Chapter 8 - Noches en Madrid

Friday night. Mia couldn’t have been more relieved. Somehow she had gotten through the week and now it was time to unwind. Victoria from class had convinced her to go out with a group of people to Gabana, one of the trendy clubs in town.

Normally, she would have declined or made up some type of excuse, but curiosity had won her over. Everyone was always talking about the stupid club, and Mia wanted to see for herself what all the fuss was about.

She also didn’t want to admit it, but she thought if she went she might possibly run into a certain someone. She hadn’t heard from him since their strange encounter on Monday morning, and was beginning to feel anxious about it. Had she done something wrong?

By the time they got to the club, it was almost 2:30 in the morning. Mia couldn’t believe it, but they had told her clubs usually don’t open until 2am and only started to get filled up later. How crazy was that? That was usually the time she went home!

Everything in Spain started much later than usual. Dinner at 10pm, bars at 12am, and clubs at 2am. No wonder everyone always mentioned the nightlife in Spain.

Once inside, they headed to the bar to get the ‘free’ drink that came with the admission fee to the club. She had just barely gotten her drink, when an eager Spaniard approached her and started talking to her. Normally she would have just brushed him off immediately, but what the hell, she decided she would give the poor guy a chance. He seemed harmless enough.

She was wrong. Turned out Santiago was being extremely pushy and after 15 minutes she decided she had given him the light of the day.

She made up an excuse of needing to go to the bathroom and walked away. She noticed his gaze following her, so she ended up having to act the part and actually go to the bathroom. Once inside, she decided she might as well use the toilet to kill some time.

She looked in the mirror and for once had to admit she was looking pretty good. She had decided on a cute black dress and sexy heels she would wear every now and again when she went out in New York, and had even done a nice job with her hair and makeup. Who was she trying to impress?

Mia walked out of the bathroom and headed towards the bar. Time for a refill. If only she could get the bartender’s attention. She hated how it always took her forever to get a drink at a bar, and them some guy would show up and get his own drink in two minutes. Tonight wasn’t proving to be an exception. After waiting for 10 minutes, she decided it was about time to give up.

“I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised.”

A strong, warm hand pressed against her lower back. Mia looked up, and sure enough, Leo was standing right beside her.

She tossed him a sultry look. “Oh yeah? And why would that be?” Was she flirting with him? The drink must have gotten to her head already.

“I just never imagined you coming to a place like this in a million years.” He motioned towards the bartender, simply raising two fingers.

“I’ve never been to this place, but I had a good run of clubbing during my college years. Believe it or not, I used to go out all the time.”

“I would’ve loved to have seen that.”

The bartender came back with two vodka tonics and Leo handed one over to her.

“How did you do that? I’ve been standing here for 10 minutes y nada.”

Leo shrugged. “I know the guy. So no one’s come up to you this entire time?”

“Nope. I don’t get noticed that often,” she replied.

“I find that extremely hard to believe. Not even a lone hopeful soul?”

“Well, there was this one guy earlier, but he doesn’t count.”

Leo laughed. “I knew you were selling yourself short. So what happened?”

“He got an F for effort,” she shrugged.

“Says the girl that doesn’t get hit on. You even have a rating system?” he asked incredulously.

“Not, not at all. But if you’re going to hit on someone, the least you can do is put some thought into it,” she said, sounding offended.

“You’d rather have someone sweep you off your feet?” Leo asked, intrigued.

“Something like that,” she smiled.

“Be careful what you wish for, sweetness,” he said grinning charmingly. “So…do you like what you see?”

Mia glanced over at Leo and noticed he was wearing dark fitted jeans and a neatly pressed buttoned-down shirt. The two top buttons were opened and gave a nice preview of his rock solid chest. Yes, most definitely.

“You mean the club? Not particularly. I’ve seen a lot better. Not sure what all the hype is about.”

Leo chuckled. “Care to elaborate?”

Where to begin?“Well to start, there’s freaking carpet on the floor. I mean I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. Second, clubs usually have a theme to go by and there’s nothing of the sort here. There’s no dancers, no glitz or glamour. The place just looks like an old bar circa 1980s. And don’t even get me started on the music.”

Leo laughed out loud. “Mia, you’re really something else. So what kind of music would you prefer?”

“I don’t know, something more pumping that you can actually move your hips to. You know a little hip-hop or regaetton. I really wouldn’t mind hearing some Usher right about now.”

“Demanding little thing. Is that a request? I didn’t know you got down like that.” Leo eyed her in disbelief.

“You better believe it. But they would never play that here. It’s all dance and house music.”

“Let me see what I can do.” He took a pen out of his pocket and scribbled something illegible on a napkin, before handing it the bartender.

“Just like that?” Mia asked.

He reached down and kissed her on the forehead. “I guess we’ll find out. So what will you do if they end up playing the song?”

This time Mia shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out,” she mimicked, before winking at him. Where was all this confidence coming from?

Leo glanced over towards the DJ booth and nodded. “Well, I’ll be waiting,” he said looking at his drink and then taking a suspiciously large gulp.

He didn’t have to wait much, because they shortly heard a familiar tune mix into the current electro beat. ‘Cause baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again…’

“You got to be kidding me,” Mia shrieked. With that she downed the last of her drink and dragged Leo to the dance floor and he complied all too quickly.

“You ready?” Mia placed her hand provocatively on Leo’s chest, and he followed suit by placing his arm around her waist and pulling her close.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

They started swaying to the music and Mia let her body respond to the beat. She felt the thump of the bass vibrate within her bones, and the hum of electricity pull around them. She closed her eyes to reel in the feeling and let herself relax. She concentrated on the music, blocking out everything in her head and pushing all her troubles aside.

That was all it took, and she was transported to a state of absolute bliss. She had always loved to dance, and being in Leo’s big arms, she momentarily forgot where she was. All she could see were stars, lost in his perfect image and body.

He began twisting and turning her around him and she felt every inch of her come alive. With every move they made, his hands seemed to touch her more and more intimately. They traveled freely from the back of her shoulders, down her spine, around her waist, and up her stomach. She welcomed it - she savored it. His arm snuck around her extreme lower back and he dipped her, fanning her from one side to the other, and then bringing her back up, tightly against him.

A circle soon formed around them and everyone on the dance floor started watching. It seemed like every single pair of females eyes in the club were glued to Leo. But he didn’t notice any of it. He never did. At the moment, his attention was purely reserved for her. At that realization, she basked delightfully in his spotlight.

As she stared into his midnight blue eyes, the lyrics of the song she knew so well started fading in the background. He looked at her tenderly, almost promising, and smiled his most captivating smile. She suddenly felt self-conscious by his decided intimacy. Trying to switch the focus off of her, she took a step back and trickled her fingers slowly down his face.

Leo’s smile only grew deeper and he pulled her towards him again, whispering her name adoringly against her ear. She threw her arms involuntarily around his neck, her fingers knotting tightly in his thick hair.

He paused for a moment, but then ran his fingers through her hair and pushed it back. He slid his nose down her neck and she felt the tickle of his exceedingly warm breath on her. She heard her own breathing accelerate and replace the music entirely. The club suddenly turned 98 degrees, and she felt a bead of sweat drip down her back.

She was about to turn when his lips pressed against her skin, ever so gently. She inadvertently let out a soft moan, and could only hope the music had drained it out. Not likely, she thought, as she soon heard his chest vibrate with a groan in response.

At that moment, all innocent pretenses among them flew out the window. The friendship zone they had seemingly created and placed between them was completely forgotten. All of their flirting, lingering stares, hand holding, and stolen hugs were no longer enough. She selfishly wanted more. Were they ever really friends? Who was she kidding?

She angled her face, presumably to give him better access, and he continued to delicately kiss her neck. She felt like she was on fire. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so full of life.

No, this isn’t right. She should stop this.

She pushed him back, and watched him stunned. He looked back at her and smiled, a completely smug and unapologetic look swept across his face.

She felt her back burn with stares from across the club. She noticed then that their song had already ended, and David Guetta was now blasting through the sound system. They had apparently stopped dancing a while ago, and instead had wrapped up their bodies solidly in one place.

Mia gasped in embarrassment, thinking about the very public display of affection they had just let on. Thankfully, Leo noticed her reaction and pulled her away from the dance floor…and all the attention.

“That was…interesting,” he said, once they reached a more secluded section of the bar.

She couldn’t help feeling a tinge of disappointment. Definitely not the word I was thinking of, Mia thought. Amazing? Incredible? Hot? Sexy? Yes, all of the above.

She noticed him looking her over and she instantly felt insecure. An array of emotions seemed to cross his face. A look of approval and even awe, turned into a deep frown…and something else. Was he in pain? What the hell was he thinking? Deciding she didn’t want to know, she gave up trying to read his expression and looked away.

“Hey, I’m gonna head over to the bathroom,” Leo stated, seeming unaffected.

She looked at him surprised by his sudden comment. He seemed like he desperately needed to get away. “Okay,” she answered, trying to hide her emotions.

He hesitated at her answer. “Do you…need to go?”

“No, I’m okay. I went earlier.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you alone,” he said fidgeting, and looking across the club.

What? He was being so confusing. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll be fine.”

He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. “I’ll be right back, okay? Don’t move.”

Was I too obvious? Did I scare him away? She had been out of the game for so long that it was hard for her to trust her instincts. Leo seemed like he was enjoying the back and forth they had going on, but then he had taken off abruptly. He had done the same thing during the water bottle incident. He kept on switching from hot to cold, and it was giving her a whiplash. He was definitely giving her mixed signals and she didn’t know what to think. But he had told her not to move. So which was it?

Mia spotted Victoria in the crowd and started walking in her direction. It must have been at least an hour since they last spoke. She was half way there when a coarse hand grabbed her roughly by the arm.

“Hey cupcake, where are you going? Let’s dance.”

Mia turned around to see Johan. He was completely wasted and eyeing her indecently. Besides his obvious state of drunkenness, she couldn’t stand the guy. He was from Austria and was completely spoiled and obnoxious. Mia hated how he constantly interrupted professors in class and contradicted them, as if he knew better.

“Uh…no thanks. I’m good.” She continued walking when he grabbed her arm again and pulled her back.

“What? You’re only allowed to dance dirty with prince charming back there?”

Men! “No, feel free to dance with him. As for me, I can dance with whomever I want. It’s just you I don’t want to dance with.” She poked a finger in his chest and crossed her arms.

“Oh, that’s very funny, Mia. You know he’s just using you. Waiting for you to spread your legs for him and drop you right after. That’s what he always does with pretty faces like you,” he said grabbing her chin.

She felt the stench of alcohol on his breath and grimaced.

“Well aren’t you just a ray of sunshine?” Mia said sarcastically, pushing his hand away and stepping back. “And not that it’s any of your business, but it’s not like that. We’re just friends,” she added. But Mia still felt hurt by his words. Was it true? And why would she be no different than the others?

“Keep saying that to yourself, cupcake. You might as well just forget about him already. Now come here and show me that sexy lap dance of yours.”

Johan pulled Mia forward and rubbed his body against her offensively.  She tried to push him away, but he wouldn’t let her move. The only thing she could think of doing was the oldest trick in the book and kneed him right in the groin. He crouched over momentarily, but lunged back to grab her.

The next thing she felt was falling back and hitting the wall behind her. The impact was so strong it knocked the breath out of her lungs. She felt wetness fall over her, followed by a massive weight crashing down against her knees, before she blacked out.