Hummingbird // AHS Hotel

Chapter Two: The Date

♪ Art Deco - Lana Del Rey ♪

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I spent most of the next day searching for apartments online, but every spare moment between that was utilized overthinking about my date with James. It had been a while since I went on a traditional date where my words and personality were just as important, if not more, than my looks. And even out of all the dates I'd been on, none of them were with people as sophisticated as James. Part of me kept imagining scenarios in which I opened my mouth and said something dumb or unfunny, and he immediately lost interest, looking at me in disgust.

I knew I was just nervous and was stressing myself out for no reason, I thought to myself as I looked through one of my suitcases, trying to decide what to wear. Even if for some reason he did lose interest in me, he seemed like the kind of guy to be decent enough to let me down respectfully. However, after the way he kissed me last night, I had a feeling letting me down was not on the forefront of his mind.

I decided on a simple black spaghetti-strap dress that flared out a little at the waist. Not too fancy, but nice enough to show him I was willing to put in some effort. Not that his opinions on my clothes would really matter anyway; after all, I learned years ago that it was better to dress for myself, not the person I was trying to impress.

I left my hair in its natural state of loose waves, applying a light amount of makeup. After adding a simple necklace and some silver rings, I felt my outfit was complete.

I glanced at my phone for the time, knowing I still had nearly half an hour until I was supposed to meet James at the bar. It was kind of exciting, actually, to not have his number. To not be able to stalk him on social media, not know anything about him besides what he told me. It kept him mysterious.

Having nothing else to do, I chose to make my way down to the bar a little early. This time I ignored the empty hallway near the elevator and just got right on. Both the third and second floor halls were completely silent, giving them an eerie feeling, but no blonde children appeared this time. When I got to the bar, Liz greeted me with a smile.

There was another woman sitting at the far end of the bar, the same one that had shoved past James and I last night. Once again, she looked like she was crying. Her makeup was smeared with tears and she held a lighter in one hand, a cigarette in the other.

"What are you looking at?" she said, noticing me as I walked up to the counter.

"Nothing, sorry," I said, averting my gaze. Ignoring my better judgement, I looked at her again. "Are you okay?" I asked, trying my best to sound caring rather than nosy.

"Never been better, honey," she replied, sticking the now-lit cigarette in her mouth. I nodded awkwardly, respecting that she didn't want to talk.

Liz walked over to me with a glass in her hand. "What can I get you?"

"Can I have another one of whatever you gave me last night?"

"Sure thing," she said, pulling bottles off the shelves. "It's called a sidecar. Orange liqueur, lemon juice, and cognac." She spoke as she began pouring the different liquids into the glass. "It's been around for over a century."

"You learn something new every day," I said, taking the glass from her gratefully when she was done making it.

I took a sip, the drink tasting just as it had last night. The area was silent except for the sound of Liz placing the bottles back on the shelves. Suddenly the sound of high heels clacking on the tiled floor rang out, along with the muffled sounds of conversation.