Spiked
“I can't believe they fired you,” your best friend, Layla, shouted over the pounding music. “After all you've done for them.” She put up two fingers towards the bartender and ordered your favourite drink.
You could only sigh and nod as you leaned your chin on the palm of your hand, your elbow on the wooden bar top.
“You should've quit them long ago,” she kept ranting on about the unfairness of your situation, but your mind was elsewhere. The past couple of years of your life had been dedicated to your job entirely, meaning; no social life. It had all been for nothing. They had promised you a bright future inside the company as long as you worked hard, but it had all been a lie. A lie you had bought so easily. You should've seen the red flags. Especially when your boss kept bringing in new secretaries because ‘he needed all the help he could get'. Yes, with sucking his private parts. Not with doing actual work, which he'd drop on your desk every morning.
You felt so stupid.
“Thanks,” you murmured as the bartender put the cocktail in front of you. If you could just drink this night away and forget about your foolishness for a while, that would be perfect.
“On a better future,” you said as you let your glass clink against hers.
“And may karma reach your boss,” Layla added.
You'd gladly drink to that.
The next couple of hours were slowly turning into a blur of strobing lights, empty glasses and lots of sweaty bodies. You'd danced with a lot of strangers, finally letting loose after spending all those nights alone in your small apartment.
“I have to pee,” you shouted in Layla's ear.
“Me too,” she replied as she pulled herself away from a guy who looked like he'd had a bit too much to drink.
You both left the crowded dancefloor to go to the bathrooms. It was almost just as crowded inside the restrooms as it was out in the club. You struggled to get through the rows of women who were touching up their make-up in front of the mirrors.
A few minutes and elbows in your chest later, you'd managed to do your business and were waiting outside of the bathroom. No way were you going to stay in that suffocating area.
You leaned against the wall of the hallway, looking around, letting your eyes trail along the people who walked by. The music was still loud in your ears and you knew you weren't going to drink much anymore – you felt your body sway a little even when you were leaning against a hard surface.
“Hello beautiful.”
Your head swung to your side as the music made way for a voice. It was a man you had seen before while you'd been dancing. He was quite buff, his arms full of tattoos and his hair was gelled back. It wasn't the type of man you'd normally go for, but he sure had a handsome face.
You gave him a lazy smile. “Hi.”
“Care for a drink?” He nudged his head toward the end of the hallway, wanting you to follow him. Probably to go sit at the bar.
“I'm waiting for my friend,” you said, looking back at the bathroom door. She was taking her sweet time, though. You'd been standing here for a couple of minutes already, plus she had entered a stall before you had. Maybe she was already back on the dancefloor?
“I'm sure she'll find you, let's just go to the bar.” The guy offered his hand and flashed a few teeth, his smile was crooked.
You looked at the door one more time before deciding ‘what the hell’ and laid your hand in his. He pulled you along as he introduced himself. His name was Jay, he was out with a couple of friends who were still somewhere in the club.
“Let me order the drinks,” he said as you sat down on one of the bar stools.
He motioned to the bartender that he wanted to order something and you started to let your eyes wander around the club.
After a few minutes of squinting your eyes, you still weren't able to spot Layla. You started rummaging in the small purse at your hip, grabbing your phone as you checked the time. Midnight had already passed. You'd planned to stay out until you and Layla had to drag each other towards a taxi, and that point hadn't been reached yet.
Your finger hoovered over the dial button, but you decided against it. Layla wouldn't be able to hear her phone over the loud music anyway.
“Here you go, a pretty drink for a pretty girl,” Jay said as he put a cocktail in front of you.
You couldn't help but smile back at him. He sounded like a nice person. He didn't look drunk either. A nice sober man hitting on you in the club – what were the odds?
“Thank you, Jay,” you said and took a sip. After you put your glass down, you looked up at him. He had a glass of beer in his hand, but he didn't seem overly fond of it.
He leaned in closer to you, his arm touching yours and you could feel the heat radiating from his body. “Wanna dance after we finish our drinks?” There was a twinkling in his eyes as he scanned your face.
You shrugged, “why not?”
“My friends are over there,” he said, directing his gaze towards three guys who were talking and laughing whilst leaning against the other end of the bar. They had the same style as Jay, so it wasn't hard to spot them.
You nodded. “Well, I don’t know where Layla is,” you said, taking a big swig of your drink. “But I'm sure I'll bump into her when we get on the dancefloor.”
“Sure,” Jay said. “I saw you dancing earlier. You're a good dancer.” His breath travelled along your neck as he leaned in even closer.
To mask your embarrassment, you quickly drank the rest of your drink. You weren't so sure about his statement. You hadn't danced in ages so you were probably a bit rusty.
“I could still use some practise,” you jokingly said, although you quite meant it.
Jay took your hand as soon as your glass left your fingers and dragged you onto the dancefloor. It didn't take long for you two to move along the rhythm of the music. The DJ was putting on more techno songs as the night progressed. The bass went through every fibre of your being, making you forget about the reason you were here in the first place.
The coloured strobing lights seemed to be getting prettier by the minute. The colours mixing and touching every surface, including the man who was almost rubbing up against you. It made him look out of this world. His grey eyes reflected flashes of colour, and you could swear you could see the galaxy in the dark of his pupils.
You leaned in closer, not caring you were now completely touching him as your chest rubbed against his. “Your eyes are amazing,” you said against his ear, you felt a slur in your speech as the words formed in your mouth.
It earned you a dark snicker from his throat.
His arms sneaked around you, holding you tightly against him. “You're going to have an even more amazing night.” You completely missed the underlying tone in his voice as your focus was now completely on all the visuals around you. Everything started moving in funny ways.
Jay started murmuring even more words into your ear but you felt like you were drifting away from reality. You couldn't even feel his body against yours anymore – you couldn't even feel your own body.
That's when you knew you were in deep trouble. You wanted to scream for help, you wanted to call out for Layla, but all you could do was slump against Jay. The only thing you were currently aware of, was your heartbeat. You weren't a doctor, but you knew it was going way too fast, making you even more lightheaded in the process.
“Ssh,” Jay shushed softly as one of his hands came up to hold your head against his shoulder, hiding your face in his neck. “You're just drunk, that's all.” His voice was like honey, making your head spin even more and you almost believed him.
“Time to go?” An unknown voice came from behind you, barely audible over the music.
Jay chuckled. “Yes, notify the others.”
You could feel your feet being dragged along as Jay started walking. And no one stopped him. No one noticed how vulnerable you were. The drunk people in the club were oblivious to the drama that was about to happen to you.