“Yep, had to drop off urgent papers.”
“It’s Friday night!”
“Everything is urgent with him.”
“Why didn’t you invite him to come out with us? Or better yet, you should have sent his hot ass into the bathroom to pay me a visit. I surely could have used it.”
“Oh Charlie, I’m sure he would have gladly taken you on!”
The knock on the door broke me from my shower fantasy. It was Eric loaded with whistles.
“You said we had to wear one whistle, E,” I pointed out.
“I brought spares in case you forgot.” He blew the whistle, ouch it hurt my ear.
“Oh, we didn’t forget, trust me.”
“Oh, hello there, darling!” He leaned in kissing Kate on both cheeks.
“You biatches look hot to trot. Are you ready to watch a bunch of gay guys get it on? I want to be walking like John Wayne tomorrow.”
“Oh my days, TMI,” I muttered.
Kate laughed, pulling me with her and closing the door behind her.
After waiting in line for only a short time, we were allowed to enter the club. Okay, so I’d never been in a gay club before but it was exactly what I imagined. The club was dark, crowded, and the heavy scent of sweat lingered in the air. Eric called this ‘man juice’. The neon lights flickered like a light show, the techno beats bounced off the walls, almost trance-like, the atmosphere euphoric. The men were wearing fluro jocks. I felt extremely overdressed, not to mention conscious of the fact that we looked like the only women here.
“E, aren’t you a little overdressed?” I yelled over the music.
He smiled, removing his pants and shirt and handing them to the cloak guy that wore nothing but a fluro pink thong with the words ‘hands off snakey’ written on the front. I laughed out loud.
Everyone had a whistle, all being blown to the beat of the music. We made our way to the bar where, thankfully, girls were hanging out. We looked at each other, and although they were strangers, we threw each other a big smile and said hello. Well, at least we didn’t have to worry about sleazes trying to pick us up at the bar.
“So what are we ordering to drink?” Kate asked.
“A round of Daisy Chains please!” Eric yelled to the bartender.
“What’s a Daisy Chain?” Kate asked.
“The drink, I don’t know. The act, don’t ask.”
The drink turned out to be Sambuca shots. The smell of the anise was strong and I winced as I swallowed it. Holy fuck, that was surely gonna kill me! Urgh the aftertaste was rancid. Next drink was called a Candy Maker. It was actually tequila. The night carried on with lewd, homosexually named drinks being served to us. We loosened up and started dancing. It didn’t bother me that I was surrounded by sweaty males with bodies to die for, or the fact that they all had their tongues down each other’s throats. We just got lost in the trance, enjoying the carefree buzz. Kate was beyond smashed. I was not far behind her. As I danced, I felt my tiny purse vibrate. I pulled out my phone, squinting to read it.
Charlotte please, I am so lost without you
1 Voicemail message
It was Lex. My heart skipped a beat reading the message. Maybe it was the Daisy Chains and Candy Makers that loosened me up but suddenly I felt the urge to listen to the voicemail and not delete it like the other dozen I had this week. I motioned to Kate I was going to check my cell but she was too preoccupied being sandwiched in between two guys that loved dancing with a straight girl.
I made my way over to the corner and pressed into my voicemail, covering my other ear to drown out the music.
Please talk to me. I can’t go on like this. We said we would start over but you’re not here with me, you’re not even talking to me. Charlotte, listen to me when I say you can trust me. This is not what it seems. I need you... I need us to be okay. Please talk to me.
The line went silent and the pang in my heart deepened, this man was my husband so what the hell was I doing? But it wasn’t like it was a real wedding…
Walking back to the bar. I pushed my way through the crowd unaware of my trance-like state. Was I wrong in all this? But how could that possibly be? The photos looked real and someone out there wanted me to see them. Who sent me this link? Someone in love with Lex, I thought.
As I went to put my cell away, the date on the top of the screen caught my attention.
October 12th
It was her anniversary and I forgot because I was too busy worrying about my own problems. Maybe it was a blessing that I wasn’t forced to relive the horrible pain that tore me into shreds that day. That my ridiculous man problems made me forget about the woman that meant so much to me. I didn’t want to cry, not here in the middle of this club where people looked like they were having the time of their lives.