The music becomes louder, if that’s possible, and Trina runs up and grabs Heidi’s hand, who in turn grabs Cians. As Heidi tugs on Cian’s hand to join them, he looks at me like he’s reluctant to leave. Finally, he allows her to pull him away. Even Shelley scoots out of her chair and follows them onto the dance floor. Leaning my elbow on the table, I rest my chin on my hand and pick up my beer with the other, taking a long pull as I watch them do – what I now know is the “Bus Stop”. I guess it’s one of the many things this particular dance move has been called over time.
The night comes to an end for me, long before it does for the girls. I snuck out around eleven-thirty, feeling the need to take a shower to wash away all the different smells of perfume seemingly stuck to my skin from all the girls there, and I think I can drink my weight in cold water. Once I’ve thoroughly washed, brushed the tangles out of my hair and the feel of beer off my teeth, I grab a couple of bottled waters from the fridge and my sketch pad and open the sliding glass door, settling in the wicker chair. Placing the pad on the small round table, I open a water and practically guzzle it dry. Bad thing about drinking beer, just makes me thirsty afterwards. I lean back against the chair, looking out at the darkened water of the ocean. The only lights come from inside my apartment and small various ones on different decks. The moon is mostly covered with clouds, a little light coming in spurts as they move across. From the corner of my eye, I see movement on the beach. I can tell it’s someone jogging but even with squinting my eyes, I can’t make them out clearly.
I open my second bottle of water and begin to drink, loving the slightly cooler breeze moving over my damp skin. Suddenly, the figure moves close enough that one of the apartment deck lights shines on them briefly. It’s him! The guy I saw yesterday! Quickly, I reach down, grabbing my charcoal pencil and sketch pad and flip it open to a blank page. My hand moves quickly as he jogs closer still, going in and out of the small lights. Damn! I wish I could get closer. What is it about this guy that feels so familiar? I keep sketching as he jogs on the beach past my building, my eyes continue following him until he disappears. Looking down at my pad, I hold it up closer to the inside light. My eyes widen as my mouth drops open. Is that…? Couldn’t be.
Chapter 3
West
The night turned out better than I had imagined. And I had imagined it to be filled with horror. I saw a few people I knew from high school and was glad I had the plastic shield around the booth, along with the darkness of the bar, to help hide me. I know it’s inevitable, at some point, that someone will recognize me. I’m just hoping it won’t be for a very long time. I don’t know why I thought by moving here, to a junior college town, that no one would know who I am. I’m so fucking stupid. But I really like working as a DJ, more than I thought I would and everyone who came up to request songs seemed friendly enough. Some of the girls, a little over friendly.
I got home before one, even though the bar stays open then. Johnny had told me it takes a while to get everyone out so I was to shut off the music at twelve-thirty right after last call was announced. I’d had my fill of loud music, bolstering laughter, and the stomping of feet on the dance floor. My head was splitting by the time I got home and the stench of every woman’s perfume and every guys cologne, seemed to sting on my flesh. I felt disgusted. So, I took a much needed shower, drank a bottle of water, and settled on my couch, flipping on the TV and scouring boring channel after boring channel.
Suddenly, without thinking, I jump up off the couch and change into a pair of gym shorts, lock my front door and walk around the building. My feet aching to hit the sand, my muscles flexing for a good run. I need it. Crave it. It’s one of the few things that calm me. The darkness around me is only illuminated briefly by deck lights, here and there. I stop when I hit the sand, putting my iPod buds in my ears and bringing up one foot at a time to stretch my legs, and then I do a few other exercises. I take off, to the left, in a dead run on the beach, hoping to get a good sweat. It’s a little cloudy tonight so there’s a slight breeze, helping my already overheated skin as I turn around and start heading the other way. I tone down to a jog, keeping a steady pace. There’s nothing like being out here so late that all the partygoers are either at another party or hopefully safely at home.