I haven’t been out to a club since I started my new job. I don’t know why, you’d think I’d have more time to now that I don’t have to work ungodly hours. I also thought that I’d have time to meet more people too… Guess I was wrong.
It didn’t surprise me then that I jumped so eagerly at my friend Angel’s invitation to go out last night. I rounded up the troops while Angel concocted some serious alcoholic beverages and proceeded to get everyone in the proper state of mind.
Walking passed the cordoned entrance where the bouncers put on their best St Peter impersonations I stepped beyond the door and ducked into the velvet curtain leading to my night’s misadventures. As expected Le Souk was busy.
The rooms were so dark you could hardly make out the clubbers, just a mass of shadows moving about to the sound of the bass. Not much has changed. Dimly lit rooms with several dark corners where the candle lights seem unable to reach serve as the mating ground for NYC’s party crowd.
House music blaring in my eardrums confuses my senses… Everything I see and smell would tell me I’m in a Moroccan hookah bar. The adobe walls, the cobblestone floor, the smell of hookah pipes, the Persian rugs and lush throw pillows… But the music is decisively European, which may explain the two Swedish girls in the corner blowing smoke my way…
I walked over to the two ladies with Brendan and Angel literally at my heels. I introduced myself and my two buddies and took a few photo ops. I didn’t stay to even hear their names, I wasn’t interested. Not even remotely. I WAS interested in someone else.
Her name is Regina, a waitress that works with me at HK. She’s half Puerto Rican and half Dominican, full on gorgeous. Long black hair, dark brown eyes framed with long lashes. She’s almost doll like with her innocent face and perfect little body. I met her almost a month ago when I trained at HK for the first (and only time hahahah thanks guys). At the time she had a boyfriend and I had a rule to follow… (I can steal from the register. I can drink all the alcohol I want. I can eat all the food I want. But if I fuck any of the girls before Angel does, I’m fired.) Those aren’t bad rules. I still have the rule to follow, but I wouldn’t mind turning in my two weeks notice to spend time with her. Anyway, she went off somewhere for vacation for a couple of weeks… California I think it was. In any case she found out upon return that her boyfriend of two years was cheating on her. (He’s a total idiot but hey, god bless him) By that time I had forgotten about this little girl with a slight lisp (it sort of grows on you… hmm infatuation is a funny thing) so you can only imagine my delight upon her return and more so with her news of being single again. When she told me, I was trying desperately not to smile. I put on my best poker face (mediocre at best but hey I play with the cards I’m dealt) and expressed my regret. We talked briefly on and off about the subject that entire shift.
Before you tell me I’m aiming for rebound sex, (Rodman is back in the building!) let me explain… I love damsels in distress. Regina is just that. For the record, though I am currently very happy with my single life, I do miss caring for someone. Regina can be that someone. I’m not looking for a quick fix; I have to see this person almost everyday… That could be costly! So shut up and let me take care of this one. I can honestly say that I have noble intentions…
Let’s get back to the story. We get a table, we get our hookah pipes, and we get our bottle service… Now its time to get our drink on and our freak on. And that’s exactly what we did; we rocked out like rock stars. Cocktail glasses clinking, smoke unfurling in the air and settling into a fog around our table, and the sound of laughter and merriment cutting through that misty wall. Through smoke and candle light, I saw her looking up at me smiling. It was quite a feat getting her to come out. It was a slow night and nobody made any money. Plus she was depressed; she wanted to go home… But I know that broken people never really want to spend so much time alone. Nobody wants to sit and realize just how alone they are now that their partners are gone. So I didn’t let her take that cab ride to the Bronx, instead I got her to hop in the cab with us, people she didn’t really know and trust that we could show her a good time. I was proud of myself. I felt like I did something good. Before I could extend my hand to pull her out to the dance floor, she took the hookah pipe from out of my hand and started smoking. “For someone who doesn’t drink or smoke, you’re doing a great job pretending… Didn’t you say you love to dance? Let us see how well you do something you actually enjoy!” Reaching for her hand I pulled her up off the couch she was sitting on, and then she dragged me off to the dance floor.
For a while it was just me and her. I couldn’t help but think of it as a mating ritual. Each person dancing their own style and then subtly changing a few moves here, a few moves there until suddenly they’re dancing alike. I remember watching national geographic as a kid and remembered that some African bird does a similar mating dance where both male and female mimic each other’s movements. I was definitely feeling her. She could dance and even more importantly you could see she loved to dance. Her eyes lit up, she had the biggest smile plastered on her face and she was all over the place. For a while it was like we were in our own little world, I couldn’t even hear the music anymore, I was just dancing along to some other soundtrack playing in my head… Ok this is the part where the record scratches… (Record Scratching SFX here…) I blink and out of no where Angel cuts me off and does the Dominican two-step. Damn he’s fast! Somehow I was shocked and awed by his performance. Not only did he cut me off like a bad driver in traffic, but he whisked her off to the table for more drinks and goo-goos! (Boxing Bell ringing SFX)
Oh it was on like Donkey Kong now! The entire night was all about getting better position… When Gina had to go to the ladies room I was her escort, and I stayed by the door like a prison guard. When she’d venture away from the table to see what was happening around the club, Angel and I would split up and comb the fields of shadows to find her each trying to get to her before the other. If I found her first, we’d resume the mating dance. If Angel found her, he’d bring her to a dark corner where they would talk while he pumped her full of alcohol. I remember at one point Angel comes up to me and asks, “Hey Red, you seen Gina?” I take a drag from the hookah pipe and hand it to him, “Here take a drag… What did you say?” Angel took the pipe (that is connected to a hose which in return is connected to a very big bong that’s set up on the table) and before he could answer, I took off! Hahahaha that was the kind of night it was. Towards the end of the night we were all in a circle dancing with our arms around each other. My arm over Brendan’s shoulder, my other arm around Gina’s waist… Beside her was Ricki, and beside Ricki was Angel. Somewhere in the middle of the dance I could feel hairy knuckles brush up against my forearms… I looked over and Angel was doing his best impression of Plastic Man! You have to laugh at that.
In the end though, Brendan jumped into the fray and everything went down hill… it was too difficult to keep her attention for very long. She had to tend to three little boys vying for her interest. We called it a night with no clear sign of who she likes more, but I assume that in time we’ll find out.
