• if you're lost, you can look and you would find me; Time after Time If you fall, I'll catch you, I'll be waiting; Time after time•

~Time After Time - Sam Smith.

Chapter 9

The whole place glowed blue and there was someone close to the entrance painting things on people's face so that the color of whatever he was painting glowed out loud and bright in the lightening, I'd only seen something like it in the movies. Almost everybody is wearing it though.

"Want to get that?" Nile asks already walking to the man with a wide smile on her face. "I want a something like a zebra colour on one side of my face." The shirtless man painting it nodded, moving his body to the booming music and he rounded up with the person he is with already.

"Nah, I think I have enough," a tall guy with bulging, shining muscles walks by wearing just briefs and oh my gosh. "O-o-on my- my face... already."

Nile giggles breaking me out of the trance of following the guy with my eyes as he walked away. I blush, looking down at my feet and she thankfully doesn't say anything. The guy quickly draws on Nile's face, she gives him a some change and we leave but not before she unceremoniously places her hand on my face, and her fingers end up glowing on my face too. I shake my head at her but I don't really mind so it's all good.

"Nile, this place," I start saying watching another half naked guy walk by and catching two girl deeply making out, one girl's hand already inside other girl's shirt. "I-is amazing."

"I know right?" She holds my hand leading me somewhere. "It's so real and so free and so fun."

"I've been missing out on a lot," I say to myself watching three guys grind on the dance floor, I wonder what it'll feel like to be the third guy. All that body— I gulp and look away, realizing that we are at the bar and Nile is ordering drinks. I look back to the dance floor, being here and seeing all these people is awakening up desires in me I never even knew I had or could have. I want to dance like that with a guy and touch him without shame and let him touch me too. I want to kiss a guy as freely as those girls making out, without a care in the world about who is looking or not or how I'd feel after or anything.

"Isreal, bottoms up," Nile says calling my attention back to reality. My throat feels dry from all the looking and wanting and I don't even think twice when I raise the glass of pink drink, hitting cups with Nile and gulping down all the contents at once.

I drop the cup with a satisfied sigh, it tasted and smelled fruity but on drinking it there was a bitter stinging aftertaste.

"Damn Issy, thirsty much?" She asks, then throws her head back and laughs at her own joke.

"Apparently," I push the empty glass to her, the drink feels really good regardless of the aftermath bitter taste. "What was that even?"

"A little something our gentleman handsome bartender put together," she explains, winking at the man that is way older than her. Of course. "Don't worry it doesn't have much alcohol in it but I suggest you start having fun before it completely hits, it'll be slow."

"Alcohol?" I hiccup, "bloody hell, that's like my first one." I should be freaking out more but I am not and the alcohol isn't hitting in yet. I've decided to not care and just do what I can do, this is my only night to not be Isreal Taylor.

"Really? Wow, would have made that more memorable if I knew. Sorry."

"It's fine, I don't really care right now." I look back at the crowd and I meet the eyes of a dark skinned guy looking at me, he winks and I look away, my heart already beating. This is really happening. "How exactly do I have fun Nile?"

She looks at me like I just hit a gold mine, "finally. And it's simply, just make eye contact with someone and ask them to dance, things usually go off from there. Don't hold yourself back, unless it's something you're not comfortable with then you stop immediately, if you can't all you have to do is make eye contact with me and I'd be there to the rescue."

"And you'd just be right here?"

She nods, "this is my zone. I'm going to be having my fun with that gentleman over there." She pointed back at the bartender.

I look at him and lean down to her, "Nile, he's like late twenties."

"I don't care and it's not like he's going to be meeting my coochie, it's just my lips for now," she grins, I glare, then rolls her eyes. "And I mean while I'm talking to him. Just talking, I swear."

I look at her for a minute and when I'm sure she isn't joking, I nod. "Stay where I can see you okay?"

"Right back at you boo."

I nod and turn around, talking to myself. "It's simple just make eye contact and ask them to dance. Simple, I can do this, no one knows me here." I start walking, I already made eye contact with one guy and he's dancing already, this should be easy. Do I need to say my name? Wait what's my name? A- something. It's definitely an A. I sigh, reaching into my back pocket to get my wallet, I pull it out but just as I'm about to blindly take another step, someone bumps me from being resulting me to bump into another guy, almost causing him and myself to fall. My wallet falls though and maybe if there is enough empty space, we would have too.

"Easy," the guy says, holding unto my shoulder to steady me. I blink, standing back on my feet and blushing in embarrassment. Thankfully it can't be seen, with or without the light.

"Sorry," I say then look up at the guy. He's a bit taller than me, almost the same height even, he's white and has whiskers drawn on his face and his nose is coloured too.

"Aye no problem," he pats my shoulder. "Thankfully, we're both not drunk or that would have resulted differently."

I chuckle awkwardly, "yeah." Then I remember my wallet, "my wallet, it fell."

"Shit, I'll help."

We start looking for my wallet and all the while I'm cringing, biting my lip and cursing myself for being so unfortunate. I could be grinding against someone right now but instead here I am embarrassing myself like a twenty year old would not.

"Found it," he says suddenly after about two minutes of looking for it. I sigh in relief turning to him, he has a smile on. "This is it, right?"

Is this a deja Vu moment, what's this feeling?

"Yeah," I say, pushing my weird thoughts away. I reach for the wallet, holding it but not taking it from him. Our eyes might and I try to decipher the colour of his eyes but all I can see is something like silver, not sure because of the lightening. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he doesn't leave the wallet too and after some seconds, I smile, looking away and taking my wallet. I made eye contact, right? "I'm Isr-- Isa."

"Isa?" He asks and I nod too quickly. He smiles, "well, I'm Sam."

"Nice to meet you."

"Same."

"So, if you're interested, would you like to dance?" I ask and the ease at which it comes out, startles me. Wow, it's either I'm a pro at this or this stranger has a sense and aura of comfort around him.

"Sure," the guy smirks and I nod to myself, knowing that I am supposed to be more cool but honestly of he knew otherwise, he'd know I'm being my coolest right now.

Sam and I make our way over to the dance floor and if I thought things would get less awkward there then I go in for a huge surprise because it gets even more awkward as I don't know what to do. Sam chuckles at my lame attempt to dance, although I don't hear it because of the booming music, I just get to see it. Before I can cringe back into my shell and hightail out of there, he leans in and shouts near my ear, giving me a shiver I didn't think is possible to get in this hot dancing floor.

"First time?" He leans away and cocks a brow up at me and it had to be the cat painting on his face that's making all this more bearable because he looks funny. I briefly wonder if he's handsome or ugly, I can't even tell for sure what his voice is like because of the music.

"Ah what gave me away?" I shout to him too

He laughs again, "which first is it?"

I look around us, a girl just got her bra thingy unhooked, mistakenly or not and she is fumbling to hook it bag, a huge part of her breasts getting exposed. I look away like someone put hot coal on my forehead, I did not just see that. "Um, everything?"

He nods, then leans in again. "You're cute."

I open my mouth to say something then close it back up before I settle on saying, "at this moment, I don't know if that's a compliment or not."

He doesn't get to say something because a big guy, bigger than us both in the muscles department, comes close to me and starts dancing just like that. I look at the guy in surprise and he just grins, raising his hand up and doing a little spin shaking his amazing butt in the tight pants he had on. I look at Sam and we burst out laughing together. The guy pauses with a smile on his face and gestures at me as if telling me to do the same, I have to point at myself to make sure I'm not mistaken and when he nods still, I look at Sam. Sam mouths 'come on' and I'm like whatever, I don't care if I end up looking stupid, I don't know any of them.

Raising my hand up like he did, I shake my body left right and do the spin, shaking my ass as much as I could. When I turn back to them, they both have appreciating smiles on. The guy holds my waist and grinds on me, making my jaw fall open at the contact but I can't complain, I want this. I laugh and I don't need to be told to do the same when he stops, grinding on him too. This time Sam takes the lead, holding the guys face and doing a little dance move that's kinda hard to explain but had me dropping my jaw at him too. When he stops and looks at me, I mouth 'so you were holding out on me', he shrugs and urges me to do the same. I take hold of the big guy and attempt the dance too. From there we kind of hit off and our dancing commenced with us three, I get to be sandwiched (yay) before the big guy leaves and it goes back to me and Sam.

I thought if I am ever in this kind of situation, I'd hate skin to skin contact but now I can't imagine anything better. Sam's hands on my warm skin or even over my clothes sets my body on fire in such a good way that I doubt is appropriate, I wonder how old he is but then his hand on my ass, sends that wonder back into the pit of hell. Sam turns out to be a very good and bold dancer and I'm so glad I bumped into him because it feels like I've known him for a while now, way longer than our meeting here. We get drinks, non alcoholic and the song changes to one that includes a lot of jumping and shouting and spraying of glitter in the air.

"Moses beards, I had so much fun," I say with a laugh when we remove ourselves from the dance floor and go the bar, the other side of it. I could still see Nile at the spot where she said she'd be, laughing with some girl.

"Me too, you turn out to be full of surprises Isa."

"Isa," I say to myself. I don't know if it's the alcohol but I am starting to feel light-headed from all the jumping. "That's so weird."

"Yeah, of all fake names you could choose," he says with a smirk.

"Sam is fake too."

He nods, "no one uses their real in a club. Security reasons."

"Like being followed or what?"

"That and maybe if we bone, and I want it to be a one time thing but then you end up falling in love with me," I roll my eyes, he smiles. "Then the fake name saves me from your stalking."

I nod, "although it'll be you falling in love with me."

"What makes you so sure?"

I shrug, batting my eye lashes at him. "You told me I'm cute."

He chuckles, bending his head and raising it back up, "You know, I like you, Isa."

I freeze.

..."you know, I like you, Isreal."

Sky... My heart starts hammering like that of a person about to die from a heart attack. That's what the deja Vu feeling was, Sam reminded me of Sky.

"Um, sorry, that so abrupt but I mean that in a totally cool way, you're interesting and fun to hang out with," he says when I don't say anything. "I mean, compared to other people you met at a bar."

Say something Isreal... He's not Sky, he can't be. I sigh, I'm not supposed to think of Sky and I have it bad if just a similar sentence makes me think he's someone.

I blink, "sorry, it's just..." I run my hand over my face. "You just reminded me of someone."

"Oh really," he cocks his head to the side. "Who? You're boyfriend?"

I smile, "I wouldn't be here with you if I have a boyfriend and no."

"An ex then?"

I shrug, "something like that." Then I sigh. "Let's not talk about him, I'm supposed to have fun and kiss a guy tonight."

"Kiss a guy?" He blinks at me.

I nod, "I might have promised my friend I would."

"Hm," he nods. "Goodluck getting herpes then."

I laugh, "from kissing? And you have herpes?"

"No way, I'm the lucky candidate?"

I shrug, "I mean unless you have a boyfriend?"

"Eh, it's complicated."

"Aye," I nod. "My friend told me that when someone says that, their either hiding something about their relationship or currently fighting."

"Your friend is wise."

"He is."

"But neither of those are true, it's just kinda complicated, I'm not in a relationship."

"Good for me then," I say, then blush and hiccup. I didn't just say that, damn Isreal, you're good at this. "Sorry, I think I'm drunk and I feel way too familiar with you."

"Yeah, me too, it's weird." His phone rings and he turns to look at it while I sneak a peak at the time.

It is a bit past midnight already... and I have school tomorrow. How did time fly.

"Whoa, it's late!"

"Yeah, sorry Isa, I have to go now," he says, pocketing his phone back in.

"Yeah me too."

"Goodluck on not getting herpes," he says then closes the space between us, both his hand holding a side of my neck as he places his lips on mine.

Sam kisses me and my eyes flutter shut as I kiss him back. I might be a bit drunk and high on excitement but the way he kisses me, the memory it draws to the surface and the way my heart pounds, there's no way I won't remember what my first kiss felt like.

When my eyes open, he's gone and I stare eye wide after the place I see him walk past. It's him. I break into a run, squeezing past the people and trying to find him again.

It's him, oh my gosh, it's him. My heart pounds and my eyes water as I look for him to no avail. It's useless, he's gone. Maybe if I shout he's real name;

"Sky!"

-------------------------------------------

💋