DAVID WAS TROUBLED.
The time clocked 8:25 yet, there was no sign of Dawn and that bothered him.
His fingers drummed the gold-clothed table, agitation in his every move as he bit on his bottom lip occasionally.
The last time this had happened it didn't end so well and frankly, he didn't know what he'd do if she didn't come home or at least take his damn calls.
"You need to relax man" Tanner, who'd been watching him for quite some time advised, clamping a hand over his shoulders to reel him out of his thoughts.
"How can I?" He sighed.
"You worry too much, she's probably out with her best friend"
He blew out a frustrated whoosh of air. "I doubt"
"Come on David, I brought you out here to have a good time with me and not think about your wife like she's some lost princess"
"You don't understand Tanner" he just couldn't help it. He just couldn't think straight. He needed to see her and at least know she was in one piece.
"This is why I don't do commitments" Tanner snorted and mixed his shot with a drip of whiskey.
"I can't do this right now man" David abruptly got up, uneasy and agitated.
For all he knew, every passing moment he sat there, Dawn could be in serious trouble and he just couldn't condone the thought of it.
"Where are you going now?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to go find my wife"
"Bullshit" Tanner scowled.
"Sorry man" David apologized and ran out before he had the chance to protest.
"At least pay for the drinks!"
***
NEONS OF FLASHLIGHT GLISTENED in the moonlight over the dancing bodies, the smell of sweat along with alcohol lingering in the air as people continued to gyrate their bodies to the ear poisoning music.
Becky had taken to the dance floor and with the way she swayed her hips and rocked against the then football team captain, it was easy to tell that she'd had a bit too much to drink.
As for Dawn, she stood by the corner, tilting her head as she downed the last of her drink whist watching everyone else have the time of their life and it wasn't that she didn't want to join in or let loose, she just couldn't, most especially because one of them had to drive the car and with Becky wanted, she had to be the better person and stay sober.
Sighing, she looked down at her empty solo cup and decided to go for a refill but as she pushed her way through the crowd, something snagged onto her already-too-short dress, stopping her short.
When she turned to look at what had obstructed her movement, she found that it was a nail sticking out of one of the serving tables.
"Great" she groaned, tugging at it lightly but when it didn't seem to be coming off, she pulled harder and released a low shriek as her dress unexpectedly released and sent her flying backward into a very very body behind her.
She turned around almost immediately. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were—" her words faltered and her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the person standing in front of her.
"Jacob Rogers?" The words barely made it out of her lips as she stared in awe.
Jacob cocked his head to the side as if trying to recall where he'd seen her and once he did, his amber eyes that seemed to shine brighter with every rotating neon, lit up.
"Dawn? Dawn Montgomery?" He asked, his British accent still thick in his throaty voice, and before she had a chance to nod in the affirmative, he rounded her waist and pulled her into a hug, one she hadn't expected, nonetheless, basked in the warmth.
When he pulled away, she pressed down her dress lightly and smiled up at him.
Jacob laughed amusedly. "look at you Dawn. You look stunning. At first, it was hard to recognize you without the braces and big glasses but Woah, you've changed"
She chuckled softly, trying her best not to gawk at his heavenly features that exuded attractiveness with every passing second. "I can say the same for you Jacob"
"Well thank you, I try my best to keep in shape" he chuckled "so tell me, why are you standing here alone?"
"Uh, I was gonna get a refill but you know" she nodded towards the nail and he laughed.
"Why don't I buy you a shot instead and maybe chill for a sec?"
Dawn bit her lip. "I'm not sure if I should"
"Are you here with someone?"
She shook her head.
"Then you have nothing to worry about" he stretched out his arm for her to take. "It'll only be a few shots, I promise"
She looked at his hands and then glanced up at his face. As much as her head screamed a big no, her lips said otherwise and she was probably going to regret it later but for now, it didn't matter. "Okay"
"Sweet. Come on"
Jacob pulled her along and led her to the bar where she plopped down on one of the stools and leaned forward as he ordered drinks and after a few minutes of waiting, their drinks arrived.
"Here," he handed her a shot glass and sat at the stool that faced her.
She stared at him. "I really shouldn't"
"It's not that harsh I think you'll be fine" he assured, a smile on his face as he thrust the shot glass to her and Dawn wasn't quite sure why she took it but she did and clinked it against his before downing it at a go.
"Woah" she wheezed, slapping her chest lightly and shuddering at the fierceness as it burned down her throat and spread instantly through her body.
Jacob swallowed his shot and released a relieving sigh. "Being in the studio all the time, you don't get the luxury of drinking comfortably at a bar with an old-time friend"
"I heard you model for Calvin, that must be amazing"
He poured two more shots before sliding one across to her with his finger. "Not the best job but yeah, it has a few perks"
She took another shot and felt burn down her throat less gruesomely. "But I thought you always wanted to be a football player. What changed?"
"Well, after the finals, I didn't make the cut into the national team and I couldn't further a degree either cuz my grades were all over the place so I switched careers, and to a large extent I'm living comfortably"
"Must have been hard for you. I'm sorry"
He waved her off with a slight chuckle. "You don't need to apologize, it's fine" he gulped down his shot then leaned forward, resting his forearms on the bar, and with the way his arms bulged against his shirt, It took all of Dawn's willpower not to stare.
"So what about you, what do you do?"
"Uh, I'm a canvasser at New York daily"
"How lovely"
She shrugged a shoulder. "Not exactly. It's more like I get paid to run crappy errands for my boss and still do all the work"
"I see." He chuckled, pouring another shot and pushing it her way.
Dawn let a long, slow breath go and took the shot. She was headed further into the disaster zone and if her head hadn't been halfway into the clouds, maybe she would've noticed but she didn't and it didn't matter because she was having fun— something she hadn't done in a long while.
After a few more shots and hours of having casual conversations, Jacob prized the glass out of her grip and pulled her up.
"What're you doing?" She asked, stumbling on his chest as her legs tried to recollect its motion after sitting on a stool for so long.
"Come with me, let's dance"
"Wait" she bit her lip. "But I'm not a good dancer"
"It's a bar, it doesn't matter if you can't dance. Come on!"
She held his hand and followed behind as he steered her away from the bar and into a large dance floor on one side of the room.
"I love this song" she yelled over the music, not quite sure if it was the effect of the alcohol or the will to do something out of the rule book but she began to dance, allowing the bass music vibrate through her deepest parts as she swayed her hips and relished in the feeling of being intoxicated.
She was prancing, arms flailing in the sky above her as she whirled around and whooped her happiness into the sweat-stained air.
A hand grabbed her hips and drew her backward. She didn't need to look back to figure who it was. Rather, she rocked against him, dancing dirty and feeling him respond to her movements by gyrating behind her and it wasn't that she didn't want to pull away or know that this was probably a stupid thing to do but she just couldn't stop.
She just couldn't stop the new breath of movement.
She felt light.
Free,
Not a care in the world.
But, the minute a familiar voice roared her name out of the heavy music, it all seemed to fade into one large dark hole, melting her into soberness and drawing her back into the reality of Jacob all over her body.
She snapped her neck towards where the sound had echoed from and as her eyes locked with his crimson ones, it was as if the music stopped and her body stilled alongside with it.
"David"