Chapter 23: Adrenaline (Matthew)

The smell of strawberry and sweat fill my nostrils as the dark-skinned dancer makes her way across the stage in front of me, trying to charm me with her fluid-like movements. If it were any other night, her naked body would’ve cast a spell upon me, provoking thoughts of lust and sin.

But not tonight. I truly don’t even know why I’m here other than I refuse to go back to my empty house where an empty nursery waited for a baby that would never come home. What was once a happy home was now a prison of guilt and sorrow I am desperate to escape.

The loud music vibrates in my chest as the dancer takes her tip and pulls my head into her breasts, rubbing them across my face. When she pulls away, I can see the glitter on her chest shimmering under the stage lights. I’m guessing it’s now all over my face too.

I’m distracted by my thoughts when out of the corner of my eye I see someone take a seat next to me. The smell of coconut and vanilla overpower the smell of strawberry from the dancer.