After what I would usually consider frustratingly vague directions, Alice abandoned us at the bar entrance and dropped the room key into Victor’s open hand. I battled the temptation to question why on earth she believed Victor to be more responsible with key to our room. The key reminded me of those from a cheap motel: a big, bulky thing with an enormous rectangular key ring that proudly displayed the number ‘292’ hanging off it. Not that I had encountered any cheap motels beyond television in my lifetime. Lifetime? If my life was cut off now I will have never been to a cheap motel. I had never had the desire to ever step foot in one, but at that moment it felt like the only thing I could ever possibly want to do.

We had been thrown headfirst into the unfamiliar, stranded with nothing but a cocktail of fear, curiosity and ambivalence.

The room was magnificent and its sheer size, awe-robbing. The bar itself was finished with a rich, dark, polished wood and it extended at least fifteen metres long. Extravagant, intricately upholstered arm chairs and booths filled with pairs of people were scattered everywhere. Although the room was bewilderingly busy it was only the music that was prominent to me, for the couples were speaking so softly. Hundreds, may maybe thousands of people all whispering would have to be one of the eeriest sounds to have ever stroked my ears. The pianist was middle-aged, his tidy hair greying and his smile not as warm as I would have liked it to be. The singer was maybe in her mid-twenties and her strong, sliding voice would emit a certain melancholic twang on particular notes that would ring out through the room like a gunshot amongst a backdrop of silence.

We slid into a booth and were too occupied with the enormity of the place to even converse at first. Victor ordered a scotch from a passing waiter and I wanted to order a vodka sunrise but knew that he’d have something to say about my girlish choice, so in my gruff voice I added in as suavely as possible,

“Yeah, make that two, please mate.”

The bartender snickered when we offered to pay and I was relieved because there was absolutely nothing but a broken tissue in my shorts pocket.

The drink didn’t sting like I was hoping it would. It went down like…well…like liquid.

Victor swigged from his glass, almost finishing it in one giant hurrah.

“This isn’t just scotch.” He spluttered.

To keep up my act, I regurgitated my mouthful back into the glass.

“I know. What the hell is that?”

“Good scotch.”

“Oh, right. Yes, yes it’s just not my favourite type…”

Victor clicked to gain the attention of a waitress that strutted past our booth. I always found it so vulgar when people did that and if I ever were to work in the hospitality industry, I vowed to myself years ago that I would pretend not to hear clickers. The girl spun around gracefully and grinned at us, fresh-faced. Her high ponytail bounced when she walked and I fell in love with the light freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks. She reminded me of when little kids draw pictures of the sun and they put a smiley face on it.

How and Why would you get employed here?

What’s the pay when currency doesn’t seem to matter?

Sun-face nodded her head.

“Yes, sir?”

Victor fed her his quirky little smile as he requested, “Twelve tequila shots, please.”

My jaw dropped open. “What?”

“Enough. I just want to try something.” He replied, holding his hand out in front of me as if he could silence me with the gesture. Enough? As if I were a villain’s dim-witted sidekick.

“Try what? Alcohol poisoning?”

Sunny gave a nod and skipped off to collect the order.

Victor leaned back into his chair, his slender fingers fiddling with the paper coaster his empty scotch glass was previously resting on. He began to tear around it, slowly constructing a skinny paper spiral.

I cleared my throat. “I heard this odd theory once that coasters were designed to prevent the glass from marking the table, but I, you know, dismissed it as hogwash.”

I was never that wondrous at the cynicism thing.

His stormy eyes departed the coaster and honed in on me. I watched his sulky, calculating lips curl into a chilling smirk.

“How old are you?” He asked.

“Twenty. Why?”

“Just thought I’d make some kind of conversation…you know, experiment with a human trait. I’m just toying with the idea, nothings for sure yet. I may not like it. I ju…”

“Why do you do that? I cut in.

The tempest in his eyes dimmed with a startled flicker before returning back to their plateau of boredom.

“Do what?”

“You get defensive before anyone even has a chance to speak.”

“Well, I’m not fond of mindless criticism, and that’s all people seem to know how to do. If there is one thing I have learnt in my twenty four years it is that deep down, every single person is a selfish one and that happiness is completely hedonistic.”

The waitress returned with the tray of drinks.

“Thanks Sun-face.” I murmured without thinking. She gave us a wink and a curtsey and galloped off.

“Did you just call h…”

“Nothing. I just said thanks.”

Surprisingly, he didn’t debate me. Instead, he lined the shots up into two rows and proudly demanded:

“Race me.”

I laughed at him.

“I value my brain cells.”

“You could’ve fooled me.” He leered as he gave a little nod of indication towards the glasses.

“I’m not racing you. I’ll vomit.”

“Will you? Peter, look at this place. Do you feel any of the things you normally do? Don’t you want to see what would happen? Isn’t there any part of you that is even remotely curious about the effect?”

As he leaned forward, his body emerged from the shadows created from the dangling light in our booth and I could see finally see his face properly. Dark rings that I hadn’t previously noticed lazily encircled his tired eyes, making him appear much older than his twenty-four years.

“I know the effect. I’ll stumble out of here after telling you that ‘I admire you, man’ and sprout some deep secret of mine that I decide can finally be shared with the people I love, which is generally the entire population of the room at that point, and then I would probably develop a relentless urge to serenade whatever audience I can conjure up with ‘Take My Breath Away’, causing my girlfriend embarrassment. Then I will pass out. Just as a vague example…”

He actually smiled at me. Dude could be kind of handsome for a guy if he wasn’t so moody.

“Girlfriend?” Victor inquired. “I thought…”

“What?”

“Nothing. Cheers.” He announced, holding the glass up and waiting for my reciprocation.

What the hell? Mel wasn’t here to tell me off.

“Saluti.”

Three. Two. One.

So sorry about the distance between updates...uni can be overwhelming!

Thank you to My Neighbours Leg and Kaelyn for reviewing the previous chapter, you guys are great!

Thanks for reading! Next installment almost done.

Sundown

Xx