LA RUMBA POOL PARTY

Chapter 5. DATING- A VICISSITUDE

December 13 2019

9 PM Friday

I

t was a lovely evening in Crystal restaurant. Waiters were serving their customers who were savouring their food. A guy in suit was spotted odd out of them staring anxiously at the watch, ignoring the waiters.

Vishal connected Bluetooth to his right ear. "No alcohol" Surya said sternly via the Bluetooth. “You babble like i***t”

“chilli chicken?"

"You appear like a glutton, interested in food rather than a girl. Wait for your date and later order the food”

He held the Bluetooth on his right ear

“Do you see any girls there?"

"Yeah I see so many girls here" Vishal told riveting his eyes scanning all the dance floor

"You are going to impress a girl and if your chances are good, you end up in bed" It sounded exotic to Vishal as he readily said "Yes, definitely" grinned with beaming eyes.

"Anyone interesting over there," Surya asked inquisitively.

Vishal scanned a little while riveting his eyes, finally fixed his eyes on a fair looking blonde with a narrow face, long and narrow nose, red lips wearing a shimmering maroon sleeveless top ending at one inch above knees talking to a fair looking bespectacled girl with a black dress waving her body rhythmically to music.

"Yeah I found a girl interesting"

"Good. Now turn on the spy camera" Vishal adjusted his button. "Approach the girl steadily. Make sure to have a confident body language and warm smile."

Vishal whispered "Yeah I did"

"You pick some secret spot when you want to talk aloud"

Vishal nodded "yes"

"Walk in as you belong. Who do you like?"

"The blonde" Vishal said standing meekly before the couple of girls.

"Good choice. But focus on the bespectacled girl"

Vishal hesitated a moment and muttered, "Confidence! You can do this" and eventually approached the girls.

"Spectacled girl?" Vishal asked being puzzled."

“Try the horse story. Bullshit opener. The one you learnt to impress girls”

“Hey... Did you see the guy on the horse on the road?"

"Guy and a horse" the spectacled girl puzzled.

"Yeah. A shirtless guy with bow and arrow" Vishal said confidently.

"Real bow and arrow?" She asked out of surprise.

"Yeah! Probably truth or dare challenge" he shrugged casually. She chuckled. Someone in suit, with clean shaven beard and well groomed head, seems like their Boss in sss Company approaches "Do I know you? You don't seem to be the guy from office"

Surya told "Just pretend as if you know him and put the camera towards him"

"Yeah you know me" Vishal told nervously. And turned the rare cam to show him. Surya scanned the ID card and face in f*******:. "His name is Saurabh"

"Saurabh" Vishal told with feigned confidence.

Surya searched his f*******: and found salsa pics in ‘Hard Rock Cafe’ restaurant, gathering for social nights. He prompted to Vishal

"Yeah we met in Hard Rock Cafe for a salsa event. You do Salsa so great"

"You wore poor guy's hat"

"What!" The man perplexed.

"Pork pie hat" Surya repeated clearly.

"Pork pie hat" Vishal corrected by stressing each syllable.

Surya continued "Now the guy just pretends as if he knows you though he had no clue about you"

"Right! I remember you! Yeah Sorry" The shaved head guy said with a beam in his eyes and smiled gently.

"No worries! Crazy night!’

The guy left away. Vishal breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Be focussed on the spectacled girl" Surya made him attentive.

"Don't you introduce yourselves?"

"Oh Sorry! I am Sanjana” the spectacled girl smiled.

"So, all of your friends so suspicious"

"I don't think so. This is... Evy Mendez"

"Hey!" The narrow faced blonde girl replied.

Surya continued "Now continue with the funny stuff we practised"

"So, the guy gets off his horse and he had a backpack, right?"

The tactic is to freeze out girl the one who you are actually interested in. For one thing you didn't seem needy but most of the time she would lean in naturally. People want to be noticed. They don't like to be shut out. It makes them feel invisible.

Surya interrupted “The girl is not responding yet. It seems the girl is content being ignored"

"Did she smell me a loser?" Vishal whispered.

"No! She is an outsider. An attractive outsider. There is nothing more tantalising than that"

She left from there. Sanjana was babbling all the mundane stuff unstoppably. Surya interrupted "Find a way to slip away from Sanjana!"

"Okay! Listen I just have to go Washroom. Just keep dancing on" and Vishal escaped from there. Sanjana felt awkward.

Vishal went to the bathroom, peed and came back searching for Evy Mendez who was standing alone near the bar counter watching others. "Okay! Your best chance is to start a conversation with her. Build up a rapport with her. Don't be scared of her. Confidence is the key"

Vishal approached the girl leaning on the bar counter and said “I don't like parties, you know, you just kind of turn up and it's enforced fun all night. Talk about what TV shows you are fallen behind on, and pretend to be happy. Maybe everyone else enjoys except me"

"It's definitely not just you" She smiled gently leaning on the bar counter.

"Good start. The more outsider and the smaller the talk" Surya encouraged. "Keep looking at her and gauge her reactions"

"I see you don't like parties either" he riveted his eyes on her.

"Noise wrecks with me and all the talking it never and never f*****g turn off" she scowled.

"She curses. So, you" Surya hinted.

"Yeah! f*****g s**t! I think all that f*****g s**t"

"I really can't think through all that babbling" she said softly. "I only got through it because I was on drugs"

Vishal chuckled "I am sorry, what's that?"

"Pills, they must have been strong because I actually enjoyed myself"

"That's cool" Vishal said in flow. Don't say cool!

"I wish I wanted to be on drugs" No you don't.

"I am... just joking" Vishal babbled nervously.

"I don't take anymore" Evy shook her head horizontally taking a sip of the wine in her hands.

"That's good" "You don't need that s**t in your system"

"It's too public here. Why don't ask to move to a place quieter so you can have normal talk." Surya suggested.

People like to be heard that's why 90% of seduction lies in the listening. The important thing is to make them feel they are important. They just want you to extinguish the rest of the world and focus on them. The point is to keep locked in for long enough to build good rapport.

Vishal and Evy Mendez left out to a quiet place in the corner, sitting on sofa where no one’s there.

"Well, I guess, every guy here is hitting on you or you are too intimidating to hit on you"

"Am I intimidating" she asked inquisitively.

"No. I am kind of thinking that all they want to get inside your...”

"Head" Surya prompted.

"Head" Vishal clarified.

"Some of them have tried not directly but they make you think about what's in their head"

"That's not fun. It's just tiring you know. It just doesn't end ever" she said playing with the straw in her cocktail.

Surya checked her f*******: and prompted.

"So how long you have worked for sss"

"3 years!"

“Whoa! That's what 3 new year parties" “This is my LAST"

"Are you leaving?"

"I have been planning it forever but you know what it's like ... when you have to do something when the right time comes and it's very hard to work upon the courage"

"You can empathize with that" Surya interrupted.

"It's like when you jump into the pool, when the water is cold. You know its fear of shock that's hampering from doing that. It's just a state of transition. That's not hurting because it's just a state change from one state to another state" Vishal told confidently.

"Great stuff Buddy! Just go on" Surya appreciated.

"That's exactly right... it's just a state change" She told with a relief in her face.

"Yeah it's exactly frustrating as ten voices in your head that says 'do it' and another ten says 'not do it'." Vishal said with a gentle laugh in his face.

"What do you listen to?" She asked curiously.

"Obviously 'do its' " "Really?"

"If you don't like it, just CUT and run you know. Get it over and done with it"

"You are right... I will"

"Well... to changing states"

"To changing states"

Vishal cheered with his beer bottle with her cocktail. Her cocktail spilled over on his pants over knee.

"Sorry... it's my mistake" and nervously touched his knee to undo.

"Did she touch your knee? You are doing great" Surya cheered up.

"It’s okay. Listen; let me get you another drink"

"I am thinking... to go for loo a second" she excused herself and left for the washroom.

Vishal stood up from his place fidgeting. "I don't feel comfortable doing this"

"But why?" Surya asked. "Because I like her."

"She likes you"

“It’s cheating on her. I had never got even to talk to her"

"So, you're glad you did...”

"Yes... yes... but it's like a nightmare you know, all of you in my head watching us"

Vishal was talking to himself when Evy Mendez came out from the washroom and stared at him. "I just want to talk to her myself. It's a bit of head fucking... I don't"

Evy Mendez nervously came near "come back to mine"

"Sorry" "Come back to mine. I thought about asking you, but my little voices in my head said 'do it' so I am doing it."

Vishal flustered... "Uh... Umm"

"Say yes!" Surya shouted with excitement.

It's my way of saying thanks to you" she said and came forward to kiss him gently on his lips. "Sorry!” She said nervously.

"It's okay. yes”

She brought him into her room and closed the doors the way behind him. Vishal was observing excitedly. "I don't usually bring people back here" she laughed gently. "It's my honour"

She gave a ride into her room. It's well furnished and decorated.

"I will bring the drinks" she said. "Okay I will sit here in Sofa"

"No... I mean... the bedroom is there" she gestured and went to bring drinks. Vishal went inside waiting for her but felt so scrupulous about all that.

"No, I can't do this. It’s so fast. It's so real"

"Nothing's real man! Just get done with it"

Evy Mendez came inside the room with two mojitos. “Lay down on your bed"

"Vishal! You are having jackpot" Surya cried aloud.

She sat across him on his groin.

"I was thinking to do this thing for a while but half my voices said to do it and other half don't. I was just wavering. Then you inspired me to decide to do it" Vishal felt nervous. "Again, when I saw you talking with them, I understood they mess up with you... the voices in your head"

"What's in the drink?" Vishal flustered. Surya understood the situation and there's something wrong with the girl. She was suffering from paranoid delusions. He immediately warned Vishal.

"Don't worry about the drink. Just get away from the place."

"Let's get rid of the voices in head. I used to have pills but it just dulled the sound but never eliminated them. You too are suffering the voices"

"No, it's not just voices. I am talking to real people. My friend was out there" Vishal said terror-stricken.

"No... They just can't be real. They are f*****g voices in your head"

"Please leave me alone! I don't want to end my life like this." Vishal couldn't move as she was sitting on top of him. When she made him drink, he just spurted out. He gathered all his strength and pushed her away.

He stood up terror stricken and ran out of the room, heaving his chest with a lot with perspiration all over his body.

Hemanth, Surya and Vishal sat together in Vishal's room. Vishal looked scornfully at Surya who tried to avoid eye contact. "Bloody i***t! I... I was minding my own business; he corrupted my mind".

"I wanted to help you come out of your nervousness"

"If you speak one more word, I will kill you. You almost got me killed." Vishal eyed with anger over him.

"It's over Vishal! Just leave it" Hemanth intervened with a sarcastic smile.

"How shall I leave? I don't know what happened there. If she killed herself, the police will come after me." Vishal said feigning a cry for sympathy. Surya handed tissue paper looking studying into him.

Vishal gave him a grim look which made Surya to give up his attempts to console him and use the tissue paper to sneeze.

"You are thinking too much Vishal. Nothing happens" Hemanth assured by bending forward with a gentle pat on his knees.

Vishal's cell phone started vibrating on the Tea pai stood between the sofas. He looked terror stricken again with an added intensity on his face which made him curl more out of fear "I told you right! This must be police. They found my finger prints, or some f*****g CC TV footage and calling me to interrogate.

"Don't be frightened, just attend the call" Hemanth gave moral support. "Do you think so" Vishal eyed at him being perplexed.

"Just see the call" Surya interfered.

"I will kill you Surya if you again raise a word" he threw a smiley ball over to show his frustration. Surya dodged it.

Slowly Vishal mustered some courage, breathed air in and out a few times to relax and lifted the call.

"We are calling from Bajaj Finances; do you want any loan?" A female voice said.

Vishal lost his temper "I want you! Will you come?" blurted out angrily.

Hemanth became alert and took the phone away from him and cut it. Surya and Hemanth exchanged looks. There's a silence for a few seconds. Vishal broke it and "what happened!" Looking at them.

Hemanth and Surya broke into laughter. Vishal gave a grim look on both of them which made them to control their laughter.

Surya took the initiative looking sternly "Okay! Okay! Let's face the consequence strongly together! Whatever happened, just happened. We can't change it doing a time travel right? Let's look at the matters on the table. If police really come in search of us, we say strongly what exactly happened. In fact, you will have their sympathy because she attempted to murder you not otherwise. So, don't need to worry. We are with you"

Surya made his speech and looked into their eyes for an apt response while patting on Vishal who sat beside him.

"Okay!" Vishal said with utmost control on his fear. They all joined their right Hands at the centre.

"Let's be together and face the situation" Vishal pledged. "Yes" the others chorused.