Page 7 of The Incubus Curse

“And see.” Tina pulled me back to the present. She tugged on the strapless dress, jerking the top down an inch. “Your cleavage is out, and you don’t look like a stripper, just a hot woman.” I hadn’t even noticed that part.

I was too blinded by the makeup to notice anything else, but she was right. My body looked stunning, from my chest down to my curvy hips- which this dress flaunted- wrapping around my thighs just ending under my butt. The dress was shorter than my comfort level would usually allow, but I was already in this deep. Might as well sink to the ground.

If I was honest with myself, I could see what all the fuss regarding dressing up like this was about. I felt empowered, encapsulating even. Like I could walk into a room, and all eyes would be on me.

Ironically, my stomach started churning at the thought of being the center of attention, and I couldn’t help but feel like something was going to happen tonight.

Chapter 3

Freya

We managed to hail a taxi from my apartment to downtown and aimlessly walked down the main strip, waiting for Tina to decide which club to go to. This was her thing spotting out clubs- so I let her take control.

It’s not like I’d know the difference anyway.

They all were the same to me: overly sized bouncers with red ropes and bright neon signs. The hint of vomit and piss slowly crept up your nose, with the occasional homeless man camping outside of each of them with his tin cup in hand as he rattled it in front of you.

Finally, she found the club where we were meeting my coworkers. However, it was after she heavily tried persuading me to go quite literally anywhere else. She even suggested an open-mic poem reading bar, which was only tempting because I couldn’t even begin to imagine Tina in a place like that. It would have been far too slow and boring for her. The idea of watching her try to agonizingly force herself to go into a place like that was almost appealing.

But sure enough, she finally gave up on her attempts to bailon tonight and led me to the club where we were supposed to meet everyone.

Nightcrawler.

Interesting name for a club. All I could think about were ants, my skin suddenly itching.

I suppose the club looked interesting from the outside, standing out against the others. The building was completely blacked out, very shadowy and cryptic. I usually would be sketched out and running my happy ass back home, but I needed to show people that I could be spontaneous and fun, just like everyone else lined up waiting to get in.

It was wrapped around the back, filled with girls in tight, short dresses sporting skyrocketing heels that made me question how they were standing for that long in them. I could feel my toes crying out for them in fear of having to do so as well. The blisters were already forming just from envisioning it.

Tina must have known the bouncer because, with the slightest wink, we could walk right in, no I.D. check or wait in line. A couple of girls in the front of the line groaned as we passed them. I felt like a little girl wanting to stick my tongue out and laugh, but I held back my urge to construct an adult attitude.

That felt harder to do than usual.

I could feel the fan hit me as I walked in, a few lights hanging over the door blinding me. The air thinned almost instantly, and the heat from the club seemed to get stuck in my throat. I had to catch my breath, taking in deep inhales, and as I finally relaxed, I could notice more inside.

Up above, I could see the second floor, a couple of red couches along the edge looking down into the dance floor, nodoubt all occupied or reserved by now. There was an elevator toward the back left with a bouncer guarding it, his arms crossing over his massive chest like all the other bouncers who taped off the VIP section hidden and tucked away in a corner.

Aside from that, it seemed like a typical club. Nothing was extraordinary about it. The bar still rested near the back, with neon signs drawing attention to it, and the men stood to the side, preying on women, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce.

I avoided as much eye contact as possible, but I would have been lying if I said I didn’t hope someone would attempt to talk to me, even if it were to acknowledge that I looked good tonight. Maybe a couple of longing glances to fill my ego for the year. So long as it didn’t come from Mr. Thomas.

Tina nudged my side. “Want to get shots?”

I knew I should have said no, but I nodded in agreement as we swam through the sweaty bodies to get to the bar. As usual, the bartender fell under Tina’s sexual thrall, their bodies making suggestive gestures to each other while I awkwardly stared into the crowd, admiring how carefree everyone seemed to be.

They looked like they were having so much fun.

Fun.

The word I wanted to know so badly tonight, mainly to prove my boss wrong and perhaps prove to myself that work wasn’t all I needed to surround myself with to be successful and happy in life. It was hard to escape that mindset, especially since I grew up with nothing. It was like I was constantly trying to prove something to myself.

To prove something toeveryone.

Tina returned from her flirting. “So, I got us free shots.” She smirked, her calm green eyes giving me this conniving look.

“How?” I did want to know, although her methods were probably ones I would never use. Not that I had ever really gotten the chance to try.

She just smiled, her ash hair falling over her face as she pulled over a tray of six shots sitting on the bar table behind us, thanks to the over-generous bartender.

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