Chapter 3 One-night Stand

• “That’s awesome,” Sol said in amazement.
• “I know, right?” I replied with a laugh.
• Here we are now in a hotel I have no idea when she booked.
• I was surprised when I stepped out of the church, and she was there waiting for me in her car. I quickly hopped in so I wouldn’t be caught by the ones chasing me inside.
• “You know what, go change. We’re heading to the club.” She said excitedly.
• “I’d love that!”
• “Gosh, Lia. Take it easy,” Sol stressed. She took my shot glass away.
• I laughed at her and took it back, drinking it down. Then, with a laugh, I stared at her as I drank three more shot glasses in front of us.
• She slapped her forehead.
• “Let’s forget everything tonight and just party!” I said, dancing around.
• She shook her head, then followed and danced along.
• “Hi, Amelia,” a guy said as he approached me, holding a glass of alcohol. “Drinks?” he offered.
• I took it and placed it on the table. My number one rule is to never accept drinks from anyone offering them at the bar. I literally spent my whole teenage years in bars. The guys here, they will literally do anything to drug you. So now that I’m an adult, I’m wiser.
• I saw his reaction when I placed the drink on the table. As usual, they all didn’t like it.
• Before he could complain, I placed my hand on his shoulder and danced with him.
• He smiled and followed my moves. After I got tired of it, I pushed him away. He frowned, but I ignored him and went back to our table.
• Sol greeted me with a shaking head and a smile. Nothing new. She’s used to it because that’s just how I am. Besides, he’s not the first guy I’ve danced with tonight.
• “Still naughty, Lia.”
• I shrugged in response and started drinking again.
• “What would your life be like if you’d gone through with that wedding earlier?” she teased. My face soured at the thought. “Oh gosh, you’d probably be on your honeymoon now,” she added, laughing loudly.
• I hit her on the arm. I get chills whenever I think about that old man. How could my parents do that to me? This is all their fault!
• “Stop, okay? I can’t handle a single thought about that old man,” I said, my face twisting in disgust.
• “Does he have kids? You’d be an instant mommy if it happened.” She laughed loudly.
• “Gosh, if he does, they’re probably my age,” I said, shuddering at the thought.
• “So,” she said, fiddling with her drink while I lazily waited for what she’d say next. “He said he’s going to find you,” she chuckled a bit, “he seems to be so obsessed.”
• Do I need to worry about it?
• I grabbed a glass and drank from it before standing up.
• “Let him try and find me if he can.”
• I headed back to the dance floor to continue dancing. This time, Sol joined me.
• We were busy dancing when we heard a group of men laughing loudly.
• Their laughter was so loud. Annoying. They even covered up the music in the club.
• They were singing “Happy Birthday,” and one of the guys was being handed a drink.
• He frowned, looking at his friends angrily, but still drank each glass they handed him. I stopped dancing and stared at him, shaking my head. Hell, that was six straight shots.
• He must have felt my gaze because he turned to look at me.
• He drank the last glass handed to him while still staring at me.
• You’re going to be drunk in a minute.
• “Happy birthday, bro!” his friends yelled.
• I took my eyes off them and went back to dancing. The night was getting late, and I lost count of how many guys I had danced with. I was getting tired of going back and forth between the dance floor and our table to drink and dance.
• “Here,” Sol said, holding a bottle of alcohol.
• I smiled. “You’re the best!” I pointed at her.
• I took the drink and downed it while dancing.
• I don’t know how much I’ve drunk already. It feels like this is the first time I’ve ever gotten this drunk. I stopped moving and realized everything around me was spinning. I also started feeling a headache. This is so weird. This feels completely different from the times I’ve been drunk before—something’s wrong.
• No way. Am I drugged? That’s impossible. I tried to remember if I had received any drinks from those who offered them to me, but I couldn’t recall. The only drinks I remember were those that Sol gave me.
• I turned my attention to our table, but Sol wasn’t there. That girl! Where is she? We need to leave right now! Whoever tried to put something in my drink and has bad intentions is not going to succeed!
• I tried to step toward our table, but the pain in my head was unbearable. I couldn’t even understand what people around me were saying.
• I almost gagged. Gosh! I need to go to the restroom.
• I never thought in my whole life I’d have a hard time getting to the restroom!
• I saw Sol at the counter, kissing someone. I was about to approach her when I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up, so I just headed straight to the restroom instead.
• I didn’t even know if I had entered the right one. I opened a stall and immediately threw up. That felt so good! But then, I suddenly felt hot all over.
• I went to the sink and splashed water on my face to try to cool down, but the heat didn’t seem to go away. Is this because of the alcohol? Does drinking too much make your body burn? My body has never reacted this way even when I was drunk before.
• I was looking at myself in the mirror when suddenly a man walked in and rushed to another stall to throw up, leaving the door open. It was the guy from earlier who was celebrating his birthday with his friends.
• “You’re a pervert!” I yelled at him, which only made my headache worse.
• He was obviously completely drunk too. He didn’t even acknowledge me and just walked to the sink next to mine to rinse his mouth.
• “Did you hear me? This is the women’s restroom!” I argued, even though my world was still spinning.
• He glanced up and faced me.
• He started walking toward me, so I stepped back.
• “You better get your eyes checked, miss, because this is the men's restroom.”
• I felt the wall behind me. He placed both his hands on either side of my face.
• He stared into my eyes, and I did the same, until his gaze dropped to my lips.
• No, Lia! Calm down! I told myself, because something inside me was telling me to do something I would regret. This is definitely the alcohol kicking in!
• I clenched my fists to hold back.
• I felt one of his fingers touch my lips, and that broke the control I had been holding onto.
• I grabbed him by the neck and pressed my lips against his.
• I can't remember how we ended up at his hotel. He guided me into the room. Each step we took felt like a dance, given how carefully he held my waist. Every step seemed to have its own rhythm.
• When he laid me down on the bed, he paused for a moment, his heavy-lidded eyes studying my face as if trying to memorize every detail. It was then that I had a chance to observe him too.
• I reached out and touched his face, noticing the sharp features that perfectly matched the aura of power he gave off.
• My finger traced his nose, and I gently caressed it as it moved down to his lips.
• “Are you sure about this?” he asked, his voice filled with pure gentleness.
• Of course, I’m not! But this is what I need right now.
• “Do whatever you want. I don’t have a tomorrow anyway,” I said, remembering how everything was going to fall apart for me after I went against my parents. But who cares? I felt so betrayed that their first solution to the mess they caused was to sell me. I don’t deserve this!
• He leaned down to kiss me again, his hand traveling across my body. Every touch felt like it was burning me.
• Though my heart and mind were at odds, especially since I didn’t know this man, the heat in my body won out.