collaborative love | [ON GOING] ×

page 31

Cadence
Elliot

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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
part one
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   The sun was completely gone by the time Cadence arrived at Elliot's apartment building. Her friend, Joseph, sat in the driver's seat, tapping away on the steering wheel to the beat of the song playing on the radio. She whipped out her phone to text Elliot they had arrived. It was almost midnight and the club she planned on taking Elliot to had already opened about an hour ago, probably slowly getting flooded with people by the hour.

   Cadence received a text from Elliot not five minutes after she had sent hers, saying he was on his way down. Not even a second later there was a knock on the passenger window, where she sat. Jumping a bit, she smiled seeing a well-groomed Elliot there grinning at her. Rolling the window down, she dramatically did a once over of him.

   Elliot wore some dark jeans and a button down t-shirt that was slightly tucked in the one side. It was his hair that pulled the whole look off though. It was gently tossed to the side and had one of those after shower shines to it, but it remained in place rather than blow all over the place in the wind.

   "Nice outfit." Cadence smirked up at him as he leaned down to meet her height.

   He seemed proud of himself, fluffing his collar and  doing a small pose with a smug expression on his face. His hand went up to jokingly smooth back his hair. "Shucks, thanks. I just... threw this together last minute, ya' know how it is ya' know." He said in a mocking accent.

   Cadence rolled her eyes and laughed, pointing to the back seat. "Get in, Tigger."

   He got in and made some small talk with Joseph and introduced himself.

   "So, Joe. How did you meet Cad here?"

   Joseph glanced at him in the rear view mirror as he stopped at a traffic light. "I, uh, actually have known her since high school. We happened to move to the same place then, even ended up sharing rent for an apartment when we were starting off."

   "Yeah, Joe's a choreographer. I rarely see him nowadays since he's always traveling." Cadence chimed in.

   "Cad was actually the one to encourage me to pursue dance. My family was dead set on me being a lawyer, but they also wanted me to like girls, and here we are." He smiled at his own joke as Cadence giggled, shaking her head. Elliot smiled a bit and leaned back in the center seat.

   "That's cool though. My family wanted me to do something in politics, said I had the personality for it or whatever." Elliot made hand gestures as he talked, looking out the one window all the while. "I never really listened to them of course."

   "Of course."

   "Shut it." Elliot smirked and kicked the back of Cadence's seat lightly and she laughed.

   Joseph took a turn onto a street with tons of signs hanging over the sidewalks, lighting up as advertisements for the clubs or bars that were there. "Good for you then. Imagine doing politics."

   "Gave me nightmares."

   "Don't be overdramatic."

   "It did!"

   The car pulled up along the curbside and halted. Joseph put the car in park and nodded towards the club to the right of them. "Here we are. I'll be back around 3:00AM to get you guys, and I'll come in to do it."

   "Expect us to both be very drunk." Cadence said while hopping out of the car, closing it and talking through the still open window. "And thank you, by the way. Have I ever said how much I appreciate you?"

   "Yeah, yeah, go have fun you sap." Joseph waved her off with a smile as Cadence patted the door while walking away, not waiting for Elliot as he got out. Elliot waved to Joseph and thanked him, catching up to Cadence soon after.

   "You ready to have the time of your life?"

   "Do I have a choice?"

   She turned to Elliot with a crazed smile. "Of course not. Let's go." She said, hooking her arm with his to drag him faster to the line at the front entrance.

   After showing ID's and signing in, they entered the club. Immediately the lighting somehow got darker than it was outside, but now everything was tinted with a red hue. Loud EDM and Pop music greeted their ears and the sounds of laughter and fun-filled screams. The room was fairly small, there was a bar on the far side with a hallway leading back to the bathrooms to the left of it. Surrounding the perimeter was booths and tables, but the main area in the center was crowded with sweaty bodies bouncing up and down to the music.

   Cadence was sure to hug Elliot's arm tight to her side. "Let's go get a drink!" She yelled in his ear, over the loud music. He nodded and she pulled him through the strangers.

   They took their spots at the bar standing where Cadence ordered them both three shots.

   "Isn't that a lot?" Elliot asked loudly, leaning in to Cadence so she could hear him.

   She shook her head. "It's enough to get the night started! Sober dancing is only fun at weddings!" She replied just as loud, most likely having to talk that way for the rest of the night.

   The bartender soon returned and set down six small glasses of shots, winking at Cadence as she gave him some money to pay them off. She took one in her hand and held it up to Elliot. He mimicked her and clinked his glass, both of them downing it, Cadence easier than Elliot.

   Grimacing slightly, he watched Cadence take the next two shots in two seconds flat. He cursed himself out in his head for the hangover he was giving his future self, but managed to take the next two shots.

   "Woo!" Cadence cheered and patted her cheeks. Elliot noticed her dress which was just as dark as his jeans. It was a simple short dress with spaghetti straps, but he thought she looked stunning. Her hair was natural and slightly curled, but laid freely over her shoulders and he couldn't help but smile at her. She grinned from ear to ear as she looked to Elliot, leaning in and pressing her body against his to reach his ear. His hand instinctively went to her arm to cradle it gently as she did, letting himself lean back into her.

   "Let's go dance." She said loud enough for him to hear, but quiet enough it wasn't a bother. She pulled back and watched him intently.

   Elliot nodded and glided his hand down her arm slowly to take her hand in his, smirking a bit mischievously.

   She grasped his hand back and blushed, walking backwards into the crowd, not breaking their eye contact once. And Elliot could already tell what a great night this was going to be, he just hoped he remembered it tomorrow morning.

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