It was New Year’s Eve. My friends and I sat at our table at the club we were at sipping on our drinks as we waited for more people to arrive. Loud music filled the small room that was not yet full, but had a decent amount of people in it, already making it feel crowded. VIP tables surrounded the dance floor with two bars on the far side of the room and the DJ up high in one corner of the room. As the night went on, more people made their way to the dance floor, my friends and I finishing the drinks we had and headed to the center of the room as well. I was already quite intoxicated. It probably would have been a good idea to eat more than a piece of bread before coming, but what can I do about it now?
At 11:45, the DJ announced that there are 15 minutes until the New Year and everybody cheered. I went back to our table and poured myself another drink. As I leaned over, being carful not to spill the liquid, I felt a hand rest on my waist. I stood up and turned around, wondering if it was someone I knew, but when I made eye contact with the tall blond boy now in front of me, I did not recognize him.
“Excuse me.” He spoke. He had an accent. Oh boy.
“Hi.” I smiled.
“What’s your name?”
“Brooke.”
“I’m Luke.” he tilted his head and smiled. Wow.
I giggled, “Do you want a drink?” I gestured to the bowl of ice with a variety of drinks and juices.
“I should be asking you that.”
“It’s fine. It’s already paid for.” I sat on the white couch and he followed my actions. I poured him a drink, the same as mine and we cheered our glasses, each taking a sip.
“So, are you here with anyone?” He scooted closer. For how most people smell here, he smelled really nice.
“Just my friends. We’ve come here ever New Year’s Eve for the past two years.”
He nodded, squinting his eyes, “How old are you, Brooke?”
I smiled and looked down, “You can’t tell anyone, but I’m 18. You’re surely not 21 either, though.”
“I’m 18 as well, but you came here when you were 16?” He said, shocked.
I looked at him and laughed, “I did. I’m quite the party girl.” I raised my eyebrows.
“Do you want to dance?”
I looked at him and nodded before taking another chug of my drink, almost finishing it. He held out his hand and I took a hold of it as we got up and he walked us to the dance floor. We danced casually to the beat of the music. I could tell that he was a little bit shy. Not painfully shy, but he didn’t want to be too forward. The DJ announced one minute until midnight and I smiled up at him.
“Am I allowed to kiss you at midnight?” He brushed my hair behind my ear, giving me butterflies.
I nodded, “Yeah.” I’ve been to this place a lot and never, not once, has a guy been this polite to me.
The countdown started… 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!!
Everyone screamed and the balloons dropped. I smiled up at him. He wrapped one arm around my waist and put one hand on my cheek, pulling me towards him as he leaned in. I wrapped my arms around his neck and we connected our lips. I grabbed the back of his head with my right hand, deepening the kiss and running my fingers through his soft blond hair. He pulled my hips closer to his, obviously feeling the same connection that I was. I needed to get with this boy tonight.
“Do you wanna get out of here?” He said into my ear. Thank you.
I nodded and put up one finger, asking for a minute. I found my friends and grabbed my best friend, Sophie.
“Hey, where were you?” She questioned stumbling as I pulled her to the side of the dance floor.
“I met this guy. I’m gonna go, ok?” I smiled.
“Oh, shit! Really? Is he hot?”
I nodded, “And Australian. I’ll call you tomorrow.” I smirked before turning.
“Don’t get pregnant!” She shouted.
I flicked her off as I kept walking away, finding Luke and grabbing my bag from the couch. He took my hand and we walked out of the room and out the double doors at the front of the club. I stumbled as we stepped down to the pavement.
“Whoa, you ok?” he asked, steadying me.
I nodded and laughed, “Are you ok to drive?” I asked.
“Yeah, I only had two drinks and the little bit of the one you gave me. I’m good.”
I looked at my feet as we walked down the hill to the parking lot. We got to his car and he opened the passenger door for me and helped me in before shutting the door and walking around to the drivers side and getting in.
It was about 10 minutes until we pulled into a hotel.
“Whoa… why are there so many people here?” I asked. There were at least 25 girls standing at the entrance of the hotel and security guards standing by the door.
“Fuck.” He cursed.
“What?” I looked at him.
“They’re fans.” He said pulling into a parking space.
“Your fans?”
“Yeah.”
“My God, what do you do?”
“I’m in a band…”
I raised my eyebrows, “ok then.”
“Fuck, can we go back to your place?”
“No, my parents are having a party.”
He rubbed his face and sighed, “Ok, let’s just do it.”
I looked from side to side with just my eyes then turned my head to him, “In the..car?” I questioned.
“What? No! I’m not that much of an asshole. I mean let’s just go in. I’ll go first and tell the security guard to let you in and you go in a couple minutes.”
“Ok.” I weakly smiled. This is intense. I’m a groupie. A fucking groupie. This is pretty cool. He handed me the keys and asked me to lock the doors when I got out. About three minutes after he went inside, I walked towards the large crowd of excited girls. How big is this kid?
