2

Derrick

The giggles of sultry laughter rang through the noise of the club reaching my ears amidst the noise in the club.

I had watched a group of girls saunter into the club room carefree. The red-haired girl in a black dress stood out amongst her friends. I couldn’t get my eyes off her from the moment she entered. I couldn’t see her face because the club room was designed to keep every face a mystery but the shadow outline of her body and the magnificent red hair called out to me.

There was something fierce yet homely about her that called out to my inner self. It was like I could sieve out which of the laughing voices was hers and it rang in my ears vibrating through my body.

“Do you want her?” Jackson's raspy voice rang in my ear.

Argh! I turned to see Jackson’s face leaning into mine.

“Man, you don’t have to do that, keep your rough voice for the next girl who wants to lay you,” I said as I pushed his messy face away from my ears.

“The next girl would be in a place far away from Las Vegas,” He said and clasped his hands.

I was going to miss Jackson, he and Andrew were my childhood friends and the only men I related with outside my workspace. No one knew me physically but everyone in LA knew my business.

Our stay in the club room tonight was to send him off. A girlish thing, but well deserved for what we share as friends.

Andrew was seated at the darkest part of our corner staring into space. That he was calm and collected and never let anyone know what his thoughts were through his expressions. He was one human who could be practically expressionless in a situation where everyone is visibly panicking.

“It’s been a long time since you laid a red-haired girl.” Jackson‘s voice interrupted my thoughts again.

I sighed. My friends knew I love a red-haired girl. A natural, not the dye to impress ladies on the streets of LA.

“Yes. It’s been a long time since I saw one.” I said, staring intently at the red-haired girl in front of me, checking her out all the way she could fit into my body.

“Do you want her?”

“I could get her for you.” Jackson chuckled.

I let out a raspy laugh. Jackson knew that was silly but silly questions were his favorites. I could get my girls the way I want. I just wasn’t in the mood tonight, he was leaving and this was our last outing together until we see each other again. I can’t waste this night laying a girl.

The Hillbillies by Kendrick Lamar blasted suddenly through the speakers and the nightclub came alive. The girls yelled from their table and jumped wildly dancing off to the fast rhythm of the music. The red-hair girl seemed like the leader of the girl troupe or rather the key reason they were there.

She danced like a fluid and moved her body slowly to the rhythm of the song. She was beautiful. Her and the free flow of her hair, as she danced made her a beautiful sight to behold. Like uncontrollable fire, I wanted to pin her and know what it would be like to have her fire directed to me, beneath me, and screaming my name. I still couldn’t see her face nor what she looked like, yet the thoughts of what she would look like on top of me made me hard.

I sucked a breath through my teeth and rubbed my hardness. So much about making this night about Jackson. I turned to Andrew and tapped him.

“Man, what’s up, why are you moody?” I said.

He looked distraught. We were going to miss Jackson. He was the life of the trio. But that was nothing to be sad about.  Well, one never knows when Andrew is sad or not.

“I’m alright man, just caught up in my thoughts,” Andrew said while trying to put up a smile for me. He took his drink rather and sipped.

“Don’t be weird, you don’t have to smile to prove a point to me, man. I understand.”  My phone beeped. Messages from my office. Being a tech company, I was hardly on a break. We had emergencies as if we worked in a hospital.

I stood and went outside to check the message. The blast of cold hair hit my face as I stepped into the veranda of the club room. The club air was getting hot or rather I was hot from ogling over the red hair girl. Either way, the feel of the cold air brought some sort of relief to my boiling veins.

I checked my business messages, and everything was alright, just a little code to allow access for my secretary to push through an already finished website for the company owner. I was a little wary tonight. My mother had earlier called this evening to tell me of her dreams. She was into the stars and what they have to say, with a strong belief in astrology and tarot reading. This could be discomforting sometimes because I’d rather not know my future till it comes than discover and live in fear of it.

Her call could be paranoia, after all, it was a family thing and this wasn’t her first time predicting dooms. Well,  I contacted my office, it rang twice and my secretary picked up,

“Hello Mr. Johnson”

“Hello, Miss Ella, how is it going?” I asked

“It’s all fine. We just require the access code to deliver the website package to the company and we are wrapped for the night.” She replied.

I heaved a sigh of relief. Everything was in order.

“Come back inside man, let’s have some shots!”

Jackson shouted over my head.

“Alright, thank you, Ella,” I said and cut the call.

Left for Andrew and I, we would rather be at a noiseless cocktail bar than a noisy club with rooms for quickies.

I stepped inside back to my seat. I looked around for the red-hair girl and her friend cowed over her making some girl-ish affirmations.

I sighed and sat down. And Jackson started his farewell speech,

“It’s been more than 15 years since we met in middle school and became the unbeatable trio. We have been through a lot together, on personal levels, and as friends. At some point in our lives, we have to leave and find a path where we can be the best of ourselves. Right?”

I and Andrew nodded our heads. Jackson and drama.

“I will miss us all. But let’s keep in touch okay?!”

Andrew looked at Jackson eerily and immediately brightened up. Maybe it was my thoughts but there was something scornful about the look on his face right now. I waved it off.

“Cheers to living our dream lives,” I said and raised my glass.

“To our dream lives,” they both responded and I took my shot.

I remember feeling a little drowsy at first, then I blanked out.