Hey Stranger!

She has the same name as I do; Annabelle. I shorten my name to Anna but she uses it in full. We first met at a birthday party in a loft and then started bumping into one another in a dance club.

It’s Friday night and I’m in the mood to dance and drink my way out of this dreary week overrun by sleet and grey meetings.

“Hey Stranger!” she calls out as she makes her way towards me through the swaying bodies. “Hey yourself,” I reply. She is wearing a thigh length burgundy dress and boots, her face is shimmering with glitter makeup and a delicate touch of sweat. I’m wearing a denim jacket and midnight black jeans. We have to elevate our voices over the din of the music.

“Aren’t you hot in that thing?” she asks and pulls at the lapel of my jacket.

“Kinda, but I’m sticking with it for the purpose of being badass.”

She laughs and tosses her hair to one side. I love it when she does that.

“So how are the guys tonight?” I prompt, she’s always popular with the guys since she’s not afraid to dance with whoever is around.

“Meh. There might be one that I’ll try to drag home but I’m not sure yet.”

I take a sip from my vodka drink and she notices, “Aren’t you going to offer me one of those?” she teases.

“Do you want one?”

“Yes.”

I turn to the bar and lean over it to get the attention of one of the bartenders. I feel her push up against my back and lean over my shoulder.

Her drink arrives and I hand it to her, we clink our glasses and I drain mine in a dare for her to do the same. She doesn’t take the bait.

“Let’s go dance,” she says and we do.

She finds a spot in the middle of the dance floor and we sway back and forth to the music. I admire her confidence, I’ve not yet had enough to drink to be able to shake my inhibitions but I’m getting there.

She leans in to me, “There he is,” she points to an older man in a button shirt holding a beer.

“Not bad, isn’t he a bit old though?”

“Yeah, maybe. But he might be loaded. Look at his cufflinks.”

We dance some more until my jacket becomes uncomfortably hot but I keep it on.

“God. I wish we could smoke in here,” she continues, “Giuliani really fucked it up for everyone.”

And then she takes my arm, “Come on, let’s go outside.”

I let her lead me by the hand through the crowd and towards the passage that leads to a terrace. The passage is packed and we have to push through groups of people standing along its walls. We’re not making any real progress and stop halfway down the dim passage. I turn with my back to the wall and she stands facing me, still holding her glass.

“I think you’re right,” she intones and pulls her mouth sideways, “that guy is really too old and probably isn’t going to buy me a plane ticket to the Bahamas.”

“Have you asked him?”

“No, but it’s a long shot.”

There’s a pause.

“Plus, he’s not the hottest thing in here.”

She takes a step closer and pushes up against me. Her breasts push up against mine as she stares into my eyes. There’s a rush of blood to my head.

“You want to know what the hottest thing in here is?”

I just smile.

“We are.”

I feel her push her one leg between mine and against my thigh. She puts her free hand under my jacket and up against my collarbone and I know that she’s deliberately doing this to make me feel pinned up against the wall. It’s been a long time since we last kissed and I can still remember the feeling of her lips against mine.

“This is fun, right?” she pushes me to react. I don’t reply and instead just part my lips slightly to invite her in. She moves her hand from my shoulder to my mouth and first brushes her fingers against my bottom lip before slipping one finger into my mouth to touch my tongue. I let her keep her finger there as long as she wants and then keep my mouth open for her mouth to find. She responds by leaning in and touching her tongue to mine.

And there is nothing that I want more than for her to bite my neck and slip her hand into my jeans. And she does and I melt into the darkness of the passage and the music and the alcohol and her scent.