Insomnia

15| Slow day

Chanel's Point of View

"Chanel, Kingsley." Dominic called out to us as we put our backpacks behind the bar. "It's a slow night, so Chanel you can bottle serve if you want and Kingsley just hang out back here." He tapped the bar and gave us a thumbs up. "You can just call me Landon." Landon took off his jacket and set it on his backpack as I smiled at Dominic. "Landon." He walked away and shut his office door behind him. I walked away from Landon and went to change in the dressing room. I put a robe over my outfit, since I wouldn't be doing much. I walked back out and found Landon pacing back and forth, as he wiped glasses clean. I quietly took a seat and grabbed a bottle and a shot glass.

"What are you thinking about?" He stopped pacing and turned to me. "Our project." I poured myself a shot and took it. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the sharp and bitter taste to leave the back of my throat. "Which part?" I laughed. He set the cup down and threw the towel over his shoulder. "A lot of parts." He leaned back. "Like the horrible hook to our essay." He smiled at me as I flicked him off. "My amazing second body paragraph." He looked up at the ceiling, thinking as I poured myself another shot. "And how you kissed me. Again."

I made eye contact with him and took the second shot. "Am I supposed to start blushing and beg you not to tell anyone?" He slightly shook his head as disbelief skimmed his eyes. I sat up straight and put the drink and shot glass aside. "I thought we were just joking around. I'm sure you kissed a lot of people after taking whatever." He scoffed. "No, you're right I have. They of course never counted. Just like ours." I applauded him and leaned over the bar for a high five. He looked at my hand and to me before picking up another glass and wiping it clean.

I shrugged and put my hand down pouring myself another shot. He put the glass down and looked back up to me. I was about to drink it but stopped in my tracks and didn't move looking around me. "What?" I asked him. "You don't know the line between your feelings and the drug's feelings?" I put my glass down and sighed, realizing he was going to make a big deal out of a meaningless kiss.

"I made it my dedication to not have feelings of my own anymore. I'm sorry if the kisses made you uncomfortable." He walked around the bar and sat down on the stool next to mine as I took the shot. "It didn't make me uncomfortable. But it didn't make me feel nothing." He pulled my stool and dragged me to sit closer to him. I rested my elbow on the bar and my cheek in my palm. "I would've never taken you as the lover boy Landon." I said, shaking my head. "I'm not. But I do know my sober thoughts." He whispered. "What are your sober thoughts then?" He looked into my eyes and sighed. "Are you sober?" I thought about my answer for a minute.

"The pills from earlier are wearing off. What? Do you want to do a round with me?" I was about to stand up and head to my backpack but he put his hands on my thighs and sat me back down. "The way you're feeling right now is that the closest to sober you have been in a while?" I was confused but answered. "Yes." I answered lowly.

He leaned into me and his hand found my face. He closed his eyes and his lips found mine. I closed my eyes as well and kissed him back, my hand cupping his face. I pulled him closer tilted my head to the left so I could carefully slip my tongue into his mouth. But before I could do so he pulled away and my eyes batted open softly. "Did that count?" I caressed his face with my thumb and looked down at his lips that were still wet from mine. I admit this kiss felt like a real one. A kiss I haven't felt since Lewis but ten times better. However that wasn't a reality I wanted to face.

"I didn't know you had your shift tonight." I pulled my hand away from Landon's face and he did the same as we turned to see Serenity with her arms wide for me. I pulled her into a hug and kissed the side of her face. "It's a slow night, so really I'm just stealing drinks from Dominic." I sat back up and noticed Landon still looking at me. "Serenity, this is Landon. We go to school together." I introduced them. She shook his hand and he flashed a smile before getting up and going behind the bar. She took his seat and poured herself a shot as well.

"Yeah he's new. I always see him when I'm walking by but he seems lost in his world to notice ." I looked around the club and noticed how empty it really was. The strippers huddled up by each other and talked while four were on stage dancing for the 13 men in here. "Did I even have to change?" I asked, noticing she was in jeans. "No but who doesn't love looking at you beautiful?" I smiled. "How's mom?" My smile dropped and she quickly fixed her sentence. "Evelyn."

"Still on the couch." I faced the bar and my eyes immediately met his. He was just staring, thinking, and asking. Asking himself what my answer would have been if Sernity hadn't walked up to us. My answer would have been, 'it didn't count' only because I'm not sure. When I look at him, with only a little in my system, I see a boy with the purest green eyes. A boy who I want to know all my secrets and I want to be held by. But when I look at him with a system filled with drugs, I see someone. I don't see Landon, and by the looks of it. He wants to be Landon, not someone.

"Hello. Chanel, what are you looking at?" I closed my eyes and opened them again to me Serenity waving her hand in front of my face. "What?" I asked her, confused. I glazed back at Landon and he was smiling, licking his lips. He noticed how lost I truly got. I ignored Serenity and walked behind the bar, quickly opening my backpack. I pushed through all my school stuff and the change of clothes. At the very bottom I found the ziplock bag Ruby had given me at Travis's party. Landon leaned down next to me and pulled the bag out of my hand. "Did it count?" He repeated. I pulled the bag back out of his hand and tried opening it but before I could he took it and shoved it in his back pocket and stood up.

When I stood up Serenity was still taking shots and looking at us confused, yet we ignored. "Why are you acting like this?" I whispered standing in front of him. "Both times you kissed I felt something. I don't know what. They made me feel something and I want you to feel it too." I rolled my eyes and slipped my hand around him trying to reach his pocket but he grabbed my wrist. "You've known me for a few weeks, Landon." He scoffed. "But I'm Bugs and your Bunny?" He faked a pout and lifted my hand to his lips where he placed a soft kiss.

"Ask me that question again in three months when you've known me better, and I promise to answer." He smiled and pulled the bag out of his pocket. He was about to hand it to me when he pulled it back. "In these three months do I still get kisses that don't count, Bunny ?" I rolled my eyes and took the bag out of his hand. I leaned back down to my backpack with it and swallowed four pills, exhaling calmly. I looked back up to him and smiled. "Maybe sometimes." I told him. "Bugs." He smiled back and when I stood up I was met by a face of concern. "You guys are weird." Serenity said through a chuckle.

No, we were dumb teens who had no sense of what life truly is and I have a feeling that in three months my promise would come back and bite me in the ass. But at least I got my bags of pills that I still have no idea what they truly are. And what's worse is that I have to see my sponsor in two days.