Page 2 of Big Bodyguard
The air is thick with perfume, sweat, and tobacco. Bodies writhe together on the dance floor, shadows moving under strobes and colored beams. My head starts to swim. The noise, the heat, the press of strangers…it’s so much. Too much.
I hover at the entrance, gripping the strap of my purse like a lifeline. Everyone is either dancing, laughing, or gulping down drinks. They all seem to know what they’re doing, while I feel like a kid crashing an adults-only playground.
Maybe I shouldn’t have come…
Suddenly a body collides with mine, hard enough to jolt me forward. I gasp, catching myself just in time before I fall face-first to the ground.
“Oh my God, sorry!”
I turn and find myself staring at a goddess—a woman with blonde hair spilling over bronze shoulders, dress cut daringly low, lips painted cherry red. She flashes me a megawatt smile that belongs on a billboard.
“Didn’t see you there.” She grabs her friend’s hand, another girl just as gorgeous, just as confident. Together they spin back into the crowd, laughing, their hair catching the lights as they disappear into the music.
I can’t help staring. Not because they bumped into me, but because they move like they own the room. Free. Untouchable. Like no one could ever cage them.
The sight of them does something to me.
I realize—I want to live like them. Free. Without a care in the world. This is exactly why I ran away from home, wore a daring dress, and came to this club tonight.
I take in a deep breath, instantly regretting my action as the pungent smell of perfume mixed with sweat and smoke assaults my senses. I scrunch my nose and head for the bar.
“I would like a glass of something light and sweet, please,” I say to the redhead bartender with more tattoos than skin.
He nods, barely sparing me a glance as he prepares my order. “Here you go,” he mutters after a few minutes, sliding a glass of something fizzy across the counter. I don’t even know what I ordered.
I take a sip, wince at the burn, and turn to watch the dance floor, shuffling from one foot to the other as I start to feel a familiar itch in my palms.
If only I had my camera…
I can almost hear the shutter’s rapid clicking as I capture the beauty of this moment, this night of freedom. Sweat glinting on temples, hair flying under lights, the frozen ecstasy of strangers losing themselves in sound. Even without my lens, I can see the snapshots in my mind.
Freedom in motion.
The music tugs at me. I unconsciously start to tap my foot, and before long, I’m moving with the beat. My muscles feel lax, a giddy feeling climbing up my chest.
A guy waves at me from across the dance floor, grinning like we’re already friends. I shock myself by waving back.
Another man leans in to offer me a drink, his cologne sharp and expensive. “Wanna dance with me, gorgeous?”
“No thanks,” I mutter, flashing him what I hope is a confident smile.
He nods, his eyes registering his disappointment as he turns around to leave.
I take another sip of my drink, moving my hips in time to the music. I don’t know if it’s the fizzy cocktail or the loud and electric music but my body feels looser now.
Suddenly, someone grabs my waist, pressing their body roughly against mine. I jerk away, turning around to see a red-faced man with thinning brown hair, staring down at me with a drunken grin.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he slurs. His shirt is half-unbuttoned, his breath reeking of beer. “Dance with me, love.”
He says it like a command, but I shake my head, forcing my voice to stay polite. “No, thank you.”
I try to wiggle out of his hold but his grip only tightens around my wrist. “Don’t play hard to get, darling.”
“Let me go!”
“Now, aren’t you here for a good time?” he asks with a mocking sneer. His words are no longer slurred. “I promise to make it worth your while,Charlotte.”
I gasp.He knows who I am.
