Midnight Rendezvous: A SandRay Story

Chapter 22: Of Cigarettes and Late Night Revelations

SAND's POV

Ray and his entourage arrived while my band and I were onstage performing. I observed them slipping into their usual VIP area, albeit without Boston this time. Ray caught my eye, grinning and waving, and I couldn't help but return the smile.

As we wrapped up our set and started clearing the instruments, one of my bandmates noted that I seemed better than I had in the past few weeks. "Are things finally looking up for you?" he inquired. I simply grinned without committing to a response.

A girl separated herself from her friends and made her way over to me. She'd been eyeing me since the start of our performance. Bold as she was, I wasn't interested, so I feigned indifference until I felt her hand on mine, occupied with closing my guitar case.

"Hi, I'm Sara. Great performance," she said, offering me a drink with a seductive smile.

Before I could react, Ray intervened, wearing his sassy and mischievous expression. "No thanks, he's already got a drink," he declared, handing me his glass and placing his hand on my waist. Ray always seemed quicker than lightning whenever someone dared to flirt with me. I let him handle the situation and looked at him with an affectionate smile.

"Are you finished?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "You're acting like a possessive, jealous wife, Ray."

"What? I was just trying to protect what's mine!" he protested. Although I found it amusing, I had to assert myself now that we were alone.

"I'm not yours anymore, Ray."

"I'm going to win you back, and in the meantime, nobody's getting close to you because I don't want anyone snatching you away," he asserted confidently. One of the things that attracted me to Ray was this audacious attitude. His brazenness was endearing most of the time, and it felt good to have him publicly stake his claim on me.

"Are you done here? Do you want to join us now?" I nodded, allowing Ray's hand to linger, holding mine as he half-dragged me toward the VIP area. After the initial greetings that included an awkward hello from Mew, who surprisingly seemed more subdued tonight, I observed the dynamics of the friend group almost returning to normal, minus Boston. Cheum was dancing as she usually did, this time getting Ray to dance with her and April. I hadn't noticed when Mew had moved, but now he stood next to me and asked, "Sand, can we talk for a bit? Outside?" With a nod, I put down the glass of whiskey Ray had given me and led the way for Mew to go outside.

"Mind if I smoke?" I asked Mew, showing him my cigarette as we stood in a quiet corner outside the club. He shook his head, and I lit the cigarette. I waited silently for Mew to speak, and I was more than halfway through my smoke when he started apologizing.

"I owe you an apology. I'm sorry, Sand," he began.

"For what?" I was puzzled.

"I've said some awful things about you. I'm glad nobody's told you about it yet. I've not been myself lately," he confessed, visibly apologetic and embarrassed.

"You don't say," I smirked in response.

"I'm not using it as an excuse, but that was a low blow, and again, I'm sorry. I was so furious when I found out about Ton and Top. Then I heard you also slept with Top. My pride took a hit, and I guess I lashed out at you," Mew explained.

"Is that why Ray got so upset?" I inquired. Nodding, Mew looked down at his shoe, nervously digging into the dirt and avoiding eye contact.

"For what it's worth, Mew, Top and I happened long before you two met. It was a one-time thing. Not everyone who sleeps together has feelings for each other. That's the case with me and Top. We didn't feel the need to discuss it because what's there to discuss?" I clarified. Mew nodded again.