A sunset with you

Chapter 28

Jennie

I watch as she takes his hand and takes him upstairs into his room. I hear the door lock. I am scared I might hear more than I wanted to.

"God kids these days," Jimin says once the two of them are gone.

"What? Weren't we like that too?"

"Let me sound like an adult for once woman." Everyone is laughing except me. I can't stop thinking about what could happen in that room. I cannot blame Tae even if something happens because they are still dating. All I can do right now is pretend like I do not care and act like everything is fine even though it isn't.

After what feels like ages, Taehyung walks out of the room and down the stairs. The whole time his head hung low.

"Look at him doing his walk of shame for the millionth time," Rose says jokingly but neither he nor I laughed. He seemed more regretful than ashamed. So I am guessing something happened which is why he is avoiding eye contact with me. Rose returns downstairs a little while later, her hair a bit messier than earlier and her lipstick slightly smudged on the corners. Her cheeks are red from blushing as she comes and sits beside Tae. His arm goes around her waist and she lowers her head onto his shoulder.

"Shall we leave now since everyone is ready?" Jimin says as he stands from the couch. Lisa, Rose and I headed upstairs to inform the kids that we were leaving, giving them all a good night kiss. We all got into the vehicle and went straight to the nightclub where Jimin and Rose always went. 

The place was crowded but not too much. Most of the ladies were dancing on the dance floor while most men were near the bar, staring at the women dancing. Jimin led us to a VIP room where we could peacefully chill without being groped by men.

Jimin brought tequila shots for everyone except for Tae. Round after round, I kept taking shots. It was Hailey and I who drank the most. The others stopped mid-way and went dancing. I wasn't in the mood to dance. I wanted to get wasted. To forget everything for a while and be carefree. The alcohol helped a little until Tae started to take care of Hailey. He took the glass away from her hand placed it on the table in front of us and put his arm around her to keep her steady. I took that glass and drank it as well.

How dare he take care of her?

How dare he love her?

How dare he make love to her while I was in the same house?

How dare he sit far away from me and next to her?

How dare he confess his feelings for me and make it more complicated for both of us?

I get up from my seat and without even glancing at them for a second, make my way towards the bar to get a drink. With great difficulty, I get myself onto the very tall stool and ask the bartender for a drink. He looks at me like I am some piece of meat. I can feel the gaze of the men around me but I ignore it and wait patiently for my drink. I can feel another man approach me but I try to stare straight ahead where my drink is being prepared.

"May I buy you a drink?" The man who looked at least twenty-five years old asked me, hoping I would say yes. It works. I am too high for this. To separate the right from the wrong. 

"Sure."

He asks the bartender to make another drink, both on him. I take the glass and gladly gulp it down. At this point, I can't tell if the alcohol is working or not. 

"Are you here alone?" He asks me, getting closer and closer. His eyes scan all over my body but his gaze stops at my lips. I shook my head answering his question. I turn to face the dance floor and manage to point my finger in Lisa's direction. "Girlfriend?"

"Sister." He looked happy with my answer. Is he hitting on me? Maybe. Should I go back to where I was? Yes. Am I going to stay here with this stranger even though I shouldn't? Of course. I am not going back to third-wheeling the love of my life and his girlfriend. "Do you want to dance?"

He smiles probably relieved by my request and keeps his glass on the counter. His arm goes around my waist and he holds me tight as he helps me get off the stool. He then takes my hand and leads me towards the dance floor. I notice Lisa and Rose looking at me and giggling, probably glad that I found a man. No, I didn't. This is just a distraction. A much-needed one.

Once we found a free space, he stood facing me and brought his arms around my waist and naturally mine went around his neck which brought our faces closer. I don't know what song we are dancing to. I don't know what I am doing but I don't care. I close my eyes and picture that the man in front of me is Tae. 

"What's your name?"

"Jennie." I look at him and since it's rude to not ask him, I ask, "What's yours?"

"Jeremy."

"Cool. I won't remember your name by dawn Jeremy but nice to meet you. I really hope I didn't say that out loud. I am not usually this mean. It's the alcohol speaking."

He laughs. That is when I realized I wasn't talking in my mind.

"So will this end in a one-night stand or will it end before that?"

"I don't know Jeremy. Do you want to fuck a heartbroken girl? Do you want to take advantage of my vulnerability?"

"I would love to fuck you but not take advantage of you. Why don't I take you to a better place?" He removes his arms from around my body and takes my hand again, leading me out of the room and towards the staircase. The building was of three floors. We were on the second and he was leading me towards the third which clearly said "No Access" in big red letters. I stop walking and he turns around. "Please trust me. I won't do anything to you." 

Call me naive but I decide to follow him. What's the worst that could happen? I am about to get murdered or raped. Either way, I am ready to face it. We come to the rooftop. A gorgeous rooftop. Maybe I am not about to get raped or murdered. Maybe I am but at least the location was pretty when it happened. 

"Sit here." He made me sit on the couch which was very comfortable. He sits beside me and taps on his shoulder indicating me to keep my head on it. 

"Now tell me, who broke your heart, Jennie?"