Fated From The Start

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Solace

-Izzy-

"Izzy! In here!" I heard my friend Maddy's loud voice from the throngs of people in the Hot Beat Club. The strobe lights added by the loud music are making me dizzy. I made my way to where I heard Maddy's voice. The different smell of liquors mixed with the patron's perfumes made me lightheaded as I tried to squint my eyes through the puffs of cigarette smoke.

There I saw Maddy waiving at me while she was dancing with Jessie, another girlfriend of ours. There are ten of us in this tight circle of friends. We all met in college. I met Maddy when we were both blocked-in in the series of subjects we had in college. We often saw each other, so both of us noticed that we were in the same four classes. She approached me first and the rest was history. We've been friends for eight years now. Jessie had been Maddy's best friend since high school but was taking a different course at that time. Jessie's boyfriend had a guy friend who eventually became Maddy's boyfriend. Connections started from there and the next thing we knew, we were all hanging out together and here we were, still rocking it after we'd finished our degrees.

I hurriedly strode towards my friends as I tried to avoid knocking somebody out with my 180-lb solid body of fat and muscles. Because I am 5'8 in height, some would consider me 'voluptuous'. On the scale of mean to meanest adjectives, that's the kindest adjective to describe my size. Most of the time, people would call me 'plus-sized'. Depending on their mood, they'd call me 'fat'.

"Hey, look at you...take that leather jacket off. Show some skin, girl!" Both of them are now taking the leather jacket off of my arm. I have a sheer camisole inside of it, tucked in my slim-fit ankle-length pants.

"Are you bitches already hammered?" With my eyebrows raised, I gave a smirk to the two ladies.

"We could still drink under the table without batting an eyelash, girl," Mitch said from my back. She's one of our girlfriends because her boyfriend is a cousin of Jessie's boyfriend. She started grinding and swaying, with my other two lady friends, to the beat of the pounding music's tempo.

"Dance with us, Izzy. Come on!" Maddy grabbed my hand. I slowly scanned the crowd. I knew, somewhere around, their boyfriends were sitting close by. I spotted Landon in the U-shaped booth together with Matt and Kyle. Not far from the booth, I saw Jace sitting on a bar stool drinking alone. I see full shots of glasses lined up in front of him. Jace is one of our friends in our circle. I work for their construction company as an architect. His Dad is the President, while Jace is the Vice President. Technically, he is still my boss, just not my big boss. At least not yet.

"They broke up. I think it's serious this time." Maddy whispered to me while we both looked at Jace's way. I was not surprised. It's a long time coming. Tamarah, Jace' girlfriend, has had issues with different things from the start. They have been together for three years, on and off. She never liked to hang out with us, Jace's friends. She complains about how Jace doesn't have time for her.

"They always get back together." I whispered back to Maddy as I tried to do a little swaying of my hips to the music's tempo. My eyes are still looking his way. Night clubs are not my thing. I prefer my sofa pillows and Cheetos to this pounding music and ash-tray-smelling bodies.

"Let's get some drink, girls!" Jessie shouted to get our attention from the loud music. We made our way to the bar.

In my assessment, I think Jace truly loved Tamarah. He wouldn't be in a miserable state right now if he didn't. He's a man of few words. He mostly just keeps to himself despite him being part of this group of chump friends. Although he is quiet, he has always been easy-going with a derring-do outlook when approaching matters at hand.

I wanted to say 'hi' to Jace, so I made my way to his spot. His undercut dark brown hair matches his sand-rough stubbles that can be seen on the side of his face. It is accentuating his strong jaw lines that strikingly confirms that he is in the 'good-looking' category. As I grew closer to his side, his aquiline nose became visible. Sensing my presence, when I seated myself on the empty stool, his wayfarer's blue eyes looked my way.

"Hey," I nonchalantly uttered and half-smiled as I nodded at the bartender. I didn't want him to feel like I pitied him or something. Surely, I don't want to get into his space. He will come to us once he's comfortable talking about his situation. I just want him to feel our support by showing our presence.

"You hangin' out for a while?" he asked in a raspy voice. I wonder how many shots he already had, of what looked like whiskey.

"Just before the girls burn this place," I answered in jest with a smirk. Jace reacted with a half-suppressed laugh. He took another swig of whiskey from his shot glass.

"Wanna try this 2-decade old bourbon?" He was pointing at the shots in front of him.

"Ah, no thanks. They taste like pee." I snorted.

He chuckled, "And how were you able to know what pee tastes like?"

"When one eats asparagus, the pee stinks. Just from the smell, you don't have to figure out what it's gonna taste like," he burst out laughing. After a short silence and after his laughter died down into a smile, I patted his shoulder as I eased off of my chair.

"I'm here if you need anything." I smiled sincerely as I grabbed my margarita.

"Thanks, Izzy." He half smiled with sad eyes.

I nodded and made my way to the booth where the rest of my friends were.

In our circle, I am the only one who's not in a relationship at the moment. I had one past relationship that ended amicably. Dylan, my ex-boyfriend, was an IT programmer for XP Technologies. He has been traveling a lot due to his job and we felt like the distance and the inconsistencies were not helping our relationship to grow. We have decided that if we are truly meant for each other, fate will make a way for us to come together again. We decided to be cool about it and be adults to come to terms with it. That's why we are still friends till to this day.

My relationship with Dylan was one of those that is built on comfort and respect. He was average in terms of looks, physique, and height—which I didn't have an issue with. He accepted me for who I am, and I thought he was just the right guy for me. If I end up with someone, I see Dylan as my end game.