Loud music blasted from the bar just a few blocks away from my place. The song sang of slurred lyrics and vulgar language, and I will never understand what makes it so appealing to those who patronize it. It has been on the radio for quite some time now.
But I didn't come here for the music.
Despite the obscure beats of the deafening music, I made my way inside the bar. My eyes scanned the room, looking for no one in particular. That was the trick to catch someone's attention, a friend said. I forced a faraway look on my face and feigned disappointment as I trod to my usual spot: a seat on the leftmost side by the counter. I was in the middle of the dance floor when a teenager bumped on me, causing me to twist my ankle.
"Blast these Jimmy Choos," I muttered in silence. The young lad mumbled his apologies, but I shoved him aside. A few of his friends gave me sneers. One even patted my rear, which I ignored.I know their types - boys who think they have the world in the palm of their hands. They are young, wild, and reckless... And when their actions take a turn against them, I'll bet my money that they'll end up regretting every single thing they've done.
A grin formed in the bartender's face as I smoothed my tight mini dress before taking my seat. "Quite an entrance right there." His grin turned into a mocking smile.
I returned to him one of my own. "Anything for your entertainment," I casually said, as if I purposely tripped in the middle of a crowd and have my ass be swatted like a fly.
His smiling eyes meant it was probably a good time for business, his business, and that piqued my curiosity. I raised an eyebrow. "How's business tonight?" I asked.
He fumbled for something below the counter and reached for the half-empty bottle of vodka behind him. Then, he poured some of it on the shot glass before handing it to me. "It's going great, actually." Seth gave me another one of his sneers. "How's your business?" he asked, a subtle emphasis on the last two words.
Men. Always thinking of themselves as the superior, as the better people. They're all the same. Chauvinists, pigs...
And what about you, my mind retorted, you think you're clean, pure and all that?
I grunted and turned my back against him instead. Seth, the bartender, slapped his sides as he laughed at his insensitive joke.
I nodded curtly and cursed silently for leaving my leather jacket behind. Even Achilles needed protection as he was still vulnerable at one point, what more of me?
A familiar scent reeked through my nose. The man leaned in closer. "I thought the conversation would never end," his deep baritone voice murmured. His warm breath tickled my earlobes and sent a shiver all the way down to my spine. "Let's get out of here," he cajoled me.
He was Marco, my favorite of them all.
"Where to?" I asked him. The motorcycle was not in the driveway. Usually, he would let me ride his motorcycle and then he would take me to the ocean and there we would wait for the sun to rise.
He moved a few inches away from me and smiled. "Now it's your turn to pick the place. Tonight should be different. Special, maybe," he quietly said.
I smiled back a little smile and took his hands. "Let's get a cup of coffee in my place."
"Don't you have anyone?" I asked him. It was always a puzzle to me why he would stick with my company and talk to me when I was such a lowly being compared to him.
He sighed, "No one is all I have." Marco placed his hands on his pockets and walked with his head down, his hoodie concealing his eyes.
I grabbed his hand again. "You have me," I shyly said. I don't know if it worked, if I meant anything to him the way he does to me, but there's no loss in trying. He was important to me, and he should at least know that.
