Chapter six

Heather

I've established many times in the past few days that I was best in making terrible choices, but this, it was the worst decision I've ever made.

“Heather, remind me again why you thought this was a good idea.” Jenna said, her voice barely audible over the loud music blasting in the club.

“Why are you asking me? Tabitha brought us here.” I responded.

My eyes immediately searched for the girl, I caught sight of her heading to the VIP section upstairs with Lisa. They couldn't even wait for us to get through the crowd first. Traitors.

“It was your idea, and Dallas tricked me.” she scoffed, then suddenly paused.

“Where's Dallas?” Jenna asked, her expression immediately switching to panic. The sudden shift confused me.

“I don't know. We came in together. Maybe she forgot something in the car and went to get it.” I scanned our area for any sign of Dallas but couldn't find her.

Jenna turned and headed back outside, she almost broke into a run despite her high heels. I went after her, but I couldn't keep up. My feet were killing me.

I called after Jenna but she didn't slow down. I started feeling like maybe something was wrong. That was the only plausible explanation for Jenna's paranoia. When we got outside, we saw Dallas coming, her head hung low as she typed something on her phone.

Jenna halted, her body visibly relaxed. She walked up to her sister and held her hand tightly. Dallas looked up from her phone, her eyebrow arched in question.

“Where were you?” Jenna demanded, her voice slightly wavering.

“I left my phone in the car. I went back to get it. Did something happen? Why do you look so tense?” Dallas asked.

Jenna ignored her question and said instead,

“You should have told us when you were leaving so we wouldn't be worried.”

Dallas' gaze softened and she squeezed her sister's hand back. I suddenly realized the reason behind Jenna's panic. From Dallas' soft expression, I knew she understood too.

It's been almost two years since the incident that brought us all together. The trauma we bonded over. But the ghost still lingered. And it clearly still had an effect on the two sisters. Just like the ghost of my own past still haunts me.

“I’m gonna go find Lisa and Tabitha before they get wasted and get in trouble.” I said.

“We’ll come find you later.” Dallas said. I nodded and walked away, giving them the space they needed.

I went back to the club and made my way to the VIP section. I dragged my gaze over the place, searching for my friends. I couldn't see either of them. Just as I was about to give up the search and call them instead, I spotted them on the dance floor downstairs.

Well, thank God, they're safe.

I decided to sit down at a table and watch them from up here. It was better than going downstairs to join them. I could see them clearly from where I sat.

I'd barely sat down for two minutes when a scrawny looking man sat across from me. He seemed pretty wasted so I chose to ignore him and focus on my friends instead.

“Hey!” he said. I simply gave him a polite smile in return.

I didn't want to interact with him or anyone at all. I was already regretting my decision to come here. I could have just told my friends the truth and let them advice me. Given my track record these past few days, I really needed guidance to make this decision so I don't end up regretting it.

“Do you…wanna…dance?” the man said between hiccups.

“No, thank you.” I replied.

I contemplated just standing up and leaving. But Dallas and Jenna were not here, and someone needed to keep an eye on our two friends on the dance floor. They were a guaranteed trainwreck when they got drunk.

“Come on, you..should d.. dance with me. It's not nice to leave a pretty girl like you, sitting alone while everyone else is partying.” He insisted.

“Well, I'm fine being alone.”

I've always been alone anyway. Every time.

“You shouldn't be. Come with me. I can show you a good time.” He smirked in what he probably thought was sexy, but it was so cringe. Still I didn't want to be rude.

Have I reached my absolute limit today? Yes. But will I be rude to a totally creepy man who wouldn't stop bugging me? Well, that very much depends on his next action.

“No, thanks.”

But he didn't seem to get the memo. He leaned forward and I immediately pulled back as the reek of alcohol hit my nostrils.

“When a lady asks you to back off, you do just that.” I recognized the voice instantly. My chest tightened at the sound. I wanted him closer and I wanted him far away at the same time.

Ethan slid into the seat beside me and placed his arm at the back of my seat. He didn't touch me, but the look he gave the man was enough for him to back off.

“Didn't realize she was taken. Sorry dude.”

I wanted to correct the man that I wasn't with Ethan, but it was probably not a good idea since he would just continue creeping on me. Also, it felt nice to pretend he was mine again. Even if it was just for a few seconds.

“I'm not your dude.” Ethan retorted. “Now if you'll excuse us, my girl and I would like some space.” he glared at him.

I chose to ignore the way my stomach flipped when he called me his girl. I wanted to capture the exact moment he said it and pretend everything was completely normal. But the truth was harder. Nothing in my life is normal.

Ethan retracted his hand as the weirdo left. His thumb grazed over my shoulder blades, my skin burned at the contact.

“Sorry about that. Are you okay?” He asked, his eyes dragging over my body, searching for any injury.

“I'm fine. Thank you for that, by the way.” I responded. He gave me a simple nod.

We both went quiet after that. I resumed monitoring my friends on the dance floor, while pretending my entire attention wasn't on this man sitting beside me.

God, the silence was killing me.

I couldn't exactly walk away from him now after he just rescued me from the creepy man. The last time we met, he offered me friendship and a chance to bury the past.

I should have taken it. At least now our relationship would mean something.

“So what are you doing here?” we asked in unison.

“I'm sorry, you go first.” I said

“Ladies first. I'm nothing but a gentleman.” he smirked.

I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything to counter it.

“I came with the girls for a girl's night out, but it seems to have turned into a solo date. Dallas and Jenna are outside discussing something, while Lisa and Tabitha are having way too much fun that they've completely forgotten about the rest of us.” I gestured to the dancing floor downstairs.

“Ah!” he nodded. “Why aren't you joining them?”

“My definition of fun doesn't include sweaty bodies writhing against each other in a poorly ventilated space.”

“Really? What's your definition of fun then?” he asked.

Honestly, I didn't know the definition of that. It's been so long since I had real fun that I forgot what fun meant to me. But I wasn't going to tell him that.

Instead, I diverted from the question.

“Why are you here? Is it just to chase creepy men away from lonely girls sitting alone in the club?” I asked.

He drew a long sigh, his expression caught between amusement and exhaustion.

“Actually, I think it's better if you just see it.” He stared ahead, his gaze fixed on something. I followed his line of sight, but couldn't comprehend anything except the feeling of his touch. It was one of the barest ones I'd gotten since I saw him again a year and half ago.

I thought he felt it too when he went silent for a few seconds and just stared at me. But he turned his face away, shattering my budding hope.

“You see that blonde girl in red dress,” he pointed out.

I trailed his line of sight and saw the girl he mentioned, engaging in full PDA with the guy. It would have been hot if there weren't hundreds of people surrounding them.

How do people make out like this without caring who was watching?

“They look happy, right? Like the new couple that just can't get enough of each other?” Ethan asked.

I nodded. They did look like they were still in honeymoon phase.

“Well, believe it or not, they didn't know each other thirty minutes ago.” he said.

“How would you just assume that? They seem really in love.” I commented.

Ethan drew a sigh, “Because the girl came with me.”

My lips parted in surprise.

“No way!” I gasped. “You got dumped at a club and were replaced immediately. That's cold.”

“Well, technically, I wasn't exactly paying attention to her. I don't blame her for leaving.” he shrugged. “My attention was on someone else.”

My heart skipped as he stared at me after that sentence. I really wanted to believe he was talking about me. Maybe it was pathetic, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want to be the only one still stuck in the past.

“So we both got dumped by our dates?” I laughed, breaking the tensed silence. Ethan nodded in agreement.

“You know what would really make us feel better?” he asked.

I shook my head as I realized what he was talking about. Ethan smirked, his eyebrow raised in question.

“Come on. Say yes already.” he insisted.

I wanted to refuse again, but I already made a lot of bad decisions today. What was one more to top the list? Besides, I really didn't want to be alone today.

“Okay, yes.” I chuckled.