Push by Sadie Rose
Madison and I walked into Trifecta like we owned the place. Okay, if I’m being honest Madison walked in like she owned the place and I was just along for the ride. It never ceases to amaze me the confidence she exudes and her take no guff attitude. She could own you with one of her stern looks. Tonight she turned heads in her silver sequin miniskirt and her white midriff tank top. Her five-inch platforms had her towering over me as we walked through the crowd. It parted like the Red Sea for her as we walked into the club.
In my mind, I had thought we were going to a small bar but Trifecta was anything but small. I was surprised by the sheer size of the place, as it looked twice as large then it appeared from the outside. It had to have been at least 3,000 square feet and that was just the ground floor. I could see stairs leading to a second level and when the lights hit at just the right angle I could see the openings to the second floor and a DJ booth hidden in the center of it.
The dance floor took center stage in the middle of the space with throngs of people moving to the beats thrumming through the speaker system. The bar was in the back so it lured you into the club and past the dance floor. Black leather couches and leather top tables were set up on one side of the bar and private booths were on the other side which split the club in half.
We made our way to the bar without slowing down. “Let’s get our drinks before the bar becomes too crowded,” Madison yelled over the music. We ordered our drinks and were lucky enough to find an open table in the seating area, with room for both of us to sit down. Before I could even get settled in, Madison had already winked at some random guy passing by with his friends. I grinned at her self-confidence.
“Madison do you think we could be here for at least ten minutes before you ditch me for your next prey?” I ask in a playful tone.
She laughed. “You know me better than that, I’ll give you at least twenty minutes.”
All I could do was laugh. It felt nice to be out again with her. We hadn’t done this since we moved to the city over two months ago. We had both been so focused on graduating college, securing jobs, and getting settled into our new apartment that we hadn’t found the time to do a girl’s night. Maybe this night wouldn’t be so bad after all. I had just started to take a sip of my coconut concoction when I heard my name being yelled. “Olivia!”
I turned my head and saw Raymond strolling over to me. He had a drink in his right hand and was holding his phone in the other. He was wearing a black t-shirt that was so tight I could see the outlines of his abs. His jeans weren’t too baggy or too tight and they looked designer. When he reached our table, I could instantly smell the alcohol on his breath.
“I didn’t think you were coming, Olivia,” he said as he turned and grabbed a chair from the neighboring table. “But I am so glad you did. You look amazing, babe.”
I inwardly cringed when he called me “babe.” I hated being called that. I hadn’t minded when Jeff called me baby all the time but babe was one of those terms I just couldn’t get behind. It rubbed me the wrong way and made me feel cheap. I took a long sip of my drink.
“You look very handsome yourself,” I replied. I didn’t want to be too overly friendly with Raymond. I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression since we worked together. “Let me introduce you to my roommate; this is Madison.”
Raymond smiled at Madison and she gave him the once over and finally smiled back. “You must be Raymond, Ollie has told me so much about you.” Madison leaned over to me and tried to whisper over the noise of the music, “Are all the men you work with as good-looking as him?” My eyes flew up to Raymond and his smug smile gave away the fact that he had heard her. He took a strong pull of his drink and stood up.
“Do you want to dance?” He almost had to yell it so I could hear him.
I looked out to the dance floor and could see a couple grinding on each other so hard, they needed to get a room. “By dancing do you mean like that?” I point to the same couple I had eyed.
He followed my finger and looked at the couple. “Well, if you want to dance like that, I’m going to need a lot more liquor. Just come dance with me, Olivia.”
I laughed. I was overthinking his simple question just like I did with everything else in my life. I lifted my drink and finished it off, stood up, and told Madison I’d be back. I gave her my purse and finished the last few drops of my drink.
Raymond outstretched his hand to me and I placed my hand inside his, “Lead the way babe. I want to check out that ass.”
I wasn’t sure if I heard him correctly with the music so I ignored the comment and we made our way out onto the dance floor. Once there, he turned me around and pulled my hips into his. He was right up against me and wrapped his arms around my torso. A little too tight if I had any say in it. He swayed us to the music and put his hand into my hair.
“Olivia”, he whispered in my ear. “What are you trying to do tonight?”
I put my hand on his chest and pushed out some to give me enough space to see his face. His arms were still around me and I had to strain my neck with his hand holding my hair. His eyes were glassy and bloodshot. And his breath was even stronger this close to his face. He had clearly been here a while and drinking. Was he drunk? The last thing I needed was a drunk coworker hookup. I didn’t understand his question, so I simply asked him, “What do you mean?”
“Don’t be a tease, Olivia. Did you come here to find someone to hook up with?” His hands slid down my body and grabbed my ass. He gave it a hard squeeze. I let his hands linger there for a second before I reached down to move them up to my waist. He started stroking my back with his hands and put his nose into my hair. “You smell like strawberries and cream. I wonder if you taste like that too. I bet all the guys like you.”
O K. Clearly he was flirting with me. I looked over to the table we had been sitting at but Madison was deep in conversation with a random guy. I looked back to Raymond and he was smiling at me. I had to admit, he was pretty cute and he had to be smart to be working for Devereaux Industries. Maybe hooking up with him wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I’d never had anyone come on to me this strong and openly flirt with me. He leaned forward and I knew he was going to kiss me. I tilted my head and leaned forward to meet his lips. Only I didn’t meet his lips. His cheek was suddenly on my mouth.
“Um…babe, I think you’ve got the wrong idea.” Raymond had dropped his hands from me and was staring at me with a pitying look.
I felt my face flush and it had nothing to do with how warm it was getting inside the building. I instinctively started to apologize, “I’m sorry. I thought…” my voice trailed off and I looked down at the floor. We stood there in a crowd of people dancing and the awkward seconds felt like torturous minutes. The silence between us was louder than the music the DJ was playing. I didn’t know what to do or how to navigate out of this situation.
“Olivia, I’m sorry if you got the wrong impression. I think you are great but…” He ran his hands through his hair and put his hand under my chin, “Olivia, look at me.” When I met his gaze his words came out in a rush, “I’m gay. Didn’t you hear me say as we came out on the dance floor, I wanted to see his ass? I was checking that guy out.” He gestured to the grinding couple near us who was still being wildly inappropriate for such a public place.
I tried to nod to let him know everything was ok with us but all I could muster was an awkward laugh and I choked out, “It’s okay,” from my throat. In a matter of mere days, I was able to completely embarrass myself in front of my ex-boyfriend and now a co-worker who thought I made a pass at him. This would have been a great time for a giant sinkhole to open up in the earth and swallow me whole. I was mortified. Thank goodness the lighting wasn’t the greatest because my face was flushed red with embarrassment and my eyes had started to burn holding back the tears. I’m not proud of it but when I’m really embarrassed the waterworks start. I needed to get back to Madison and get the hell out of there. At the minimum, I needed to get away from Raymond.
Suddenly, a hand came down on Raymond’s shoulder and I heard a voice beside us say, “Can I cut in and have the next dance?”
Oh God. I knew that voice. The hairs on the back of my neck instantly pricked up. I would know that voice anywhere. I had heard it in my dreams all week long. Now here it was in my reality.