The beat of the song playing vibrated through Sebastian's already throbbing head. Strobe lights overhead were making him even more nauseous. Why did he decide on this again? Yeah the alcohol was better and stronger but he didn't fit in here. A lowlife detective at the end of his rope in a sleazy, downtown club. Yep. He made a mistake coming here. By the expressions of the other patrons he knew he didn't belong. They all looked so happy, utterly careless. Then there he was drinking down the question that lingered in his head for almost a year.
Where had his wife gone? Why did she leave him? It was understandable after what happened to his little girl but there was absolutely no explanation. Perhaps she just didn't want to be with a loser cop anymore; she was leaugues better than him anyway.
A dirty rag brushed against his fingers that were tightly wrapped around a glass of bourbon. He raised his head to a small Hispanic man. Presumably the bartender. God he was already that trashed that he couldn't remember the man who gave him the drink. The man arched an eyebrow and scoffed.
"What is someone like you doing in here?" he chided.
Sebastian squinted his eyes and took another gulp of the amber liquid. He found himself checking the guy out. The man had a small golden earring through his left ear, his hair was bleached a platinum blond which made an interesting contrast against his caramel skin.
"Well uh, just wanted a change of scenery I guess. I can see why you'd ask that though. Bunch of fruit loops all up in this place", he slurred.
The bartender rolled his eyes and strolled to the other side to attend to someone else. The whole mood in the club changed at that moment. The music was quicker and the lights were dimmer. It was getting close to eleven at night after all.
He lifted his head and turned to see who was on the dancefloor. Lord he did not belong here. Everyone was wearing bright colors and the artsy vibes coming off them were overwhelming. He hated those types of people. They all thought they knew pain and that it was beautiful. Well it isn't. It's hideous and unsightly. Pain can't be made into "art". Only these weirdos would think that. More than likely the only pain they've ever felt was the breaking of a colored pencil. Why was he getting so mad? He was always angry anymore, seemed that was the only emotion he had left.
While he was brooding about life, the song changed along with the color of the lights. A slow, melodic beat swooped around his brain. The red lights made his eyes hazy but it was actually an okay song he admitted to himself. Soon he found himself watching one man in particular. He was close to the middle of the floor and was grinding against a taller more broad man. His hips swiveled so smoothly, it was almost... mesmerizing. Sebastian choked on the sip he had just taken.
The flamboyantly clad man was staring at him with a gaze that pierced through Sebastian's soul. He wore a tight red turtleneck with a simple black suit jacket. His gloves were purple leather and on his feet were expensive looking shoes. The turtleneck wrapped so intimately around his long neck that Sebastian found himself ogling at the writhing muscle.
He didn't have a clear shot of his face though. By the looks of it, he had one of those dated hairstyles where the bangs swoop in the front. Plenty of punks he had dealt with in his time had
worn the same haircut. This man wasn't a punk though. He looked like the artist type. Once the man had locked eyes with him though, they never left. It was almost like he wanted Sebastian to watch. So Sebastian watched.
His legs were so long, he wondered what they would feel like wrapped around him. Okay wait, time out. There were plenty of attractive women in the club, why was he watching this random guy? It had to be the alcohol. It was high time he stopped looking so he slowly turned away from the dancefloor back to the bar.
The bartender was eyeing him down then. "Hmm for someone who called me a 'fruit loop' you sure are enjoying Mr. Valentini eh?" he said with a heavy accent.
Sebastian scoffed and looked at him unamusedly. "Yeah okay, listen I'm sorry. I've just had a shitty couple of months. Cut me some slack", he proclaimed.
The bartender gave him a sympathetic look and filled his glass to the brim. "That's fine honey, just don't come in here and take your anger out on me by calling me cereal. Do I look like cereal to you?" he asked incredulously.
Sebastian chuckled. "No, I guess you don't. Hey who's this Valentini guy? He some kind of actor or something?"
The smaller man bent down to grab another bottle and sighed when he layed eyes on Sebastian again. "That is Stefano Valentini. He thinks of himself as some kind of artist but he's just a weird photographer. He comes here at least once a week, usually on the weekends when it's packed. Not a lot of people like him though."
"Why's that?" Sebastian asked curiously.
"Well let's just say people don't like how he treats women in his 'art'. They think he objectifies them too much", he said while pouring someone else a glass of whiskey.
Sebastian turned around to look at this Valentini guy again. He was peering from behind one of the many pillars that held the ceiling up. This man was stalking his prey by the looks of it. Sebastian was his target meal.
Just then his phone emitted a soft blue glow. Joseph must have texted. The man was always on his ass since the Myra incident. Sebastian dealt with things by drowning them in a unhealthy helping of alcohol. Usually liquor. Joseph did not like that one bit and made sure he was that he was heard loud and clear. He grabbed his phone and unlocked it to see what his partner had to say.
"Seb you better not drink too much. Please be careful. Happy New Years."
Oh yeah he forgot. It was New Year's Eve, that would explain all the weird and flashy outfits. It was just another year of misery for him so why did he care. He started to space out again before someone's voice startled him out of it.
"You are new here no? I've never seen anyone so roguishly handsome come in here before", the voice practically purred with a deep heavy Italian accent. Shit.
