Long Time, No See

II: III

Denise

Under normal circumstances, silly coincidences that happen throughout the day would hardly merit grounds for any sort of reaction that may result in my accidentally swallowing a fly or looking stupid amongst a sea of random people...

...However, today I find myself in the extraordinary position of standing in the middle of a sea of random people, mouth agape asking myself what the odds are that I should be taken to the exact same club that I stumbled across earlier in the week and that the same club happens to be where Carina has been working this whole time!

Ava leads me by my slightly sweaty hand, courtesy of the humid air around us that's bordering on almost tangible at the moment, and leads us further into the club. The majority of the surroundings are dark, with the only exception being the brightly lit bar in the middle of the club that stands like a beacon outlined with purple neon lights, as well as the light show up ahead that swirls around shining purple, blue and turquoise beams down, illuminating either bodies encompassed in slick sweat from dancing or random people talking around the club for a split second before moving the light somewhere else like a cameraman with an attention problem. The deafening bass from the surround sound speakers around the room, shake my body lose of its stress and the daunting feeling that all today has had me feeling off.

Ava turns back with a wild, excited face to look at me, currently frowning as the bad feeling about today returns, which subsequently causes her to stop in the middle of the club floor and drag me to the quieter and more dimly lit side of the club away from the bar where we were initially headed.

She places a tense hand on her jutted out right hip and gives me the same stern face she's been giving me since she arrived at my house earlier today.

"Ok Denise, what is up with you today?" She asks irritation prominent in her tone of voice as she waits impatiently for my answer however doesn't give me a chance to give her one before she's lecturing me again.

"On Wednesday you were all for this outing. Thursday? Just as excited - if not more! Today though? All you've been given me are sullen glances, monosyllabic answers to my questions or, and my personal favorite, uncalled for sass!" She screeches.

I hang my head like a lectured child unable to give her a sufficient answer.

Ava fluffs her hair up again, having let it all loose down her back. It sits around her head like a dark halo blocking the view behind her. She's gone all out for tonight as part of a lesson she's teaching Tate; I'm personally all for it, she looks amazing with her dark skinny jeans that seem to caress and accentuate her shapely hips and deeply plunged burgundy V-neck top that ties in the front and shows a lot of what pregnancy can do for your breasts. But I know my best friend isn't here to look for anybody thus the light amount of make-up and the knee-high boots she's wearing instead of the killer, sexy stilettos I picked out for her revenge outfit.

I, on the other hand, have been specifically threatened to come ready to kill tonight and as such my outfit tonight is a flaming red pantsuit with a black bandeau top underneath that apparently reveals the "sexy expanse" of my "smooth, toned stomach". My black pumps are killer on my ankles but give me the added height I've always wanted, as well as the volume of my hair, that I've let down the side and back of my head. Ava's also lent me her large dangling black teardrop earrings, for "all the tears" I'm supposedly going to leave men in tonight.

Ava clears her throat, distracting me from my veering off thoughts and brings me back to focus.

"Denise," she sighs "I just want tonight to let loose and have fun with my best friends, no babies, no man troubles and no drama. Just us. Can you at least afford me one night to be the free woman I haven't been in a long time or should I just call Tate and tell him to leave the door unlocked?" She asks looking at me dispiritedly by the end of the question. I realize then that all my incessant worrying is doing nothing more than ruining a perfectly good night for not only myself but my friends and decide to resolve the issue immediately.