Thanks to RexBrookdale for editing this story.
*
Chapter 1
Seema was a beautiful young woman, although if you told her so she would never have believed you. Maybe it was because of her last relationship. She and Jay had dated for five years. He'd had an alcohol problem of which she often fell victim; when angry he had constantly degraded her worth and put his hands on her quite a few times, until she had finally had enough and ended the relationship.
She would never understand how a man, after such full-on assertions and declarations of how he had felt all of this ... love for her, could then treat her like trash. Another man would never be allowed to get close enough to hurt her like that, ever again....
For a while, she had distanced herself from her family and close friends, deciding that she needed to focus on herself. Anyone who knew anything about it would have recognized that she was experiencing the after-effects of a very difficult breakup.
Seema was a conservative: in her beliefs, in the way she acted, and in the way she dressed. Smart and compassionate, with an all-around bubbly personality, she was always smiling and making people laugh. Men loved her, and women felt threatened by her. She went out of her way to be friendly so never understood women's dislike of her. Perhaps it was because she was gregarious and outspoken; once she had even heard someone call her 'feisty'. She was grateful for her two close girlfriends Michelle and Nicole, yet she knew her motto in life would always be 'Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone'. Lately, more frequently than ever, she did find herself standing alone.
It was true that she had been going through a lot of changes, and was taking a lot of time to figure out who she was now that she was without Jay. On her own, she worked through her issues, steadily rebuilding her self-worth and self-esteem.
*****
It had been five months since the split, and Seema could now feel there had been significant healing.
Finally, one particular night when Michelle called her, she felt ready to accept her gregarious friend's invitation.
"Hello?"
"Hey sweetie, how are you doing?" Michelle asked.
"I'm actually doing better,"
"Would you like to go out with me tonight? I want to go check this new lounge out. It's called the Orchid Lounge."
"Oh yeah, I heard about it. They've been promoting it for a while now." Despite the inroads she'd made in healing, Seema felt hesitant. "I don't know, Michelle --"
Michelle cut her off instantly, "Listen. I'm very sympathetic to your whole situation, but it's been five months since your split. I'm tired of watching you miss out on the time of your life. You've healed enough. Let's get dressed up, and go check this place out. I heard they have great food, great drinks, and a wonderful atmosphere. If we don't like it, we can leave!" Michelle had worked herself up, and was starting to sound a bit agitated.
Seema smiled inwardly a little as she listened. She knew her friend's intentions, and also knew that she was right. "Okay. Do you want me to meet you at your house or vice versa?"
"Meet me at my house by nine," Michelle responded, sounding relieved.
"Okay, see ya then." It was almost seven now. Shoot, I need to get in the shower, Seema thought after they ended the call.
After showering, she wrapped herself up in a towel and did the same with her hair, then quickly brushed her teeth. Back in her room looking for something to wear she spotted a knee-length white summer dress; next she rummaged through her shoes and decided on the sandals her aunt had bought her. They were white leather, accented with colorful rhinestones. She towel-dried her slender body, and then applied lotion. It took no time at all for her to decide to wear her new white lace underwear and matching bra, wanting to feel pretty from inside out, tonight.
She put on the rest of her outfit and proceeded to do her long curly hair. It was thick and took extra time to blow-dry, but tonight she was determined not to rush. Her smooth skin never needed a lot of make-up, and tonight was no exception: she applied a little eye shadow, some black eyeliner and mascara, and magenta lipstick with a touch of gloss. After adding diamond stud earrings, her dragonfly necklace, and a touch more hairspray to hold the carefully styled 'wild and curly' look, she stepped in front of her mirror to give herself a once-over. Even Seema herself couldn't disagree with her reflection: she looked gorgeous.
It was 8:45 now. She sent Michelle a quick text, "Hey, I'll be about 5 or 10 minutes late."
"Okay. I'm also running a little late myself. I will be done by the time you get here though," Michelle texted back.
"Alright then, I'm leaving now." Seema grabbed her purse and car keys; made sure everything was locked, and headed out the door. Twenty minutes later she was parked out in front of Michelle's apartment. She honked once and waited.
Michelle came out smiling and hurried over, heels clicking on the asphalt as she stepped along the path to the waiting car. She got in and they started to drive off. "I'm so excited." Michelle said, cheesing. "What about you?"
"I'm actually a little excited too," Seema caught her mood. "So what else have you heard about this place?"
"Nothing much more than what I already told you. It's said to have a great atmosphere. Good music, a nice crowd with great service, but I guess we'll just have to see for ourselves and judge it."
Thirty minutes later, they'd pulled up and parked. People were gathered in small groups outside, smoking.
Seema started to feel those butterflies in her stomach. Part of it was from nervousness and the other part was excitement. As they walked up the entrance ramp, Seema caught a few eyes lingering over her body. Michelle nudged her and said, "It looks like you've already captured some eyes." Seema blushed a little as they continued to the door.
They got in and looked the place over. There were people everywhere.
Finally, they spied a booth toward the back and headed that way. They sat down next to each other so they could look toward the crowd. A cocktail waitress came by and asked them for their drink orders. Seema ordered a Rumchata and Michelle ordered a Rum and Coke. Noticing people coming down and going up a staircase off to the other side of the bar in the corner, Seema wondered where it led. When the waitress came back, Seema decided to ask her.
The waitress handed them their drinks and then put down an appetizers menu; when Seema asked her about the staircase, she told them that it led to a dance club. They could go up but there was a $15 entrance fee. Seema thanked her, and they ordered some appetizers.
"What do you think of the place so far? I love it." Michelle said.
"I like it too. It doesn't seem like it's a hook-up and fuck bar." Seema said.
Michelle laughed.
"What's wrong with hooking up and fucking?"
Seema looked at her in shock. "I guess nothing is wrong with that if that's what a person wants to do. But for me it is."
"When are you going to break out of this conservative shell and let loose a little? You're beautiful and you can have anyone you want. Why don't you just have fun in the meantime?"
Seema pondered this for a moment. "Well, I want more than just a screw and then I'm through. I want a man to make love to me." She paused.
"I want him to do things to me that I've only fantasized about. I want him to make all my fantasies come true. That's not going to come by a quick hook-up."
Now it was Michelle's turn to start thinking. "Well, I gave up on that hope a long time ago. We're living in reality, not make-believe. That romance shit doesn't happen in the real world. Sorry to break it to you."
Seema looked at her friend's discouraged expression. Maybe she had a point. No point in fussing about that topic right now. She left it at that.
They finished their food and ordered more drinks. After a little while,
Seema sounded Michelle out to see if she wanted to go check out the dance club. When Michelle agreed, they paid their bill and proceeded up the stairway. At the top, two bodyguards waited by the door who took their money, gave them an admission stamp, and then opened the door. They walked through and onto a big dance floor with lounge chairs along the edges and a bar in a corner at the far end. A restroom sign pointed down a dimly lit hallway. Seema and Michelle freshened up, and then walked over to the bar area.
They ordered drinks, and watched as people danced the night away. They looked like they were having the times of their lives. Seema acquiesced when Michelle asked if she wanted to dance, and they headed onto the dance floor. They made their way through the dancing crowd and found a spot. Sean Kingston's Fire Burning On the Dance Floor was playing. Man, did it feel like there was a fire burning! It was hot from the bodies all around.
If an onlooker didn't know any better, he or she would have thought the two friends were a couple dancing; they were moving all over each other. Maybe it was the alcohol having that effect on them, but they knew how to move and man, they looked good.
During a break in the music, Michelle, panting a little from heat and exertion, asked, "Do you want me to get you another drink? I sure could use one."
"Yes. That would be great!" Seema grinned happily, breathing a little heavily herself, as Michelle turned to walk away. As Michelle pushed her way through the crowd, a man came into view ... Seema froze, a chill coursing through her entire body.
He was absolutely breathtaking. His face was nothing but perfection, his dark eyes and luscious lips, his perfect nose, and short, curly, dark hair. He literally made Seema catch her breath. And then he stared back. Slowly, he eyed her from her head all the way down to her toes, and looked like he was enjoying every second of it as he did so. She thought she had stopped breathing. She licked her lips; suddenly they had become dry. While she stood in this trance-like state, Michelle came teetering back through the crowd, still having to push to get through, and now loaded down with a drink in each hand; she twisted her body to get around the nearest couple, and lost her balance, knocking into Seema, almost making them both fall. Seema quickly snapped out of it and steadied Michelle then took the drink from her friend's hand.
Almost out of breath, she calmed herself enough to tell Michelle about the man. As Seema guzzled the drink down her parched throat, Michelle looked around, excited, and asked her to point him out. Seema looked over to where he had been standing, and felt heartbroken all of a sudden. Where had he gone? She turned back to Michelle to find her staring past her shoulder and felt the chill coursing through her again. She slowly turned around, and there he was.
He smiled at her. Oh God! She wanted to melt right there. He was even more breathtaking up close. How is he having this effect on me? No one has this effect on me, she thought to herself. His smile was beautiful, and his eyes burned right through her soul. Or, so she felt.
"Hello," he spoke up.
She immediately blushed, but answered him back with a shy "hello."
"My name is Damian. What's your name?"
"M ... my name is Seema." she finally muttered softly.
