Please

The Party

"WHAT?"

Jo squinted at her friend, as if that would make her hear her better over the noise. Kate repeated herself but her voice still did not make it to Jo's ears. Luckily, Kate gestures to the bar vaguely and started heading over to it, clarifying the whole situation anyway.

Jo shrugged and kept dancing, closing her eyes and letting the last two drinks numb the rest of her senses and letting her simply enjoy herself. The dance floor wasn't by any means crowded, and most people were in the same state she was, mildly drunk, but it was a little early in the night for anyone to be completely plastered. Shit happens though.

Right now, there was just the right level of blood alcohol level throughout the establishment, enough to have a decent number of dancers on the floor, but no apparently-invincible chads jumping up on the tables just yet.

The song playing changed twice before Jo realised Kate had not come back yet. She glanced across the room but couldn't see her at the bar. Not that she was worried, there were a half dozen people she knew out with them tonight, including Kate's partner Rhys. Kate was probably off somewhere with him.

Jo sighed and kept dancing, giggling when another girl she had shared the space with for the last few minutes bumped into her and apologised through a bout of tipsy giggles. It was easy to make friends with a little social juice in your system. After a few more songs, Jo was fanning her face and jogging over to the bar. She would never stop being grateful for her boots. Despite the considerable heel, the black lace-ups had so much tread beneath them, she had never once slipped.

She sighed when she popped her elbows on the counter and peered over it, trying to see around the other people crowding the taps. The two bartenders working that night were both busy, and honestly looked like they'd both rather be anywhere else. Jo blew a stray hair out of her face and glanced around the room. Kate was still nowhere to be seen, but she also couldn't spot Rhys.

Oh well...

Jo twisted and pushed herself off the counter. She navigated through people and standing tables and finally stepped out of the huddle and slipped around the corner to the bathrooms. God, she was sweating. It was the end of summer, but obviously global warming didn't know that. Even away from the dance floor Jo felt sticky. She grabbed a fistful of her hair, which probably looked cute and curly before and now felt like an unseasonal coat just for her neck, and fanned herself with her other hand.

She turned a corner to where the men's and lady's were tucked away and almost tripped. I'm the doorway of the men's, Kate was pressed between Rhys and another guy, one she didn't recognise. They were clearly in the middle of something. All three of them turned when she appeared. Jo shook off her initial shock and tried to make herself look mildly amused but not terribly surprised.

Kate was polyamorous, and Jo knew that she and Rhys both maintained other open relationships. She never judged that, though her parents raised her in a Catholic household, and their marriage was in every conceivable way, traditional. She found the idea that there could be so much flexibility in a relationship, and that there was no correct way, honestly quite beautiful. Kate and Rhys's door had always been open to her, and she trusted Kate with all her secrets... not that there was much to tell.

"Sorry, don't mind me." She waved a hand casually as she passed them and headed for the door to the lady's, which was directly opposite them.

Jo's eyes flicked curiously to the other man, though she immediately regretted it. His eyes were already on her, and she flinched when she met them, lowering her gaze instinctively - which she also regretted. Jo hated that she was uncomfortable with eye contact.

The man's hand was wrapped around Kate's wrist, holding her still while Rhys kissed her neck. Jo quickly looked away, pushing open the door to the lady's and slipping out of sight.

The water from the tap was cold and Jo grabbed a couple of paper towels from the dispenser, dampened them, and pressed them to her neck under her hair. The sigh that escaped her turned into a giggle and she paused, looking up. Her hair wasn't too bad, it was gaining volume in fuzziness but still looked half- decent. Jo ignored the thought that it might just be her beer goggles making her think she looked prettier than she did and busied herself with checking her eyeliner in the mirror.

Clearly, it was time for another drink. The excitement of her encounter with the throuple in the hallway had left her anxiety buzzing a little, and overly logical thoughts had started to impede on her otherwise fun night. Yes, Jo huffed and chucked the wet paper into the bin a little bit aggressively, drink.

Jo pushed open the bathroom door after a few seconds of internal debating and let out another sigh of relief when Kate and Rhys and their other friend were gone from the doorway. She stepped around the corner and was stopped by a tall figure. The man turned from where he leaned against the wall, facing the other way. He looked down at Jo and smirked. It was the man that was holding Kate's wrist before.

Jo quickly slipped on a smile and edged around him, muttering an automatic apology. She avoided touching him at all but couldn't help but catch the smell of his leather jacket and deodorant. Jo's anxiety crept up a little further.

"Hey." He called softly, before she was even two steps away from him.

She turned and raised an eyebrow, smiling hesitantly. She didn't like to be rude, especially to anyone Kate knew, but she really wanted to get away so she could quickly down a shot before fun Jo slipped away and anxious Jo regained consciousness.

"You're Kate's friend." He said.

His voice was deep, which was bad. Jo really, really did not focus well when a guy had a sexy deep voice.

"Uh, yeah." She laughed. "Jo." She pointed to herself.

"Marco." He smiled, a little too flirtatiously for Jo's comfort.

Jo brushed a hand over her forehead, pushing her hair away from her increasingly warm face. "Uh... anyway, I'm just-"

"Like what you saw?"

Jo blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Did you like what you saw? There." Marco tilted his head back to the corner from where she's come from, never looking away from her.

Jo didn't do well with people looking at her for too long, it made her uncomfortable. And the growing grin on this guy's face was making her hackles rise. She didn't do well with people making fun of her either.

"Not my thing." She replied, a little too aggressively, but he was starting to tick her off.

"Sure." He chuckled, pushing himself off the wall lazily and stepping around her.

He drew close enough into Jo's bubble that she instinctively stepped back. Marco chuckled again, making Jo grit her teeth. She really didn't like people messing with her, especially people that were significantly bigger than her. He gave her one lady amused look before he left her alone in the hall, with the muffled thumping of the music echoing against the brick and timber.

Jo growled in frustration. Before she could talk herself out of it, she slammed her balled fist into the wall. She had enough sense to avoid the exposed brick to her right and go for the timber of the left one. It didn't really stop her from hissing and instantly hating herself for being so cliche. Her knuckles throbbed and Jo's hand shook as she clutched it to her chest. She groaned and internally berated herself for being so easily aggravated.

~