“Yep, work matters.”
“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’ve sent his hot ass into the bathroom to visit me. I surely could have used it.”
“Oh, Charlie, I’m sure he’d have gladly taken you on.” She laughed.
The knock on the door breaks me from my shower fantasy—it’s Eric loaded with whistles.
“You said we had to wear one whistle, E,” I point out.
He blows the whistle. Ouch, it hurts my ears. “I brought spares in case you forgot.”
“Oh, we didn’t forget. Trust me.”
“Oh, hello there, darling!” He leans in kissing Kate on both cheeks. “You biatches look amazing. 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,” I mutter, shaking my head.
Kate laughs, pulling me along and closing the door behind her.
After waiting in line for only a short time, we’re allowed to enter the club. Okay, so I’d never been in a gay club before, but it’s exactly what I imagined. The club is dark, crowded, and the heavy scent of sweat lingers in the air. Eric calls this ‘man juice.’ The neon lights flicker like a light show, the techno beats bounce off the walls while I’m almost trance-like, and the atmosphere is euphoric. The men are wearing fluro jocks. I feel extremely overdressed, not to mention conscious of the fact that we look like the only women here.
“E, aren’t you a little overdressed?” I yell over the music.
He grins, removing his pants and shirt and handing them to the coat guy who wears nothing but a fluro pink thong with the words ‘Hands Off Snakey’ written on the front.
Everyone has a whistle, all being blown to the beat of the music. We make our way to the bar where, thankfully, girls are hanging out. We look at each other, and although they are strangers, we throw each other a big smile and say hello. Well, at least we don’t have to worry about sleazes trying to pick us up at the bar.
“So, what are we ordering to drink?” Kate asks.
“A round of Daisy Chains, please,” Eric yells to the bartender.
“What’s a Daisy Chain?”
“The drink, I don’t know. The act, don’t ask.”
The drink turns out to be Sambuca shots. The smell of the anise is strong, and I wince as I swallow it. Holy fuck, that is surely going to kill me. Urgh, the aftertaste is rancid. The next drink is called a Candy Maker which is actually tequila.
The night carries on with lewd, homosexually-named drinks being served to us. We loosen up and start dancing. It doesn’t bother me that I’m surrounded by sweaty males with bodies to die for, or the fact they all have their tongues down each other’s throats. We just get lost in the trance, enjoying the carefree buzz. Kate is beyond smashed, and I’m not far behind her. As I dance, I feel my tiny purse vibrate. I pull out my phone, squinting to read the message.
Lex: Charlotte please, I am so lost without you
1 Voicemail message
My heart skips a beat reading the message. Maybe it’s the Daisy Chains and Candy Makers that loosened me up, but suddenly, I feel the urge to listen to the voicemail and not delete it like the other dozen I had this week. I motion to Kate I’m going to check my phone, but she’s too preoccupied being sandwiched in between two guys who love dancing with a straight girl.
I make my way over to the corner and press 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 goes silent, and the pang in my heart deepens. This man is my husband, so what the hell am I doing? But it wasn’t like it was a real wedding.
Walking back to the bar, I push my way through the crowd unaware of my trance-like state. Was I wrong in all this? But how could that possibly be? The pictures looked real, and someone out there wanted me to see them. Who sent me this link? Someone in love with Lex, I thought.
“You okay, Charlie?” Eric asks, out of breath.