The place was already packed with homo sapiens. There were people on the dance floor, loud hip-hop music was playing - the ugliest kind of hip-hop. But everyone seem to be so immersed with that terrible music and some of them was dancing in unconcious state. Kenny found a tall table near the dance floor and motioned to one of the waitress, a woman wearing a bandolier full of shot glasses. "One Jägermeister, miss," Kenny said. "Thank you." Three bottles of alcohol were clipped to her belt. It all looked really heavy.
A few girls were dancing with their hips together, mechanically riding each other's thigh and arching their backs. It was unpleasantly arousing to watch. Kenny was definitely not enjoying his view but it was his first night. After all, he just want to celebrate his graduation day with his friend, Justin, who clearly already missing in that circle of people.
Then suddenly a girl sat beside him. Kenny was little bit startled but strangely he wasn't nervous. This place and this girl was so far outside his everyday life and they didn't seem quite real.
"Hi, I'm Ashley," the girl said, holding out her small hand.
"Kenny", he said, smiling. Can I get you something?
"It's okay, your friend there just ordered for us"
"Oh, right, sorry, yeah..."
"I'll take cigarette if you have one."
"Sorry," he said. "I don't smoke"
"That's okay. Me neither. I mean, I do but only when I'm at a bar, or whatever since I hate the smell. But I'm going to smell like cigar anyway so I think I might as well have one."
"My friend has one I think...." Kenny turned to Justin who was already leading his girl to the dance floor.
"Don't worry about it, anyway do you want to dance?" Ashley asked.
"I really don't. Is that okay?"
"Totally, it's not like you can talk out there anyway". She said, while sipping to her Negroni.
Now Kenny was nervous. He clearly had no idea on topics to talked about with Ashley. Damn. Justin had taken all the night's momentum with him to the dance floor. Usually he the one who always take the lead, breaking the ice and ordering drinks. So he asked the girl. "What do you do for a living?" Definitely a nerd question.
"I'm a dermatologist. What about you?"
" Computers"
She smiled and nodded. "Computers", she said, "that's great". Then they finished their drinks and Kenny ordered another round just to have something to do. He suddenly felt hungry probably because he still didn't have his dinner. Should a bar have peanuts at least or snacks? He think. He drifted his eyes to Ashley. She was playing with her tiny straw while whisper-rapping to the music. She was pretty but the lights in the club makes her looked like bruising. Everyone looked like that under this red and blue lights.
"Do you like rap?" Ashley suddenly asked.
"Oh, no." he said, shaking his head broadly.
"Well, they do country on Tuesdays."
"You seem like not enjoying your time here." "Are you one of those sad drunks?" Ashley asked.
"I'm not sad." Beside this is my first time, well how about you?" "You look like not paying attention, not like your friends there" Kenny said while shifting his eyes to the center of the dance floor.
"I like to listen more than using my energy there"
"I see, uhm.. well do you came here to meet somebody, right? To meet a guy?"
She looked down at her drink. "Right"
"Well, when you think about that guy, do you think about meeting him in a place like this? In a place this ugly? This loud? Do you want him to smell like cigar and alcohol? Do you want your first dance to be a song about strippers?
She looked at him and then shrugged. "Maybe"
"Maybe? No, of course you don't."
"Don't tell me what I want, beside where else am I supposed to meet a guy? She asked. "A stadium? Like, in a garden"?
"A garden would be a nice idea."
Ashley narrowing her eyes.
"You're right, I'm sorry." said Kenny.
"I think if I met a guy, you know, 'that guy', I wouldn't care where I was or what he smelled like. I'd just be, like, happy...to stay beside him..."
"Look", she said, standing up, "it was nice to meet you. But I'm going to join my friends"
"Oh..um, right..." He started to stand, knocked his head. "It was nice to meet you, too," he said.
He felt like apologizing again, but didn't.
And he didn't watch her walked away too.
P/s: this story was an adaptation inspired by my favorite book. attachments. And also based on my friends relatable experience.
