Chapter 5- Saturday Night

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The lighting is quite dim at El Calor Caliente, a bar somewhere in Brooklyn. 

The night is still young and many customers have not arrived yet, but the piano is playing in the background while a beautiful lady sings on stage.

Her entire body is being bathed by the beaming spotlight while she sings,

"¿Estaba mal.. de mi parte ama-a-arte?... ¿Mi corazón.. no era suficiente… para ti?..."

Park, Joe and Lorenzo enter the bar, laughing and conversing. They walk to a free table and take their seats around it.

"OK, no offence Lorenzo.. but when you said we were going to a Latino bar, I had no idea this was what you meant. I mean.. don't get me wrong.." Park continues, "I love tequila as much as the next guy. But.. is that chick seriously singing in Spanish right now bro?.."

All three of them burst into laughter. "Shut up, Chris!" Joe echoes while recovering from a fit of laughter.

"Don't worry bro, I'll help you translate." Lorenzo replies jocularly. 

They all burst into laughter again, much louder this time.

Then Joe declares while looking at the lady performing, "Her voice is fucking nice! And I know this sounds kinda crazy but.. she looks really familiar."

"Uhuun!!!", both Park and Lorenzo echo simultaneously, in a sarcastic manner. Then they start laughing again, while Lorenzo beckons the waiter to bring some drinks over.

Joe continues, "...Ok seriously guys, I definitely know her from somewhere. Even her voice sounds familiar.."

"Yeah, right!.. You seem to know every beautiful woman these days Joey. Haha!", Park mocks whilst he and Lorenzo burst again into laughter. Joe just ignores them and keeps staring at this mysteriously breathtaking lady.

As she sings, her elaborately sequined red dress keeps flattering her curves in the most attractive way. And the spotlight is illuminating her bright red lips and deeply blushed cheeks, as they gracefully flank her sharp but tiny nose.

Her blond hair is  exquisite and her light-cream skin is so fine, that it almost looks like vanilla flavoured snow. Her eyes are deep, blue and beautiful. One could easily mistake her for ...Alice.

'Wait! No, it can't be her, can it? Since when does Alice sing.. in a bar? Don't get me wrong, Alice is a rare beauty.. but this singer looks so ravishing. It couldn't be her. Her hair and make-up are so expertly done. And my, that dress!.. It's absolutely gorgeous. She's got more curves than I've ever seen on Alice.. and those boobs, damn! They're a masterpiece. What if..', Joe keeps pondering to himself with eyes focussed intently on her.

A few tables closer to the counter, a voluptuous-looking ebony-haired Latina quickly seizes the tray from the approaching waiter and comes to serve the drinks on their table herself.

She is putting on a pink crop top with loose edges exposing her tightly toned stomach and draping over her boobs in a very risqué way. And below it is a pair of thick-blue bum-short jeans, with ripped edges. They're exposing  her evenly tanned thighs and the lower borders of her curvaceous butt. From the way she is smiling seductively at the guys and bending in front of Joe's face to serve the drinks, it's obvious that she's aware of how sexy she looks, and it's even more obvious that she has a hidden agenda.

Park and Lorenzo keep smiling and drooling over this mystery vixen, as they attempt to engage in as much chit-chat as they can with her. But she only seems to have eyes for Joe, who to her utter dismay isn't even paying attention to her. He just keeps staring at the woman on stage. So before she leaves, she makes sure to slowly run her index finger over Joe's shoulder and declare suggestively like an accomplished temptress,"Complements of the house.."

Snapping out of his initial trance, Joe immediately turns to look at this vixen as she glides away like a catwalk model, with her transparent heels stabbing the tiled floor slowly but aggressively. 

"Well!.. Someone just got an invitation!", Park remarks wittily, as Joe still tries to process a mental response to the spurt of sexual tension. Eventually, he snaps out of it, raises an eyebrow and states sheepishly, "You're imagining things."

"Yeah right!.." Park raises his own eyebrow and adds with brewing laughter, "..Don't think I didn't see you checking out her ass just now."

"..Screw you, mahn!", Joe echoes while licking his lips and trying to hide a guilty smile. Truth be told, he thought her ass looked fantastic. They all burst into profuse laughter again, after which Joe turns back to the stage.

"Way to spoil our mojo, man! You always hogging all the chicas..", Lorenzo opines while taking a sip of beer.

Joe barely even hears Lorenzo's remark or Park's friendly scoff after. His mind drifts away and he nearly forgets that he is sitting with friends. All he seems to care about is this mystery woman on stage, who he keeps staring at while he takes another sip, and longing for in ways that a decent man should not.

Park and Lorenzo give each other a quick look.

"..Pero sabe esto, mi amooor.. mi corazón sangrante-e-e.. sigue siendo tu-uuyo.", She finally completes her song and takes a bow.

The audience is quite large now, and they all give her a standing ovation, Joe included. Then Park screams at her from the audience,

"Woohoo!!!.. Señorita, you've got a secret admirer over here!", pointing toward Joe who becomes extremely abashed.

"..What the hell, mahn!", Joe lashes out at Park, although in a very subtle manner. Then he clenches his teeth into a fake smile while the Señorita blushes at him and blows him a kiss before exiting the stage.

Lorenzo just keeps giggling in amusement.

Joe is livid at Park right now for pulling such a stunt in public. Although for some reason, his heart is overflowing with euphoria because of the invisible kiss Alice's doppelganger just gave him.

The M.C. comes on stage and then eloquently proclaims, "Muy maravilloso, Señorita!.. Les doy la bienvenida a todos a El Calor Caliente!!!.. That was a very lovely performance by the one and only Alicia Mendez!"

Everyone gives a round of applause. 

Then he continues, "Now, permit me to welcome on stage, a man with the voice of an angel. El guapísimo.. Julian Acosta!!!..." 

The audience starts clapping.

"Woah! It's her! It's Alice!", Joe screams almost unconsciously.

"You know her huh?", asks Lorenzo while he claps. 

"Who??" Park inquires. 

"I knew she looked familiar. She's my secretary!", Joe answers. 

"..Woah!!", the guys exclaim. 

What is Joe going to do now? He just saw a side of Alice he never expected to, in his wildest dreams; which have actually been quite wild lately. He isn't proud of it, but it is the truth. While she works in the office, he would look at her and see himself making love to her in several ways. He would imagine making her pout in pleasure and ecstasy while he continually filled her with himself. It's almost as though the corporate divide between them which professionally restricts him to his imaginations have heightened the frequency of his fantasies.

He has imagined Alice in more unlikely scenarios and in more impious ways than he can count. But this, he would've never expected. 'Alice, singing in a bar?'

Right now, he is even more fascinated by her. And aside from physical desire, there seems to be something else flourishing inside of him, something that is currently making his spirits brim with joy and excitement. While the second musician performs, Joe finds himself lost in deep thought and smiling hopelessly. Laying back against his seat, he resolves ardently to go to see Alice backstage tonight.

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