In this life

Chapter 2

Ronnie came back to mine after shopping so we could grab a bite to eat and get ready for our night out celebrating my birthday. I'd only lived here a few months. It was a little two bed flat my parents owned, just outside of town. They'd signed the deeds over to me for my birthday, so now it was my very own place. This meant that I had no rent to pay and my wages from my job at The Steakhouse more than covered any bills.
     I tended to split my time between staying at my flat and at my parent's home as there's was closer to the restaurant, which meant that I could walk to work. My weekends would be spent here at my flat. Usually, Ronnie would stay over so we could share the cost of a taxi and bring boys back without our parents knowing. She was my unofficial room mate.
     Ronnie had arranged a big night out with our friends Sara, Jess, Chloe and Grace. We'd all been friends since school. Ronnie and I had been inseparable since preschool. We'd made friends with Sara and Jess at Juniors, with Chloe and Grace joining our gang later in Senior school.
     Once we got in we headed straight for the kitchen, Ronnie started to reheat some pasta that my Mum had thoughtfully delivered to my fridge whilst we were out. I got a glass of water to stand my rose in and placed it on the table beside my bed. I put the box next to it. Not wanting to throw it out because of the message written inside.
     "So you really don't know who that's from?" I heard Ronnie's voice from down the hall.
     "Honestly, no I don't"
     "You should get your Dad to hire a private investigator in case you have a stalker"
     "Haha! I'm not sure I want my Dad knowing about our weekend antics!" I peered around the door to see her in the kitchen and raised my eyebrows.
     "Yeah, good call. Any weird ex's still hanging around?"
     "I should hope not!" I cringed, "not as many as you anyway!"
     "Although... you're more of a love-'em -and-leave-'em kinda girl, so no actual ex's, huh?"
     "What are you implying??" I feigned offence "Anyway, the whole point is that I don't love them, I just haven't met that guy yet, but there's no harm in having a bit of fun while I'm looking for him is there?!" I laughed, pretending to polish my halo as she walked in the room.
     "So you prefer the term 'fuck-'em-and-chuck-'em' then yeah?" She burst out laughing.
     "Anywho....." I glared at her playfully, "You going with straight or curls tonight?" I asked as I opened my dresser drawers in the hope of changing the subject.
     "Curls I reckon"
     "I'll go straight then" I handed her my curling wand and placed my straighteners on the bed. I walked over to my stereo and turned on some music. Bruno Mars started singing about sex taking him to paradise as I pulled the tags off my new clothes and laid them on my bed, ready to get changed into after my shower. Ronnie sat on my pillows with her bowl in her hand stabbing pieces of pasta with her fork and shovelling them into her mouth. She looked so ungraceful I thought, laughing to myself.
     "You make me feeeeel like" she started to sing with her mouth full, humming every other line. She licked sauce off her thumb and ceremoniously threw her fork into her bowl "for too long-oh-o-oh-o-oh-o-o-o-onggg"
     "Amazing" I mused "like angels singing in my ears"
     She gave me the finger with a sarcastic smile and leapt off the bed, headed back to the kitchen.
     I went to my bathroom, turned on the shower and brushed my teeth while I waited for the water to get hot.
     When I came back Ronnie was laying across my bed with her phone in her hand.
     "Ok" she exclaimed with excitement "I wasn't going to tell you this until it was definite but I've just spoken to Harry and he's said his mate has put us on the guest list at The Underground!"
     Harry was the youngest of my three brothers and his mate worked the doors at The Underground, the best club in town. If you weren't on the guest list you could spend most of your night queuing to get in with no guarantee once you made it to the front of the line. This was exciting news.
     "Veronica Spencer, you are and always will be a marvel to me" I said as I kissed the top of her head and skipped over to my clothes. Tonight was going to be good.

***

     We'd been in The Underground club for a couple of hours, I was having a good time laughing and enjoying the company of my friends.
     Ronnie and I had been separated from the others for awhile now since we had to queue so long for the toilets. We'd been standing at the bar doing shots and dancing, hoping that our friends would come and find us. Ronnie was chatting and flirting with a couple of blokes nearby, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to search the dance floor for Jess and the other girls, since we were on a level slightly raised above the sea of people worshiping the DJ.
     I couldn't see the girls down there, nor could I see them at the bar on the opposite side of the club. I looked up at the balcony above the entrance doors and a stillness caught my eye. There was movement everywhere and yet this man was motionless as the lights darted around between us. Dressed in dark blue jeans and a black shirt with the collar of his jacket turned up, he loosely held a drink in his hand.
He was looking directly at me.
The moment I saw him I was drawn to him. He was a stranger, yet the look in his eyes pulled me into a dark but familiar place.  A place of passion, of love and of danger that felt like home. I felt a kind of heat rise through my body making my heart race. Even though he was casually leaning on his elbows with his eyes fixated on me, I couldn't look away. I wanted to go to him but I was stuck fast to the spot, unable to move, like a deer confused by headlights. There was a fair distance between us, filled with people dancing and loud music, but for all I knew, in that moment, it was just the two of us.
     A hand grabbed my arm startling me.
     "Come on!!" Yelled Ronnie so I could hear her over the music, she gestured to the dance floor "I fucking love this song!" She took my drink from my hand and placed it on a nearby table and pulled my arm, half dragging me behind her as she led the way down the small staircase.  I was enthralled by the mysterious stranger that awoke something hidden deep inside of me. I looked back to where he was, but he was gone, desperately I scanned the room trying to find him again. I couldn't see him anywhere.
     "Rosie, you okay?" Ronnie asked loudly in my ear, with genuine concern, obviously sensing my angst.
     I wasn't sure if I was, but I nodded and tried to find the rhythm of the music as we danced amongst the multitude of bodies to our favourite song.
     Some time later we made our way back to the bar where the music was slightly quieter so we could hear each other talk.
     "What you having?"
     "Shots" I stated. My earlier encounter must have sobered me, now I felt the need to catch up with my bleary eyed friend who was swaying slightly as she flirted with the barman. I scoured the room once more but to no avail. I couldn't see the man I wanted to anywhere.
     "There you are!" Chloe jumped at me, "We've been looking for you two".
     She joined Ronnie at the bar to order more drinks for the other girls who were making their way over, weaving through the crowd.
     "Aggghhh I'm so drunk!" Exclaimed Sara as she lifted her hair off her neck with one hand and tried to fan herself with the other. "It's well too hot in here!"  "Girls" she addressed all five of us, "can we go outside for a breather?"
     "Sure" I answered as I downed the small glass of brightly coloured liquid, handed to me by Ronnie and started to lead the way to the court yard.
     As soon as we were outside Jess lit up a cigarette and offered her box out to the rest of us. I took one and she held out her lighter for me but before I could take it a burning match appeared before me. I saw Jess's eyes widen as she looked at the man behind my shoulder.
     I lit my cigarette from the flame and turned to say thank you without really looking.
"You're welcome Rosie" said a deep, slightly husky voice from close behind me. I looked back to see who it was, who knew my name. It was him. The stranger on the balcony. My breath was caught in my throat and my heart skipped a beat. His deep blue eyes were focused intently on mine. As he softly blew out his match a smile formed in the corner of his mouth. He winked at me. Shit. He was gorgeous. I felt weak at the knees and I couldn't speak.
     "Enjoy the rest of your night ladies" he said as he nodded to my friends. Their expressions were of shock and awe, it was almost comical. "Happy birthday by the way" he said and lifted my hand to place a gentle kiss on my knuckles.
     With that he turned and walked away, disappearing back in to the club.
     "Who was that?!" Asked Ronnie smiling, trying to search the crowd of people for him.
     "Oh my god! He's well fit!" Laughed Grace. The girls all joined in swooning and teasing me about this handsome stranger. To say I was intrigued by him was an understatement. 
     A short while later I was ushered back inside with the girls as they were headed for more drinks in their over excited manner.
     When our feet ached and it was time to try and make our way home, we collected our coats and bags and stumbled out on to the street. It was a clear night and it was cold, but none of us noticed as the vast amount of alcohol we'd consumed was keeping us warm.
     Sara lost her footing and fell into Grace, the two of them screamed and laughed as they hit the deck. Ever-cool Jess rolled her eyes and held out her hands to help the two of them up. They nearly pulled her over in the process, it was quite funny watch.
     Ronnie skipped her way over to me, smiling and linked on to my arm. She gestured her head for us to keep walking, I was happy to oblige. My head was feeling cloudy and I needed my bed.
     "You had a good night?" She asked.
     "Yes it's been great, thank you Ron, you're amazing. Although I'm not sure my feet feel that way about these shoes!" I said beginning to limp slightly.
     "Here" she held my arm stopping me in my tracks "Lets swap shoes" she offered, trying her hardest to balance as she unbuckled hers and handed them to me. Gratefully, I slipped mine off and kicked them towards her. Using a lamppost for balance and slid my feet into her shoes. I tried to bend down to do them up but it made my head pound. Ronnie crawled over and helped. I laughed and told her it was things like this that made me love her more! She chuckled and blew me a kiss.
     The other four girls caught us up and we made our way to the taxi rank together.
     Their chatter faded into the background while the mystery man with the piercing blue eyes invaded my thoughts once again. Who was he? How did he know my name? Would I ever see him again....?