Unbreak My Heart

10. Red Stilettos

Jake's POV

I hated how clubs were always so crowded, especially on Fridays, yet here I was. Not that I had a choice in the matter. Cameron, my best friend and partner, was celebrating the club’s third birthday and I had to come.

When Cam came to me three years ago with a business plan for this establishment, I thought he was crazy to think I would want to be part of a night club. After purchasing the building upstairs, which he originally wanted as a club, the owner told him about the vacant space downstairs, which made Cam's partnership deal more appealing to me and I invested money in the club provided I stayed a silent partner.

I decided it made good business sense to have a fast food joint. The foot traffic was incredible, and more so with hungry people in the club in need of greasy food. It took us about six months before we could open, doing inspections and renovations.

As I watched the dancing crowd from Cam’s office on the upper floor, I wondered how he deals with this almost everyday; the crowd, drunk people and the noise. It was too much for me. .

"Mate! I'm glad you made it, but the party is down there, not here," Cameron said excitedly as he walked into his office.

"Why do I have to attend these yearly parties?" 

"Isn't it obvious?” He threw his arms out wide, gesturing to the space around us. “This is our first baby together, we have  to celebrate her.” 

"You mean the only baby we will ever share, right?" I played along.

He pouted as he crossed the room. "You are such a party pooper. Why can't we have at least two?" Giving me his signature puppy dog eyes he’s known for when he wants to get his way.

"That shit might work on girls, but not me. Let's go to the party, but I'm not staying long." 

When we reached downstairs, we weaved our way through the mass of dancers,  it looked like the club was getting more crowded with each minute. We walked toward the VIP area where some of Cam's friends were seated and greeted everyone before sitting down on the black big couch.

Getting comfortable I scanned the venue, hoping time would fly by so I could get out of here. This was not the place to come to relax and think, which was what I needed right now.

After ten minutes of torture, the music stopped making people groan, and the Dj’s voice filled the club.

"I know, I know. But we gotta do this night right.” He shields his eyes with one hand, looking in our direction. “Cameron, where you at? . Come on up here, brother.  It’s time to get his party started!" He said in a singsong.

Cam stood and approached the stage. A spotlight shone over him, following his confident strides through the dance floor as the people parted like the red sea. 

He was born for this, come to think of it, it truly was his calling. Since freshman year, Cam was always looking for any function to host or attend. A few times I was dragged out of my house to go with him.

"What's up everybody? Having a good time?" He shouted over the mic and girls went fanatic. 

"I won’t bore you with long speeches, but I just want to thank you for the continued support. Three years ago today, I opened this club, not knowing if it would succeed. All I ever wanted was to entertain people and here we are today. Let's raise our glasses,” he said and everybody followed suit.

"Here's to Red Stilettos, and to three more years." The crowd cheered along. "Mr. DJ, do your thing." Cam said and got off stage.

After giving patrons hugs—most of them women— along the way, Cam finally came back looking like a kid on Christmas. He sat down next to me and patted my back. One of his servers came with  bottles of Scotch, Whiskey and glasses for the entire table. I limited myself since I still had to oversee  the restaurant and drive home later.