He wiggled his eyebrows at us before directing his attention to another guy who’d come to sit at the counter, several seats from us.

A mischevious smile spread across Kai’s face. “Fine. Let’s make it a game. Take one shot, you get to ask me any question. Same rules apply to me.”

He took his shot immediately after that statement, right before I could even react and say I was not participating. Is he out of his mind?

“See?” He said after downing it all, “That didn’t look so bad. This is fine whiskey damn.”

He pinned me with a stare. “Guess I get to go first. Why did you come here if you hate clubbing?”

A part of me said I didn’t have to play this game. He didn’t deserve to know the truth. Something in Kai’s eyes also said the same thing; he was expecting me not to go through with it. Then again, I didn’t want to disappoint a guy who’d agreed to cover my mistake and buy me shots.

I inhaled. “I’ve been having…” The words began to tumble out of me. “I’ve been having problems with this guy who I thought I didn’t like but something happened between us and now I’m not sure and now my best friend is also going through something and I came here to distract myself from all that and then a lot more happened and shit….”

I couldn’t say more. My tongue felt like it had been pinned with lead.

Kai also didn’t say a thing for a hot minute.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

I finally decided to take my shot. The liquor was surprisingly sweet with a bitter aftertaste. I downed it in one gulp.

“Why are you friends with Earnest?” I asked, purely out of curiosity. It seemed weird to me that a nice guy like Kai could be attached to the hip to an annoying brat like him.

“He’s not my friend,” Kai said with a suddenly solemn voice. “He’s my step brother.”

My expression must have been priceless because Kai doubled over laughing. “Is it that hard to believe?”

“Yeah.” I said, “You guys are nothing alike.”

“Yeah well that’s true,” his voice went back to that solemn tone. “I get to babysit him like he’s some fucking child so yeah…” His eyes locked with mine. “We are nothing alike.”

The guy on the counter passed another drink to Kai. He looked at it like it was acid.

“Glen Fiddich at your request.”

Kai looked at me apologetically. “I’ll be right back.”

I nodded seconds before he disappeared.

Thoughts of me lavishing on my comfy bed began to assail me. I’d definitely reached my unbearable ready to leave phase but I couldn’t just leave Kai, could I? I decided to wait for him. He’d done a great deal of niceness to me. He deserved much better, especially with someone like Earnest joined to his hip.

Five minutes passed. He still hadn’t returned.

My eyes roved over the bar in boredom until they landed on the guy who’d joined us at the counter earlier. A group of three other guys had joined him during Kai’s conversation with me and were trying to flirt with him but he wasn’t having any of it. One tried to run his hand up the guy’s chest and the guy swatted him away, albeit in a very careless movement. Something told me today’s liquor had gotten him pretty hard.

I shook my head. These guys were trying to take advantage of his state. I rose to my feet, a feeling of indignation running through me. I couldn’t let this go on.

I was about to call them out for their crass behaviour when the guy’s head swiveled towards me and the breath was absolutely knocked out of my chest.

“Jude?”

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I’ve been waiting to reach this part for so long y’all like you will not believeee(⌒‐⌒) Things start really getting interesting from here on.

I’m on a school break so expect more consistent updates from me lol.

Love you all. ( ≧∀≦)ノ

~Starsanddust