A slow fall

Chapter 1 - Caleb

Bodies upon bodies. Flashing lights. Pulsating music. The heat of bodies making an inferno rage inside me. My conciseness drifted; one minute the world was too bright, noise too loud, atmosphere too thick, then in the next breath my surroundings drifted away, and there was nothing but me.

The alcohol flowing through my veins, lowered my inhibitions, and made me one of the many inebriated bodies moving uncoordinatedly against the coloured floor. My hips swayed – in time with the music, I wasn't sure – alongside those of the man behind me. Our bodies moved together, his hands griping my hips, my back flush against his chest.

I didn't care about anything, and I guess that was the point. The alcohol allowed me to not think. It gave me the chance to breath for a while and the nightclub gave me a free pass to be someone else. The world outside no longer existed; The Caleb that I was before I stepped inside, before the first drop of alcohol touched my lips, was no more.

I moved freely, my body seemingly out of my control, the music my puppeteer. I allowed myself to be turned around until I was face to face with the nameless person I danced against. The man, now in front of me, was attractive, that couldn't be disputed, so when he leaned in closer, I didn't stop him. I let our mouths move together, though I didn't give up the control he was looking for. After a while he relented, allowing me full access to his mouth, his hands gripping my waist tightly and pulling me impossibly closer.

I wouldn't see him again. That I was almost certain of. I had no intention to seek him out another time, but for now, in this small, isolated moment between the two of us, he was what I desired.

I could faintly hear the drumming of the bass as it reverberated through the densely packed room, but I allowed it to become background noise. I focused on the feel of his body against mine, the stickiness of his skin that was now glistening with perspiration, the firmness of his muscles as they tensed underneath my grip, and the dryness of his lips as they moved clumsily against mine.

I willed my mind to stop for a moment and just feel.

I pulled away when my lungs called for air. His head chased after mine, eager to claim my lips again, but my mind had reworked and attuned to my body's desires. My parched throat called to be replenished and I took his momentary daze as an opportunity to move away.

The crowd was dense and what was only a short distance felt like miles as I maneuverer my way through dancing bodies.

I debated searching for my friends but decided against it. I couldn't make out distant faces from my vantage point and no volume of voice would overcome that of the music. It was a moot task.

I had lost my friends long ago, a face I had accepted. The familiarity of the club we had so often frequented offered reassurance. The small and compact space, the way the bass of the music pulsated through the floorboards until it could be felt in your bones, was comforting almost.

There was a lingering smell of sweat and sick in the air, but the drinks were cheap, and the people drunk enough not to care about anything but - me included. Many a drunken nights had taken place in the dark and dingy club. Memories that can no longer be recall, or were blurred through alcohols lens, had been made within this room, both good, bad, and in-between. People had been kissed, bathroom stalls seeing more than they were built for and the innocent of youth wiped away. All in the name of fun.

As I turned around to do one final sweep of the space, I spotted one of the two faces I had been searching for. Shane stood towards the edge of the dance floor. His arms were wrapped around the lithe figure of a girl as they danced sensually to the beat.