"Courage is being scared to death---and saddling up anyway."—John Wayne


The morning light was rather harsh to my eyes for depriving me of completing a midsummer night's sleep, but I knew time would not stop at my convenience so I needed to wake up. I covered my mouth and yawned into the ball of my hand before wincing from the throbbing pain in my head known as a hangover. And I only had myself to thank for that. I took one-too-many shots last night, and now I was paying the price with a massive headache.


"Son of a bitch."


I slid out of the duvet and scurried across the cold linoleum floor into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. It was then when I realized I had fallen asleep in my dress and in my makeup which explained my obscured vision. I pulled a washcloth off from the rack and wet it with warm water before cleaning up my face. My eyes burned a little when the rag came into contact with my mascara, but I forced myself to continue wiping until I was make-up-free. Afterwards, I rinsed the rag off with cold water and watched the black liquid go down the drain as I tried to remember the events from last night.


Anya wanted to celebrate my return home with a college degree from NYU by going to Planet Bang, a new club that had opened up recently. I was more than reluctant to go out at first because of what happened at University, but her constant pleading made me cave.


"You won't be twenty-one forever, Lucy. It's time for you to start living it up. Don't let what that creep did dictate your life," She told me.

Anya was right. I wanted to be able to look back at myself ten years from now, filled with empowerment, and tell him, "You didn't win," but I know that will never happen. I don't have the strength to confront him yet.

Anya squeezed my hand reassuringly, dishing out a sweet smile as we entered the club and led me over to the bar for some drinks.


"Hello, ladies. What will we be drinking tonight?" The barista asked us.

"My friend and I would just love... some tequila," Anya said slowly, subconsciously poking out her chest as she spoke.

"Okay, comin' right up," He casually replied while turning around to look for some shot glasses.

"You should be taking notes, Lucy," Anya whispered to me while smiling at the bartender. I just rolled my eyes.

"Here's the tequila, and your shot glasses. If you need anything else, just let me know," The man winked at her before walking down to the other end of the counter to serve other customers.

Anya filled our glasses to the rim until they were nearly overflowing with Tequila before handing me a shot.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," I nodded.


I hung the cloth back on the rack before unzipping my dress and stepping out of the clothing when it fell round my ankles. I pulled back the shower curtain and twisted the dial to the right then stepped back as the warm water shot out the little holes. I kicked my discarded clothing to the side before retrieving the body wash and stepping inside the shower. I squirted some of the liquid out onto my hands and rubbed my palms together, scrubbing down my body. And with every passing moment, the scenes from last night became more vivid in my mind.


"Hey, wait a second! Aren't you forgetting something?" He called back, managing to hold my attention for awhile longer. I turned around to meet jaded eyes with a frown upon seeing the very things I was missing in his possession.

"Give it back," I demanded, but the male just shook his head.

"You should be more careful with your things, love. What if this ended up in the wrong hands?" he warned harshly, leaving me to wonder who had given him the authority to scrutinize me in the first place.

"Says the person who's holding my bags now," I retorted.

"Now, now. Hostility won't get you your stuff back, love. What's your name?"

"Lucy. Now can I please have my purse back?" I asked. He smirked.

"Lucy..." He hummed. "Such a pretty name, can I call you Lulu?"


I rolled my eyes, disgust flooding me as he lowered his head down to my level, plump lips slightly coming into contact with my ear as dirty profanities left his mouth. He asked something no girl fancies hearing. No guy had ever spoken to me the way he did just now. Who the hell does he think he is? Before another word left his mouth, I slapped him hard and snatched the bags back. My hand left a large, red print across his cheek, and his eyebrows furrowed in a frown; He looked pissed, but I didn't care, "Asshole!" I yelled back at him while taking off in the other direction.


The soap washed away down the drain, and I sighed while turning off the water. I harshly yanked the towel down from the rack and hastily wrapped the cloth around my body in attempt to dry off quickly. Once it was firmly secured underneath my arms, I stepped out of the shower and left the bathroom.

---

"Hey, Anya! Have you seen my phone?" I asked her as I frantically rummaged through my purse in search of the device.

She looked up at me from hers with confusion and shook her head, "No, I haven't seen it. Where did you have it last?"

"I had it in my purse! It must've fallen out or something...Can I just use your phone to call it?" I asked calmly.

"Here."

"Thanks."


I typed my number into the screen and hit the call button upon rising to my feet and walking to my room. The phone rang on the other end, but I didn't feel any vibrations underneath the furniture decorating the space. Ugh. Where did it go? The phone eventually went to voice mail, and I hit the redial button, determined to find it this time. It didn't ring long and just when I thought it was going to voice mail, someone picked up.

"Hello. Hello?!"

"Lulu, is that you?" A raspy voice asked, and I didn't need to guess who the suitor was.

"How the hell did you get my phone?"

"Like I said before, you should be more careful with your stuff."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at Crunch gym. Are you coming to see me?"

"No, I'm coming just to get my phone," I told him while grabbing my keys.

"Who's Anya by the way?"

"None of your business. Don't go anywhere," I said to him before hanging up the phone and putting it on the nightstand.


Shit.


"Anya, I have to go! Your phone is on the table."

"Wait—Where are you going?"

"To the gym. I'll be back in a bit," I said to her before running out the door.


My journey to the gym was not nearly as frustrating as my confrontation with Green Eyes in the locker rooms. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of grey joggers with a towel wrapped around his neck to catch the droplets of sweat leaking from his flock of curls. His green eyes were glued to the screen of my phone, and I began to wonder what else the curly-haired guy had done with the device besides answer it. I wasn't sure whether or not I should've been grateful that we were alone in this big space, for it would've been that much easier for someone like him to take advantage of me, but I pushed the probability of those events occurring again to the back of my mind and boldly walked forward.

"Listen, psycho. I'm not in the mood to play games today. Just hand it over," I spoke harshly.

The curly haired guy looked up from the phone and raised his eyebrows in amusement, surprised by my tone of voice toward him, "I didn't expect to see you so soon," He said, lips curving into a dimpled smile.


Why does he look so happy to see me?


I scoffed, "My phone, please."

"Take it," The green eyed male extended his hand out, my phone becoming vulnerable in his large palm.

I don't know why, but I hesitated to grab it from him at first. Maybe it was his charming smile and piercing green eyes that had me so uneasy, but I eventually forced myself to complete the task. "Well...now that's over with, I hope we'll never be seeing each other again," I mumbled as I walked away.

"Yeah, you and me both," I heard him say back.

On my way out of the locker-rooms, I looked at the back of my phone, checking to make sure it was still in good condition when I came across my screensaver which was replaced by a picture of a dildo.

A plastic penis, really?

Notes