The Touch Series: Initiation

by Cecilia Lonski

  After a slow and frequently bumpy bus ride, I finally arrived at the hotel and sprinted towards the hotel's club though it was really difficult given that I wearing super-high spiked heels. I bought my sprinting to a halt when I entered. Electronic dance music played loudly in a dimly lit room with mirrors aligning all the walls. It was super classy and super expensive looking at the same time. The massive white chandelier alone looked pricier then anything I had ever owned in my life. No way would I have ever been invited to an establishment like this before. I had only ever seen such a place in magazines that showcased high luxury living.

  I saw the other girls standing around at one side of the room. Some were mingling and some sipped drinks by themselves. Not one of them danced but then again neither did anyone else in the entire room. The dance floor was empty and Josef, Artie, Jacob and a few other men were near the bar on the other side of the room. I felt as if I were making the walk of shame across the empty dance floor. Artie waved as he saw me and then pointed towards Josef who was right next to him. I guessed that Artie wanted me to apologize to Josef for being late. And that made me feel sick inside. It didn't help that he stood still and tall with his hands behind his back. His eyes and face were completely cold. He looked like a powerful King at court, reminding everyone of his status with his stare alone.

  I slowly walked up to him, ignoring the scolding looks I was receiving from a few of the other girls as I made my walk. Gwen bit into a cherry with her fangs as she looked at me with more scorn than I had ever received in my life. This was definitely going to be a long night. I quickly tried to think of a joke or two I could say to Josef to, hopefully, brighten his mood.

  I was half-way there when he saw me and he definitely did not look happy. He still had his arms behind him and he looked rigid. He didn't even seem to blink as he stared at me, and I shook just attempting to keep myself together.

  I sped up towards him. “I am so, so, so sorry that I am late. The bus was delayed. I'll take a cab next time. Lesson learned!” I honestly could not have sounded more afraid and apologetic at the same time. I gave a quick smile, hoping I could douse the situation.

  “You took the bus?” His voice was cold which reached his eyes too.

  “Yes. I couldn't have the car today. My dad is going to have a night shift at work.” I looked down at my hands but quickly looked up when I remembered what he told me before about looking up.

  His face softened a bit. “That's fine. But next time, have Artie arrange you a ride. I don't want you taking the bus. Especially not at night.” He gestured for me to join the other girls.

  “Want to get me a drink later?” I asked jokingly.

  His eyes grew bigger and he looked at me as if he couldn't believe that I was still standing there talking to him. I shook my head as a form of an apology. I walked backwards from him and his expression never changed until I was clear from his sight and near the others.

  I walked towards the others with my head down. I was too embarrassed. It made me feel pissed that Josef was upset with me in any way. But, at the same time, it's ridiculous for him to act like that. I was going to try not be late again but I don't think I deserved such a cold shoulder; I could have done a lot worse than be late.

  I quickly helped myself to a glass of champagne. This really was going to be a long night.

  For the remainder of the night, I found myself near a corner far from the dance floor, the other guests and, most importantly, Gwen. I noticed how some of the girls danced and mingled with the other male guests. Some of the dancing looked like it needed the words “Parental Advisory” flashing somewhere. I wasn't sure how that wasn't going against the rules.

  At one point, Artie came to me to explain that the guests were new business clients of Josef's from Asia and wanted to have a party before they went back home. Then we started talking about other things which made me feel better about the night until a pretty waitress caught his eye. I allowed for him to excuse himself, knowing well that Artie had a severe weakness when it came to the opposite sex.

  I took another glass of champagne from another waitress and began to sip when I noticed Josef heading my way. I slowly turned around to see if there was someone behind me he was going towards.

  There was no one there. My heart felt like it dropped. He stopped right in front of me, blocking my view of the others.

  “Am I going to get a lecture?” That had to be the reason he came to me. Why would he waste his time on me when he had other, more entertaining, guests.

  He cocked his head to one side. “Do you want one?”

  I shook my head. “No. I'm good. Thanks.”

  His lips were pressed into a line. “You don't socialize well, do you?”

  Was it that obvious? “Well it's hard when no one likes you.” I took another sip of champagne as I looked away to stare at the other girls who were having a good time with one another. “I thought I graduated from high school. But apparently not.” I rolled my eyes before I took another sip.

  “Try to make an effort. I want all of the girls in the group to get along and have fun.”

  Was he serious? I looked at him. His eyes were slightly sympathetic. And I actually couldn’t be angry with him.

  “Is work always like this for you, fun and games?”

  He stepped closer to me and I wasn't sure if I was completely okay with it. I didn't think that my heart could flutter any more than it already was. And I was nervous about what the mix of alcohol would do to my system as I was internally melting simply by being in his presence.

  “It's what the client usually wants. Landing business deals and making money makes people happy but getting drunk with beautiful women is a pleasure in its own class.”

  “But we're not supposed to get drunk, right?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “I see.” I looked towards the dance floor for a few seconds before turning back to Josef who was smirking as he looked at me. “What? You're making me nervous.”

  “Good.”

  I took another sip of champagne. It was the only way from keeping him from seeing my grin after his very honest response. “Are you going to ask me to dance, Sir?”

  He titled his head back and sighed. “I don't dance.”

  “So you said. But we have a dance floor and you have access to a trained professional who can show you some moves.”

  He laughed softly. “'Access'?”

  I blushed and felt flustered again. I really needed to think before I spoke. “Excuse my dirty mind. It doesn't bother you, does it?” Somewhere, deep down inside, I felt as if perhaps I could control the conversation, even if just a little.

  “I usually don't.”

  “So, it's still a 'no' to the dancing?” I started grooving to the music from side to side in hopes to persuade him to change his mind or at least lighten up, especially after the cold conversation we had when I first arrived here. “Oh, come on. I know you want to.” Teasing him wasn't hard. It was intimidating, if a little scary but it wasn't as difficult as I had found it to be with other guys.

  He shook his head but he wasn't angry in any way. If something, he looked rather amused. He continued to smile as I was making a bit of a fool of myself dancing alone but before he could answer Jacob called him over from a few feet away. Josef turned his body slightly as he began to walk away. He kept his face on mine. He quickly ran a hand across his mouth as he looked at me. “Next time I see you, dress how you would dress.” He raised his eyebrows and looked at me to see if I understood what he was saying. I slowly nodded. “And don't wear any of that.” He made a circling gesture around his face with his hand. “I want to see your face.” He turned quickly and began to walk away.

  “You didn't answer my question?”

  He turned again, this time with his whole body turned towards me, and put his hands in his pant pockets. “I think I'll hold off that answer as a way to punish you for your tardiness. It's only fair.” His smirk had an air of self-satisfaction whi
ch should have turned me off more than anything but that wasn't the case here. I'm sure he got away with his cockiness and smugness with every girl he ever met. He was surely getting away with it with me.

  When he left, I emptied whatever remained in my glass in one gulp and headed to the restroom. After nearly stumbling into a waiter, my shaky legs made it to the restroom. I felt like a fool. I looked in the mirror and wanted to wipe off everything. It was too much. And it wasn't me. He was right. I tried way too hard to impress and it backfired on me.

  My self-loathing thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone coming in.

  It was Janel, one of the other girls. She was tall, dark and beautiful. According to Artie, she was doing this to be able to pay for college and law school afterwards. She came up to the mirror and opened her makeup bag. She pulled out a lipstick and reapplied it on her lips.

  I stopped staring at her and started going through my bag to try to find a hair tie to put my hair up.

  “Are you hating tonight as much as I?” Janel was staring at me through the mirror. She looked beyond bored.

  Wow, one of them was actually being decent around me. “Pretty much. The club scene was never my thing.”

  She nodded her head in agreement. “I know what you mean.”

  There was a moment of silence between us and I thought our conversation had ended before she turned to face me. “Do you want to go out and drink in the courtyard?”

  “Oh, yeah!”

  She smiled and I followed her out. Maybe tonight wasn't going to end up a total disaster.

  ***

  The back of the club had a door that led to the hotel's courtyard and garden. The two of us, with cocktails in our hands, sat on a tall concrete ledge that separated the patio from the garden.

  Janel started the conversation while sipping her drink. “So, let's get the basics out. Where are you from? Why are you here? Favorite sex position?, etc.” We both laughed. She was blunt and I liked that.

  I blew out a breathe before I began spilling out my ever-so-boring life story. “Well, I'm from here, Richmond. Just graduated from high school and I am currently taking my gen ed's at a nearby community college. I'm deferring until I figure out exactly where I want to go for university.” I paused for a few seconds to think about what I was going to say next. “And... I'm here because my family desperately needs to somehow pay for my little brother's trauma therapy. Last year, he and his friends got lost in the woods near our house and they were gone for an entire day. The police found them hiding in an old shed. They were terrified and they couldn't speak of what happened for a long time. My brother to this day doesn't speak.” I looked up to see a very sympathetic look from Janel. “My parents work at the town's center as youth workers. They don't make much... Okay, now it's your turn.”

  She gave me a warm smile before she started speaking. “I'm from Detroit. I'm currently doing my undergrad in pre-law. Hoping to one day go to law school. My aunt became friends with Gwen a few months back, we got introduced and she told me about this whole thing. She was pretty persuasive.” She shrugged her shoulders before she sipped on her cocktail.

  “So what do you think of him?” I hoped she didn't see me blush. I didn't want to give anything away. But I wanted to know how someone else in the club felt, particularly about Josef. Did he effect everyone else in the same way?

  She looked at me in surprise. “What do you mean?”

  “I don't know.” All of a sudden I became uncomfortable with my own question. “Do you like think he's cute or something?”

  She looked even more surprised. And slightly shocked. “Do you?”

  “I...uh...well, he's not bad looking, exactly...”

  “Oh, girl. The guy has great looks that's for sure. But that's not why we are here. And trust me, according to some rumors about him, you don't want to go there. It's best to leave this thing completely casual and without any type of feelings.” She raised her glass up in the air before finishing what was left in it.

  What rumors? I was about to say something when, all of a sudden, I heard the club door open and Artie, Josef and Jacob came out laughing about something. I blushed. I really hoped that they wouldn't notice us. I looked down below where we sat to see how far down the lawn was from the ledge. Maybe we could jump.

  Unfortunately, today was the day the world was against me. Artie saw us and came towards us as Josef and Jacob followed. I noticed Janel shift uncomfortably.

  “Ladies!” Artie danced as he walked the last few feet towards us. He was definitely a free-spirit which always made me smile. He came to a halt right before us and introduced us to Jacob. The Jacob who apparently didn't like me. He was tall. Not as tall as Josef but taller than Artie. Wavy dark brown hair with gray eyes. He had a bad boy presence that I couldn't really explain. He smirked when he saw me. Josef stood there looking down while trying to suppress a smile as if there was some sort of inside joke between them. A joke most likely about me. That definitely didn't make me feel better.

  Artie's attention was fully on Janel. “So, how is pre-law treating you?”

  She was surprised by the question. “It's fine. It's definitely kicking my ass. There's a lot of reading.”

  “Oh man, trust me, I know. I went through pre-law and then law school myself. You will always have your face in a book.” Artie winked at her before taking a sip from his bottle of beer.

  She looked at him in surprise. “Good to know.”

  Jacob looked bored with the conversation. “I hate reading. I always majored in something that didn't have to deal with that crap.”

  Artie shook his head in disapproval. “Dude, when was the last time you picked up a book? Because you're missing out on some great contemporary works right now.” He then turned to me. “Speaking of which, I got some British Lit picks for you if you end up liking your class.”

  I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Yeah no, I was recently recommended a Victorian novel by someone and it was awful.” I looked at Josef who was stroking his chin while his eyes shot up in surprised.

  Artie was curious to find out more. “What book?”

  “You don't want to know. It was highly inappropriate – not in a good way! – and was actually in the restricted area of the local library.” My face never left Josef's, who was now grinning mischievously. “So, yeah. I'm not taking people's advice on books anymore. No offense.”

  Artie shrugged.

  “Artie, what happened to that cute waitress?”

  He leaned against a pillar and answered coolly, “Oh her. Turns out we hooked up once. She was working at a club in Chicago a few weeks ago. I knew she looked familiar.” He chuckled to himself.

  “That's...awesome.” I really liked Artie. He was one of my best friends but he certainly made poor choices. I once wondered if vampires could get STD's and I never found out. It's not something I was ever comfortable with googling.

  Surprisingly, Jacob turned his attention to me. “So what's there to do in Richmond? Any good hot spots?”

  “Not really. It's a small town. We mostly have charity events and small things like community plays and bake sales every month.” It was difficult to think about what to do in Richmond. Apart from the occasional kooky events, it was pretty dead.

  Jacob rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “How can you live here? I would lose my mind.”

  “Well I plan to eventually leave. Hopefully I can get out and go to college somewhere far away and much more busier.” I didn't really know why I was explaining myself to Jacob and feeling the need to get his approval. It was actually annoying.

  Artie piped in. “New York City and London are awesome choices.”

  I nodded in agreement. They were definitely places that I had considered moving to. I looked at Josef and bravely asked, “Did you ever go to college, Mr. Constane?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “Oh, so you're just naturally smart and skilled?” I looked out towards the garden. He wa
s wealthy and powerful. But he never went to school. He was lucky.

  “I was lucky enough to be brought up by a father who was a skilled business man.” I turned to look at him. He was smiling. “I learned from him.”

  Artie beamed. “We all did. He was a great guy.” Then his face went dark after a second. He cleared his throat, “He was. Once.”

  Josef and Jacob both looked tense. I wondered what that was about.

  Artie smiled to change the mood and clapped his hands together. “Okay! Let's all go back inside. Shall we?”

  Jacob and Artie started to walk back inside. Janel grabbed her bag and looked at me, “I'm gonna grab something to eat. Want to go?”

  I shook my head. “No. I'll stay out here for a little bit longer. But I'll join you soon.”

  “Okay.” She came off the ledge and walked back inside the club.

  Josef came up to where Janel sat with his back turned to the ledge and his arms crossed against his chest. “Look who made a friend,” he whispered sarcastically.

  I couldn't help but smile as I playfully responded, “Believe it or not, I can be friendly, Sir.”

  He looked at me sideways with a corner of a lip raised. “Did Artie tell you to call me 'Sir'?”

  “No, I just prefer it to 'Mr. Constane'. Which is too long for me to say and a waste a breathe,” I said as a matter-of-factly.

  He licked his lips and nodded once. “Okay.”

  I pursed my lips to stop me from grinning like a fool. “You look very handsome tonight, by the way.” He always did. For one, he filled out his shirts well. His sandy-blonde hair went well against his melting chocolate eyes. But it was his confident and dominant presence that rounded out it his drool-worthy aura.

  He was taken a back by the comment. But quickly smiled though slightly embarrassed, “Thank you.”

  “Have you had it with tonight?” I gestured towards the club.

  “It's not something I enjoy. Artie usually plans stuff like this and I just go along.”