CHAPTER 10

I was stupid enough to not bring a jacket along but thanks to Dominica's pest/promoter getting into the club was super easy and free.

On seeing us leave the taxi, the promoter had approached us, or rather Dom, doing the typical things that promoters do to try to get girls into the club.

My heart was beating along to the beat of the R&B hits that bounced off the speakers. There was hardly any room to breathe inside.

“Let's go get some drinks,” said Dominica after taking a look at the no-rhythm-awareness-gyrating-drunk bodies cramped on the dancefloor. It looked like a bunch of jellyfishes out of water.

Still in a lousy mood I shrugged my shoulders and followed her to the bar. Used to having a non-drinker like me as a friend, Dom told the shot girl to get me a Coke and herself a double brandy.

The promoter clearly had a thing for Dominica because he'd siddled between us saying if we needed anything (mostly to Dominica), we should find him. Dominica taking advantage of his interest in her asked him if we could each get a free drink.

She'd obviously gotten her way.

Because they were speaking in Spanish, I only understood what he'd said after he left and I was wondering why I had another drink in my hand.

We found empty seats that gave us a pretty good view of the dancefloor and seeing everything I saw brought up what Gabino had said about there not being anything in this world. People were drunk off their faces, couples eating each other's faces, the men in the VIP feeling they were living their best life because they could afford a table and a €200 bottle that they were going to piss out eventually.

Maybe there was life and happiness waiting for me in a convent too.

“Okay, I'm not going to sit all night next to your sour face.”

Before I could respond, Dominica rose up and not having a choice I followed her in the unknown direction she was going. As I squeezed past through people, trying to catch up to Dominica I caught the eye of a guy leaning against the bar, with a drink dangling from one of his hands, watching me.

Instead of turning away he smiled at me. For some reason I started feeling hot all over. Hot and nervous – like shit, what was going on with me?

Before I allowed myself to process what happened, flustered, I turned away and sped up to catch up with Dominica.

We ended up going upstairs, which was more or less a chill out smoking area with an open terrace. We smoked shisha which sort of relieved me, but sort of didn't because it ended up giving me a headache.

Whilst smoking, some questionable looking guy wearing a baseball hat, plain white top and jeans walked to where we sat holding a bunch of balloons. With a few exchange of words and ten euros, Dominica held a red and blue balloon in her one hand. I was confused when she passed one to me and told me to inhale.

Giving her an unsure perplexed look I took the balloon wondering what a balloon would do for my mood at that moment. In my naïve mind I thought it couldn't do more than make me sound like a chipmunk, but boy was I wrong.

Boy was I so wrong.

I thought I heard Dominica say something and for some reason my whole body started vibrating in Laughter. Yes, laughter with a capital L because it felt the Joker had tickled my spine and laughter had been personified.

I looked across from me, to see Dominica laughing her head off too with her loud Cape Verdean cackle laugh.

In those few euphoric moments, I was as high as a drone in the sky.

I was on the highest, newest wave of my life. In my state, I mildy realised that Dominica had given me a drug but I was too happy to care.

Soon after, we got some drinks and headed back down the stairs. This time I allowed the music to penetrate my bones and free myself up to dance.

I just kept on dancing and it felt so good for once for a long time to be so unhibited and just let myself go, because this wasn't something I could take advantage of most times.

Dominica was a more, shall I say, “expressive” dancer and so she definitely caught on a lot of the male attention, but I wasn't worried both her and I were having such a good time – there was nothing to be mad about.

For once Angelo was far away from my mind.

About half an hour later, Dominica's pest/promoter made an appearance once again (weren't promoters supposed to be outside trying to get more customers?) this time dancing behind her.

I had a sneaky suspicion that he must have seen the amount of guys approaching and trying to dance with her and had become jealous. Even though Dominica allowed him to put his arms around her, we were both facing each other so I saw her roll her eyes as if having him close to her was a burden she felt obligated to carry.

I nearly bursted out laughing because Dominica's facial expression was beyond hilarious, and after letting out the first crack of laughter, I quickly turned around and stared into straight white teeth that had clearly had the benefit of braces, belonging to the same dark skinned guy of before.

Instead of being thrown off seeing him standing so close to me I smiled in his face. He was probably just a few inches taller than me. He bent his head forward, placing his lips intimately next to my ear and spoke a few words in Spanish but the only word I could pick out from what he said was sexy.

He then proceeded to put his hands around my waist to get me to come closer to him like we weren't sandwiched enough already. Though I didn't protest as I should've. It all felt just right - or rather what I had been missing.

After being starved off male attention for so long having a handome stranger's chest pressed to my back as I danced made me feel good.

Dominica though she'd moved away, wasn't too far away and all thoughts of being irritated by the promoter had obviously gone away by the way her big African butt was grinding on his groin.

When the music changed to some techno shit, it deflated my inspiration to dance and I told the guy I was going to sit down.

Not waiting for his response, I headed back to find the spot where Dominica and I sat down earlier.

What I didn't understand was why the guy decided to follow and sit next to me. This guy had no notion of personal space but I wasn't in the right mental state to be educating him either. And getting tired of him whispering sweet Spanish nothings in my ear and not being able to understand I shouted in his face, “I don't speak Spanish.”

Before I could control myself I accidentally burped in his face and giggled to myself not giving the slightest care to the displeased look on his face.

“Why are you sitting next to me?” I said getting annoyed that I had to shout so loud over the music.

“Let's go up so we can talk properly,” he said staring in my eyes waiting for my answer.

Complying I got up but texted Dominica to tell her where I was going. After doing that, the stranger, who I was still yet to know his name, unneccessarily put his arm around my waist, like I needed support or something. Not that I complained.

“Okay finally we can talk, properly,” he said as we found some comfy sofas to sit on outside in the terrace.

This nameless guy made his hands at home on my thighs, and his semi-intoxicaited breath continued to talk in my ears.

“What's your name beautiful?”

Letting out a snort at ther corniness in the overused pick-up line, I told him my name.

“My name's Luciana.”

“Oh a beautiful name to match a beautiful person.”

I had to roll my eyes at this statement from him, because it was beyond ridiculous. It was like he was reading from a script.

I preffered him when he didn't open his mouth and admired me from a distance. Obliging him, I asked for his name.

“Remar.”

He gave a dimpled smile back which I was weak for, ignoring my inappropriate feelings I thought of a question. “So are you Spanish or...?”

“Or what?” He asked with a laugh.

“Or something else?”

“I'm American but I've been living here for the last seven years.”

“Ah that explains the accent. So what do you do here?”

“I'm a personal trainer.”

Looking at his body I could see how much training he'd done on his person.

For some reason, and I know it's silly but I became self-conscious because of his job title. Standing up to his surprise with my hand on my hip I twisted my body back and forth. “So if you were my trainer, what do you think I would need to work on?”

Remar gave me a look as if asking if I was seriously asking him that question but I kept a straight face.

“I don't think you need to work on anything. I like my girls thick. You fit my criteria.”

“Hm So you're not the type of guy who would make a girl work out and watch what she eats?”

“If she's eating excessively, then yeah maybe but no, fuck that. Fuck it, since I'm drunk I'll show you a picture of me when I was fat.”

He took out his phone from his pocket and showed me and I was surprised to see that he had been a chubster, actually he'd gone past Chubby Avenue and he was right in the centre of Fattyville. Still though, I thought it didn't take away from his handsomeness.

“Honestly, Spain's been good to me. I no longer eat egg, bread, milk, red meat only on occasion.”

“Oh so what you eating now, kale and lentils?”

Remar kissed his teeth at me before revealing his set of whites at me again. “Ha, ha you're funny.”

“Of course I am. My fiance thinks so too,” I said grinning like a fool back at him.

“You're getting married?”

I only realised what I'd said when he asked me that. For a split second Remar's face had fallen flat, but then it had regained that look that guys give when they are faced with a challenge and are filled with more determination to conquer it.

Meanwhile, thoughts of Angelo and guilt came to me like a rush of wind and I had the need to get away. I tried to get up but just then I felt lighthheaded and I could feel myself fall back on the couch, so I put my hands on the armchair.

“Hey steady there,” I heard Remar say ever so close to me my body now fully aware of his proximity as he put his arms around my waist to stand me up straight.

Feeling uncomfortable or maybe too comfortable (I couldn't quite decide with my cloudy judgement) with our closeness I leaned my weight onto him.

“Thank you.”

There was an tense silence before Remar drew further into me and his cold lips pressed onto mine, gently at first as if testing the waters to see if I'd draw back.

I didn't.We kissed.

Though it didn't have that certain sweet and spice me and Angelo had when our lips mated, it was a lovely kiss nonetheless.

It couldn't have been more than seven seconds into the kiss that I heard Dominica screaming loudly.

“What the fuck are you doing? Get away from her she has a boyfriend!”

When I heard those words it was like the veil – how ironic - had dropped from my eyes. I'd just cheated on my fiance.