𝖙𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖞-𝖊𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 • 𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖆𝖓 𝖗𝖊𝖎𝖌𝖓𝖘

1.

It was the middle of the night and Joe was still heavily intoxicated from the alcohol that was clouding his thoughts. He laid there in the bed, his arms and legs sprawled out as the finished bottle of Hennessy was rolling down on the carpeted floor. His eyes fluttered as he started to wake up from his hangover just hours later.

"Fuck..." He groaned.

Joe awoke with a pounding headache, his stomach churning as if it were doing backflips. The room spun around him, and he groaned, feeling as if he'd been trampled by a stampede. Memories of the previous night flooded back, each one more hazy than the last. He vaguely recalled downing a bottle of Hennessy with reckless abandon back at the bar; the amber liquid burning a fiery trail down his throat. Every movement was an effort as he struggled to leave the bed.

The mere thought of food made him queasy and sick to his stomach. With a heavy sigh, Joe then resigned himself to nursing his massive hangover, vowing never to touch another drop of alcohol again.

"I am never touching another fucking bottle of alcohol ever again."

While Joe vowed to quit his disgusting habit with consuming alcohol, his attempts to stop drinking always seemed to fail since the woman he loved the most broke his heart. Drinking was his only escape from reality at some points in his life.

Joe proceeded to lie in the bed in his thoughts consuming him. He stared up at the white ceiling of the hotel and was deep into thought about what he should do. That is, until his phone started buzzing continuously.

"Who the fuck is calling me this late at night?" He asked himself, groaning at the thought of having to talk whilst overcoming a small hangover.

He picked up the phone and upon answering it, he heard a small cackle emerge from the speaker, "Ha-Ha! What's going on, man?"

"You really picked a bad time to call me, Colby."

"A bad time? Joe, what are you even doing?"

He allowed a small sigh to escape from his mouth and he looked drained in the face as he accepted Colby's FaceTime request, "Look man, I'm still trying to heal from everything that's happened over the past week. Serena really fucked with my heart and I'm going insane, bro."

"Now, now... It's going to be alright, man. Listen, how about your cousins: Jonathan, Josh, Joseph, and I take you out for awhile after we have free schedules from work?"

"I guess, but that's not going to stop the heartbreak that I'm currently going through."

"Joe, you can't be wallowing in bed over a woman who doesn't give a fuck about you. I know what she did was awful and downright disrespectful, but man, you have to focus on yourself. You can't let some woman like Serena make you all depressed."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Colby noticed that his best friend was drunk and slurring on his words for the fifth time this week since the heartbreak. The thought of watching his best friend in such a dark place was concerning to him.

"Joe? Are you drunk again or something? You seem a little off."

"I was, but I'm currently getting over a massive hangover."

"Ah. I wish you wouldn't drink yourself to death, man. It's becoming unhealthy!"

"I know, Colby. But can you blame me? I loved her. I gave that woman the entire world, bought her everything she could possibly want and more; yet it still wasn't good enough!"

"That just comes to show that she wasn't the right woman for you, man." He sighed, "Look, I know how much she meant to you, man, but you have to let her go and move on with your life. She clearly doesn't care about how she made you feel."

He scoffed, "Whatever, man. I have to head off for the night anyways."

"Alright, brother. Don't be a stranger and call me back when you get the chance."

"Sure, man."

After Joe ended the call with his best friend, Colby, he set his phone down on the bedside table and sat in silence, the vague memory of the woman from the strip club was beginning to haunt his thoughts. He couldn't shake the image of her from his mind. The way she moved with grace and confidence, the sparkle in her eyes that had captured his attention from across the room. He was more than eager to know who she was.

As he sat on the edge of his bed, Joe replayed their brief encounter in his mind, savoring every moment like a cherished memory. He found himself wondering about her, about the life she led outside of the dimly lit confines of the club. What was her story? What had brought her to that place, and what dreams did she harbor in the depths of her heart?

Lost in thought, Joe ran a hand through his long, jet black hair, a deep sense of longing settling over him like a heavy blanket. He knew that he needed to focus on his upcoming matches in the WWE, the demands of his career as a professional wrestler, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to see her again, to unravel the mystery of the woman who had captured his attention in such a powerful way.

With a frustrated sigh, Joe leaned back against the satin pillow, his mind swirling with thoughts of the woman who had captured his imagination from afar. And as he closed his eyes, he made a silent vow to find her again, to discover what secrets lay hidden behind her enigmatic smile.

When morning finally approached, Joe's darkened-brown eyes fluttered open; he was greeted by the soft light filtering through the curtains, signaling the start of a new day and with much anticipation that was waiting ahead of him. Today was the day that he would hopefully find her again. Today, he would unravel the mystery that had been haunting his thoughts ever since their chance encounter from the night before. With determination fueling his every step, Joe began to prepare for the day ahead.

After copious hours of getting dressed and running some small errands before he headed back on the road to the WWE, he knew what he needed to do first and foremost before going back to work. His mind was racing with possibilities when it came to her. Where would he even begin to search? What if she wasn't there and was only a small figment of his imagination in attempt to hide his heartbreak regarding Serena during his drunken state of mind?

As he made his arrival and stepped into the dimly lit strip club, his heart raced with anticipation and excitement. He spent the next ten minutes with his thoughts driving him crazy about this entire situation, driven by an inexplicable longing to see her again. As he continued to walk around the club with a small glass of beer wrapped around his hand, there she was, bathed in the flickering neon lights, a vision of beauty amidst the chaos of the club.

However, from the moment he finally seen her from afar, she was around another man in this very moment; very older, if you will, one of who looked to be extremely wealthy and throwing hundred-dollar bills her way. However, she turned her head back while attempting to perform for the man, to seeing Joe himself standing before her very eyes as he watched her gracefully. She had little-to-no idea who this man was, but she couldn't keep her gaze off of his. Her eyes looked as if they were suddenly filled with sadness, to which left Joe in confusion.

Their eyes met across the crowded room, and Joe felt a jolt of electricity shoot through him. She was even more captivating up close, her features delicate yet exuding a quiet strength. She was definitely the mysterious type and that was exactly his type of woman. She eventually sighed after the two shared a gaze and went back to dancing for the man; with whom continued throwing money towards her.

As the music continued to play throughout the entirety of the strip club, Joe pushed through the small crowd of people that were walking in front of him, crowding his view of her, until he stood before her once more, his heart pounding in his chest.

After the woman had finished her small dance for the man, he paid her and departed from the building. Once Joe noticed this beautiful woman from afar and now even closer than ever, his breath grew more intense and he spoke.

"I've been looking for you..." he said, his voice barely above a whisper.