Jen's Journal

She felt the music everywhere, in her chest, in her cheeks, on her feet. It was loud, thumping, and crowded. It smelled of sweat and too much cologne. The floor was sticky with spilled drinks and empty plastic cups.

They stood by the stairs in the corner of the dance floor. Diana moved side to side, hoping she could get drunk and loosen up. About five minutes later, a guy in a black shirt extended his hand out for Diana to take and led her to the dance floor. The techno music they danced to brought him close to her, closer than she would have liked, but she danced anyway. It was going well, and they danced until the end when he reached his hand down to try and touch her ass.

She raised his hands to her back, and after he walked her back to where he found her. A few songs went by, and Diana looked out at the crowd. She glanced at couples grinding on each other, strangers sharing songs, and people speaking into each other’s ears.

A tall guy in a blue shirt came down the stairs and stopped when he saw Diana. He extended his hand out, and she took it. He seemed a bit more respectful than the last guy and danced with some space between them. They danced to the next song, and Diana got lost in the music, in the crowd, in the moment.

He spun her around a few times; she was laughing and grinning from ear to ear. He looked into her eyes, and Diana’s heart flipped inside her chest. It was like a scene from a movie. Time seemed to slow down. She drowned the music out. The only person she noticed was him.

He placed his hands on either side of her face and leaned in with his eyes closed. He gave her a wet drunken kiss, and she kissed him back. Afterward, his hands started wandering her body, and she kept having to stop him. He looked at her confused as if that kiss permitted him to touch her everywhere. She wondered silently if all guys were like this in clubs; or if there was at least one respectful guy who kept his hands above the waist.

When they finished dancing, she found her cousin Jade deep in a dance with her boyfriend, so she went to stand by Aidan. He was looking out at the crowd with a cold drink in his hand. He offered it to her, and she took a big gulp of vodka with some mixer before handing it back.

“Do you want to go outside for a second?” he asked.

“Yeah, I could use the fresh air,” Diana said.

He led her around the crowd and into the door that led to a patio. People were either smoking or trying to cool down. Aidan got a cigarette out and handed one to her. She declined. He shrugged his shoulders and lit up. As soon as he did, he ran into someone he knew. He engaged in conversation, and Diana stood awkwardly to the side. The guy in the blue shirt she danced with came outside and noticed her standing alone.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing much, waiting for my cousin to go back inside.” Diana pointed to Aidan, and he nodded.

“So, can I ask what your name is?”

“Diana. And what’s yours?”

“Damien. It’s nice to meet you outside of the chaos inside.”

She laughed and responded, “nice to meet you too.”

He kept staring at her in this weird way until finally, he said, “I’m sorry for staring. It’s just you’re so beautiful when you smile like that.”

Diana blushed and grinned, “thank you, that’s so sweet.”

She saw her cousin looking over at her, and he motioned for her to go near him.

“My cousin is waiting for me. But we’ll talk soon, I hope?”

“Definitely. Can I kiss you once more?”

Diana thought about it but then decided against it. She shook her head no; he sighed but respected her enough to step aside and let her walk away.