In a Strange Place

My eyes locked on the side of her face. She was laughing. I couldn’t contain the silly grin

that spread across my face. She was so beautiful. I wanted to talk to her. “What are you

grinning at?” Natalie asked looking in the direction I was. “Oh! Is that the girl you let try to kill

you?” Damn! Word spreads quick. She put her arm around my shoulder. I started to protest, but Natalie pulled me out of

my chair and pushed me Skye’s way. “Go get her.” She said with a wink. I rolled my eyes.

“No. She probably doesn’t even remember me.”

“Wow, I’ve never seen you act like such a pussy before. EVER. I’ve never seen you blush over a girl

before. Hell….I’ve never seen you in a relationship before, that wasn’t open.” I looked over at

Skye. She had her legs folded and her hands in her lap. I really wanted to talk to her. But

what could I say? What could I say?! I’ve always had something to say. How is it this

complete stranger could make me feel this way. Maybe if I had a little to drink….maybe I

could open up a little. “Lets just have a few drinks first.” I said sitting back in my chair.

Natalie looked at me annoyed. She had her boyfriend on the other side of her. When did he

get here? “Just go fucking talk to her! She’s a human being for hell’s sake, Adam!” Natalie

was right. I stood tall and made my way over to Skye and her friends. My hands were

shaking, my heart was booming, and my stomach felt like shit.

Everything was in slow motion. Maybe it was because of what I smoked earlier. I

remember so clearly Sky’s head looking up at me. I remember the face she made. If only it

was a pleasant face. I remember the first thought that came to my mind was, “Be cool.” That

was something I could accomplish , right? Wrong.

I thought of the many ways I could do this, but that only seemed to make me even more

nervous. My mind blanked of all words and actions. I couldn’t do this. I needed an escape. Right behind Skye’s table was a restroom.

Problem solved. I turned right before her table and headed for the restroom. I ran in and

stood in front of the mirror. I couldn’t stand my reflection. I closed my eyes and took deep

breaths. I turned and looked around. The bathroom was a mess. Graffiti on the floor and

smudge on the walls. The room reeked of piss. It brought an overwhelming feeling to me

that made me want to vomit. I had to go out and face Skye. I slowly walked toward the door,

but before I could make it out someone came storming in. It was Skye. Before I could fully

process what was going on, Skye’s finger was already shoved into my chest and my back

against a wall. “What do you think you’re doing?!” I was so highly confused, but her yelling at

me was kinda hot. “What are you talking abo-”

“You know damn fucking well what I’m talking about!” she said. She made a loud groan and

turned. Her hands were tangled in her hair and her face was red with anger. Well it’s quiet

obvious she’s not just a drunk. “Why are you following me?”

“Following yo-”

“You know what? I don’t even care! Just stop!”

“Stop w-”

“Stay away from me!” She said leaning her beautiful face really close to mine. My body

stiffened and my heart beat faster. I wanted to grab her and kiss her. He breath smelled

like mint. So she wasn’t drinking?

“Or else.” I leaned my face closer to hers. Suddenly, I got a taste of courage. I leaned closer to her, our noses barely

touching, and whispered,

“Or else what?” I smirked. She looked into my eyes and I saw that beautiful brown I was

looking for. She rolled them and turned to leave. I breathed in and out really fast. I was

feeling lucky. I stepped outside the restroom and filled my lungs with fresh bar air. It

stank but anything was better than the piss smell that was in the restroom. I walked up to

Skye’s table. I could feel the glares from her eyes on the side of my head. I sat down next to

her with a silly grin on my face. “Hey, Skye!” Her friends looked at her confused.

“Who’s he?” The red head friend asked her.

“Just a guy I know.” She mumbled. She looked at her lap shyly then grabbed her friends beer

and took a long swig. “Hey!” her friend said giggling.

“You’re not supposed to be drinking!” I said just to fuck with her.

“Yeah? Neither are you.” Skye mumbled. I quickly turned red. I smirked and grabbed the beer

from her hand. I took a long swig. It was bitter and stale, but I missed it. I missed the feel of

the coolness running down my throat and the way it made me feel. Hell! I even missed the

pungent after taste it left on my tongue. She grabbed it from me with a grin and took an

equally long sip. Before her friends could quiz me, I grabbed Skye’s hand and whispered,

“Can I talk to you?” She looked timid. “You can trust me…I promise.” She raised an eyebrow

then followed me outside.

The cool, fresh night air was a welcomed change to the musty air from the bar. I stood and

let my lungs take it all in. The quiet felt nice too. “What do you want?” she calmly asked. I

never noticed she had a British accent. “I wanna get to know you a little more.” I looked

down at her to see her reaction. She looked straight ahead unruffled. “Why?” Her question

caught me off guard.

“Because…you seem like an interesting person.” I said like an idiot. I mentally slapped

myself at my lame remark.

“I’m not.” She whispered.

“Why did you attack me that day?” I asked. She stiffened next to me. Her posture seemed

taken off guard. It made me feel uneasy.

“I was…I-” She sounded embarrassed. “Something happened to me…in the past.

Something bad. You just-you remind me of that.” I started to ask her what but was cut off

from someone yelling my name. It wasn’t a friendly yelling. More like a parent yelling

because their kid did something bad…Like sneak to a bar. I looked toward the direction my

name was being called and saw Sam. Shit!