“Where have you gone?” Zara asked.
“What?”
“You’ve stopped dancing. Keep on dancing.” She grabbed his waist and started to move him to the beat of the music.
Everything else faded out, and Tonio got lost in her blue eyes. The drinks had made her cheeks flush, and the clothes she wore hung from her body. She used to be a lot bigger, he remembered that.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Not a lot. I’m just remembering a lot of crap.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. This is the kind of crap I’d not like to remember.”
“You know you could talk about it.”
“Not tonight. It’s about getting fucked up.”
“It is!”
The music went back to being loud, and Tonio got lost in the music, dancing with Zara as the time wore on. When she was thirsty, she tugged him back to the bar where they were throwing back drinks.
Tonio, for the first time in his life, actually felt happy. Once they finished a couple of drinks, they moved back onto the dance-floor.
“There’s a redhead at two o’clock. She’s been eye fucking you for a long time,” Zara said.
He glanced over, and indeed there was a woman staring at him. She was holding a drink to her lips. Sure, she was a sexy looking lady, but Tonio wasn’t interested. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and with the alcohol he’d been drinking, he didn’t know why.
“You should go over and talk to her.”
“Not going to happen. We’re here together.”
“You’re going to not get laid because of me?”
“No, I’m not getting laid because I don’t want to get laid. You’re a strange girl,” he said.
“Yep, that is me, strange.” She shrugged.
“Maybe we should find you a guy for the night.”
She scrunched up her nose. “No, you’ve not got a chance of that happening, babe. Tonight, I want to party and have fun. Pretend that you’re my friend, and that everything is totally awesome.”
“I am your friend,” he said.
“Oh, you are?”
“I don’t go protecting women from just anyone, Zara. You’re a friend, and I care about you.”
She paused, and they were both still on the dance-floor. Everyone was dancing around them, and he found that there was a beauty to Zara that may not be the conventional one, but to him, she was.
“You are?”
“Yes, I’m your friend. I’ve never opened my home to Donnie, Luiz, or Jake.”
“We barely know each other.”
“I know more about you than you might think.”
“Oh yeah, like what?”
Tonio grabbed her hand, leading her back to the bar. To get into this, he needed another drink. The bartender was already waiting and ready.
She sipped at her cocktail, and he knocked back his scotch, relishing the sudden burn as it slid down his throat. “God, I love that.”
“What do you know?”
“I know that you’re a virgin. You’ve never been kissed, and you’ve never known the kind of intimacy that you’ve watched on the movies. I also know that you’re embarrassed by the situation you’re in, and angry.”
“That’s easy to understand.”
“Yes, it’s easy, but what I’ve also come to see is that you speak a lot when you’re angry, or when you’re scared. You tell a great deal about yourself, and that’s how I know you. Not to mention that you were kind enough to let me cheat in school. You’re nice, and you visit your father. You’re loyal, as otherwise you’d have gone away to college. Instead, you fought for the past year and a half, probably even while we were in high school to make ends meet, cooking pizza, and trying to be everything that everyone asks of you. Am I right so far?”
“You are right, and I hate you for it.”
“You were a smarty pants, and you’ve never known what a fun day is like.”
“So, you should be trying to get me kissed at least. I don’t want sex, just a kiss.” She turned to look at the crowd, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like not being her center of attention. Placing his scotch down on the counter, he cupped her cheek, turning her to look at him.
Her skin was so smooth to the touch, and he wanted her. He wanted her so damn badly.
“What are you doing?”
“Something you’ve been wanting for a long time.” He closed the distance between them, and pressed his lips against hers.
At first, she was tense in his arms, and when he opened his eyes, he saw she was staring at him.
Pulling away only slightly, he stroked her cheek. “You know, kissing works by you actually kissing me back.”
“I don’t know how to do that.”
“Yes, you do. Just copy what I’m doing, and then do it.”
“Wait, this isn’t going to change anything, is it?” she asked.
“No, it’s not going to change a thing, other than the fact you’ve been kissed.”
She nodded, and this time she leaned in close, kissing him back. Zara held the back of his head and pressed her lips up against his. Sinking his fingers into her hair, he held her tightly against him.
Her soft body turned him on. She was a lot softer than many of the women he’d been with.
Tonio stroked his tongue over her lip, and she opened up, inviting him in.
He slowly stopped the kiss. Tonio wasn’t interested in the redhead. He was only interested in the woman in his arms.
“Now, are you ready to go and get fucked up?”
****
Zara’s lips tingled, and she looked up at him, wishing she could have been that redhead.
Tonio led her onto the dance-floor, and she danced until her feet hurt, and she was getting hungry.
“I’ve got to use the bathroom,” Zara said.
“I’ll be waiting for you. We’ll go and get some food.”
“You know where we can go?”
“It’s just a walk down the street. We’ll be fine.”
“I won’t be long.” She left the dance-floor and made her way toward the bathroom, surprised to see it wasn’t actually busy.
Pushing her hair out of her face, she entered the bathroom and did her business. Flushing the toilet, she left the stall, and was met by the redhead who’d been eye fucking Tonio. Zara offered her a smile, and washed her hands.
“You know, girls like you don’t snag guys like him,” the redhead said. “For your own sake, you should leave him alone.”
Up close, Zara saw the thick layers of makeup covering the woman’s age.
“You do know Tonio’s like twenty, and you don’t look young enough to be his girlfriend,” Zara said.
“There’s a lot more of pleasure to be had with an older woman. Besides, that boy is dangerous. You should walk away from him.”
It sounded like a warning, but Zara couldn’t be sure. Maybe the alcohol had finally gotten to her.
“Yeah, the whole cougar thing. It’s great, but as you can see, he’s taken.”
The woman sighed. “You’re a plain girl. You’ll probably find that he’s screwing you as some kind of bet.”
Zara rolled her eyes. “How old are you?”
“None of your business. I’m trying to do you a favor.”
“That was actually a rhetorical question. I’m out of here.”
“Watch your back,” the redhead said.
Zara left the bathroom, not giving the warning much thought. Tonio was waiting. “Do I want to know what you and the redhead discussed?”
“How you’re totally into the whole cougar thing, and you wouldn’t even look twice at me, so it has to be over some kind of bet. Now that I think about it, she was really insulting. I guess I’m just used to it.”
“It’s not something you should be used to. Come on, let’s go and have something to eat.”
She took the hand that he offered, and forgot about the woman with the flaming red hair.
“So, you’ve been kissed, you’ve gotten drunk, what next?”
“Oh, we also had fun, which is new for me. Let’s see, we’ve got sex. Are you going to do that?”
“Not while you’re drunk. When you’re sober we’ll talk about it.”
“Yay,” she said, giggling. She doubted they would talk about it at all. Zara wasn’t going to be asking any man for sex. The whole concept was just embarrassing.
“What are you in the mood for?”
“Hot dog or a burger. Something really wrong, and really fattening. Do you think you can find that at—what time o’clock is it?”
“It’s after two, so we’re going to blend right in.” He held onto her waist, and Zara liked the heat of his palm traveling up her body.
They left the all partying club in search of food.
“We’re not taking your car?”
“Nope. I can’t drive it, and cops would give their fucking nuts to throw my ass in jail. I don’t have many fans out there.”
“You don’t? I thought you were the loving kind of guy.”
He chuckled. “Besides Donnie, Luiz, and Jake, you’re the only one I’ve talked to, and who has gotten me to laugh.”
“I don’t believe that for a second.” The world was spinning a little. The buzz from the alcohol was a nice replacement for fear.