Under My Body

chapter fifteen

          For the first time in a long time, I felt... calm. My mind, usually buzzing with noise and overthinking, was quiet. No analyzing, no worrying, just music, the bass thumping through my body, and the weight of my 12th drink in hand. The crowd swayed around me, but for once, I didn't feel alone in the sea of people. I was standing alone, but I felt good. Really good. My hips moved in sync with the beat, a soft, almost lazy sway that felt like freedom. I smiled to myself, letting the alcohol loosen the tightness that usually gripped my chest.

I glanced down at my glass, a small part of my mind whispering that drinking this much wasn't smart, especially while standing here alone. But the rest of me didn't care. Not tonight. Tonight, I wasn't overthinking. I wasn't doubting myself. I was just... here.

With a small, content sigh, I made my way to the bar, the alcohol making my steps a bit lighter, a bit less controlled. The crowd parted as I passed, or maybe I just moved through it with the kind of confidence that comes after too many drinks and not enough self-restraint.

I reached the bar and slammed my purse onto the counter with a loud thud. The noise made me giggle, and I swayed slightly, leaning on the counter for support.

"Whew, that was hard to find," I muttered to myself, still giggling as I steadied myself.

The bartender turned around, and when our eyes met, my breath caught in my throat. It was him.

His dark eyes locked onto mine, and everything around me seemed to still for a moment. The leather jacket was gone, replaced by a black shirt that hugged his broad shoulders and somehow made him look even more dangerous, more... tempting. A smirk curled at the corner of his lips, the kind that made my heart stutter in my chest.

"So, you did change your mind," he said, his voice low, a rumble that seemed to echo in the pit of my stomach. He leaned forward on the counter, his presence looming and magnetic.

I blinked, momentarily at a loss for words. Seeing him here, of all places, had thrown me off balance in more ways than one. "I... you work here?" I finally managed, my voice betraying my surprise.

He shrugged, his eyes never leaving mine, the smirk still playing on his lips. "Gotta make a living somehow. Besides, it's not so bad here. I meet all kinds of interesting people."

His words were casual, but there was something in his tone, something unspoken that made the air between us feel charged. I could feel his gaze on me, slow and deliberate, and it made my skin prickle with awareness.

I squinted at his name tag, the letters blurry from the alcohol. "Jaseo," I said aloud, testing his name on my tongue again.

He grinned, showing off his teeth. "At your service."

There was a roughness to him, an edge that made him stand out from everyone else here, and I found myself drawn to it, intrigued by the danger he seemed to carry so effortlessly. 

"I didn't expect to see you here," I admitted, my voice a little shaky.