Drunk

Zoey's POV

I stumble out of the bathroom, trying my best not to gag from the foul odour that follows us outside. Trailing behind an exhilarated Katherine I try to catch my breath as we head through the dense crowd of boisterous patrons once more. 

Dread wash over me as we near the overcrowded bar again, the raw stench of strong alcohol waft to my nose causing me to scrunch up my face in pure disgust. 

It is my first time being in a local nightclub. Well, second if you count getting body slammed at the door a few weeks ago.

Mimicking Kat I plop down on an unoccupied stool, wanting to be anywhere else.

The scent of burning cigarettes grows stagnant in the already polluted air making my head feel woozy. Closing my eyes for a second I block out the colourful neon lights flashing around me. Turning away from the crowd I try to block out the deafening music ringing through the building.

I definitely don't plan on going clubbing again anytime soon. 

A sporadic pounding echo inside my head warning me of an impending headache. Fuck. Just great. Even though I am practically itching to head out I am just gonna suck it up and let Katherine enjoy her night.

"Having fun?" I raise my eyes to meet the friendly face of a young bartender, his thin lips curl upwards in a small polite smile. Shrugging my shoulders I offer the man a light shrug in response. "So what can I get for you two beautiful ladies?"

"Club sod—" 

"Two shots of tequila please!" Katherine chimes in with a shout over the noise. Swinging my head towards the woman I shoot her a quick dirty look to which she silently shrugs. 

Heck no! I've sworn off strong alcoholic spirits for some time now, especially since the last time I drank way too much I almost fornicate with a complete stranger. That situation could have easily turned left so freakin' fast. 

"I can't drink that," I said as soon as the bartender left to find us clean shot glasses. 

"Just one drink," the woman offers an encouraging smile before spinning on her stool to face the packed dance floor. 

I open my mouth to flat out disagree but quickly snap it shut once the bartender returns with our order. Opting to just drop the argument altogether I instead focus on the man setting down our hard liquor. 

"Tequila for the ladies," he practically shouts over the rising clamour of faceless voices, grinning from ear to ear.

I drag the glasses closer to me, thanking him with a small polite nod. Flashing me another sweet smile he turns to another customer who is aggressively flagging him down at the other end of the bar. I eye the man broad back as he disappears into the sea of other workers. 

Was he trying to be polite or straight up flirting? If it's the latter, he's wasting his time. He's undoubtedly physically attractive but dating is the furthest thing from my mind, especially now that I am trying to pick up the pieces from my old life.

Fuck, there I go assuming again. 

"Bottoms up!" Katherine knocks me out of my thoughts as she grabs one of the glasses. Raising it to her lips the woman down the drink in one swift go. "You'll feel better, trust." 

"I highly doubt it," picking up my own, I let out a short sigh before downing the liquor. The harsh liquid burns my throat with each swallow.

I guess I'll worry about the consequences later. 

×××××

The liquor courses through my body, licking every inch of my skin igniting heat in it's trail. All my previous problems seem so nonexistent almost as if dissipating into thin air. 

Thin. Air. Yes, I'm free!

"I'm free!" I echo my thoughts aloud to the world, a warm buzz settles in my mind barely keeping me upright. 

Grinding on a sturdy tabletop, I sway my hips to the rhythm of the hard beat as I dance in a sensual manner. Slowly tracing my hands all over my body, I drop in a quick squat, much to the delight of the audience. Their chants knock me out of my head. 

I am so engrossed in my own world I momentarily forget about the crowd I am now attracting. 

The shouts only encourage me to grind harder. Capturing my bottom lip in between my teeth, I stoop down even lower, earning a louder cheer from the crowd. 

Pushing up my body from the sitting position I attempt to twirl to close out my grand performance. The shaky table trembles beneath my weight shift, throwing my entire body off balance and causing me to fall.

As my body hurls from the blasted table, I close my eyes and wait for my back to make contact with the hard floor.

One. 

Two. 

Thre—

Peeping from underneath wet lashes, I stare up at the stranger who's now hugging me close to his board chest. 

He's one of the men from the front row who was watching me earlier. 

Perhaps sensing my gaze, the man looks down to reveal a bright set of emerald colored orbs. Shifting a bit on his feet the man changes his stance as a look of worry crosses his sculpted face. 

Something about his stare seems way too familiar to me. 

Nope. Nope. I've had one too many drinks, now I am conjuring up people from my past.

"Looks like I have my own Superman," I slowly link my hands around his neck flashing what I hope is a seductive smile. Yep. Definitely liquor courage. 

Seems a little too familiar, maybe it's some sort of déjà vu… 

Blocking the never ending thought train in my head, I focus on the fine specimen in front of me. 

"Yes, you do," he offers me a weak lopsided smile despite the obvious frown on his face. 

"So what do you say Clarke Kent?" I let my question hang in the air. Looking up at him suggestively I raise my thick brows for emphasis. "Your place or mines? Mine? Whatever, you—" 

"You are obviously drunk," cutting me off, the stranger states in a stern voice as his eyes openly search my face. "I saw you with a woman earlier, don't know where she went, I'm assuming you both came together. I'll try to—" 

What fun is he then? I need to go find fun. Hot fun.

"Put me downnn," my words slur as I try to thrash my body around trying to get away from this non-fun guy. Seeming unfazed by my wild movements he holds me even closer. "Put me down now, or I'll scream."

"Are you sure?" The stranger cocks a brow as he shakes his head incredulously at me. 

"Yes," nodding earnestly, I swallow a hiccup. "Please put me down," 

As soon as I am made to stand on my own feet, I immediately stumble backwards, almost bumping into a patron. My head feels so damn heavy. 

"Are you okay?" Mr. Green Eyes steps forward, grabbing my hand to steady my balance. One of the bar lights briefly crosses his face to reveal a set of dip brows. 

"I am obviously fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." If I could manage to roll my eyes at him at this moment, believe me I would. Instead I walk around his lean frame slowly making my way through a throng of people to get to the general seating area.

How can I feel like I'm on top of the world one minute and down in the gutters the next?

A truck must have run over my head, that's the only explanation. I refuse to believe that I can get this close to hurling because of a couple shots.

Finally making it through to the other side of the nightclub, I drop onto a nearby sofa planting my face into the plush upholstery. The strong scent of hard booze, cigars and possibly sweaty booties immediately hit my nostrils causing me to gag. I really hope I don't vomit on this thing. Maybe if I stay as still as possible... just long enough to keep the room from spinning at least. Maybe. Maybe. Mhm. 

Where the fuck is Katherine? I need to go home!

"You don't seem okay to me," a voice blasts in my ear over the music. The impending headache brewing in my mind has just gotten ten times worse. Great. Groaning I raise my head to mouth off the stranger but stop short when I notice the couple on the other end dry humping each other. 

Ugh. I really need to go home. 

Groaning, I barely manage to get myself in a proper sitting position. 

"Here," the man from earlier hands me a sealed bottle of water, "drink up. You should feel a tad bit better now." 

"Thanks," taking the cool bottle, I ring off the cap and immediately chug half of it. "Can you please keep your voice down?"

It's bad enough that the stupid music in here is cranked all the way up, I don't need a personal radio. Radio, mhm, radios. It feels like I am locked up in a with a billion amplified stereos, not the best place to be.

"I'm whispering, you're just having a terrible hangover." His irritating voice echoes in my ear causing me to press my moist palm against it. 

Great, I thought I learnt from my previous mistake, obviously not. All good things must come to an end, if only the end wasn't a major hangover. 

"Perfect." Pressing my lips in a thin line, I glance over at the man. He cocks a brow to which I heave a short sigh in response. Mhm. I need to get home. Quickly rising to my feet I groan when the water bottle rolls from my lap to straight underneath the sofa. Just great. "Excuse me."

"Yo. Where are you going?" 

"Home." My feet wobble a bit in the ridiculous pumps but I manage to steady myself. "I need to find my friend and get the hell out of here," 

Unfortunately I am now trapped between these two. The young couple still occupy the far end, by the way still oblivious that they had company, then there is this blasted table and, of course, this fucking guy.

Rolling my eyes at his juvenile behavior, I try to step over his lap. With only one leg over I swing the other but unfortunately the back of my heel digs down the side of his shoes causing me to slip and land right on top of him. The stranger juts his chin out at me, his eyes glinting in the low club lights. 

He is obviously enjoying this. Maybe a bit too much.

"Well if you insist m'lady," the corners of his mouth quirks up, "but we can't do it here." 

The nerve of this man!

I bite down hard on my lip to keep myself from chastising the smug stranger and possibly avoid puking on his designer jacket. Not sparing the guy a second glance I picked myself up from his lap. Instead of fighting my way through that throng of people again I turn towards the entrance.

I need a clean breath of fresh air and probably a nearby place to spill out the night's regret. 

I will look for Kat afterwards.

====================================================================

Thanks for reading!