Wanderers in the City

Chapter 2

As we entered the bar, I was immediately greeted by loud music from overhead speakers and dozens of people milling about inside, chatting amongst themselves. Most of them seemed older than me—in their mid-to-late twenties, if I had to guess—but several younger folks were also sprinkled throughout the crowd. Serena led us straight toward one of many empty tables near the back corner of the room, where it was quieter than anywhere else.

Once seated comfortably at our table, Maverick leaned forward, placing his elbows on the surface before resting his chin atop folded hands. He seemed bored even though we only arrived a minute ago. Serena quickly flagged down a waitress, flashing her a grin as she ordered a round of drinks for the table—stronger than just beers, and that's when my stomach dropped.

"Come on, lighten up a little, you two!" Serena nudged Dimitri and Sebastion playfully, who shook their heads with polite declines. Dimitri only laughed, ever good-natured, while Sebastion gave a slight shrug. "Seriously? No alcohol whatsoever? Don't you guys ever loosen up?"

"It isn't my scene anymore," Sebastion admitted sheepishly before rubbing at the nape of his neck out of mild embarrassment. "Besides, I have work in the morning." A working man with principles, admirable. I'd sometimes be less miserable if I were a little more like him. My work ethic aside, I found myself nodding absentmindedly to his statement. He caught a glimpse of me and chuckled lightly to himself. "You don't strike me as much of a party animal either," he said, raising his eyebrow slightly at me.

"Oh yeah... I try to avoid drinking most nights. But my co-workers..." I sighed quietly under my breath.

"I feel you."

Finally, someone who understood my plight. The waitress returned carrying a tray filled with assorted glasses containing various colorful liquids inside—none of which looked particularly delicious, if I'm being honest—and distributed them amongst everyone present before leaving once more. "Sebby, Dimitri, last call for some delicious booze," Serena said lightheartedly, swirling the straw from her drink around playfully. When they both shook their heads firmly at her offer, she laughed it off. "More for us, then," Serena said, raising her glass as Chandler took his own with a calm nod.

"What about you?" Chandler's voice caught me off-guard, and I looked up at him questioningly.

"Me?" I paused slightly, considering my options carefully. The idea of getting wholly hammered wasn't appealing in any sense of the word. I'd already endured that hellish experience a few times now since moving into this area, and each time left me wishing I hadn't touched alcohol in the first place. "I don't know. I'm not big on drinking either," I admitted truthfully, hoping that maybe by doing so, I'd manage to avoid the temptation altogether.

"Come on, Aurora, have one drink. Just take a sip, and if you hate it, I'll finish it for you," she said, winking. I reluctantly accepted the vessel but still stared at it uncertainly. As I raised the small cup towards my lips, the liquid sloshed violently back and forth from the movement, almost spilling over the rim as I slowly tipped it backward. I took a huge gulp, swallowing hard. My face immediately began burning red from embarrassment due to how quickly my body reacted after ingesting such a potent amount of liquor. It burned the whole way down.

After finishing half the contents inside, I coughed loudly as the sting lingered on the tip of my tongue. "Oh God," I mumbled under my breath.

"See? Not so bad, is it?" Serena teased.

"Look at how red her face is getting already," Lucia snickered, sipping her drink before turning to face Chandler. "She'll probably pass out soon, I bet. Lightweight." Given this wasn't entirely the first time that this had occurred, I didn't respond to her insult. Last time, my face burned up a bit too bright, and the world started spinning. This was already following the same pattern.

"Don't listen to them." Chandler leaned forward ever so slightly in my direction as he spoke up. "If you want another one later on down the line, go ahead. If not, don't force yourself." After hearing those words escape his lips, I suddenly began to think that he wasn't as intimidating as I initially thought. A sigh of relief escaped me, knowing someone seemed concerned about my well-being.

I glanced back at Lucia, who just rolled her eyes dismissively. Fleeing from my previous internship orientation parties, hiding in bathrooms, and avoiding alcohol wasn't always going to be the solution. I took another generous sip. And another. That burn was a b***h to endure, but I got used to it eventually, and the heat began traveling through the rest of my body, creating a soothing numbness I hadn't experienced before.

"Hey, Aurora, do you have a boyfriend?" Maverick suddenly asked.

"Why are you always trying to get into someone's pants?" Lucia glared at him sharply. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"And you're old." Maverick countered with a shrug, which earned a hard kick under the table from the raven-haired woman. "Ouch!" He exclaimed, clutching his knee in pain. "That f*****g hurt!"

"Shut the hell up, idiot." Lucia hissed back before crossing her arms again angrily across her chest. They seemed to bicker with each other relentlessly. They squabbled like siblings, and the fact that the rest of the group brushed it off confirmed as much. Usual behavior? Either way, I made a mental note not to piss her off anytime soon.

"Ignore them. That's normal," Serena chimed in. "And, no worries, Maverick's always like that. Don't worry about him hitting on you."

"Oh..." I blinked twice in quick succession, feeling slightly lightheaded from everything going on around me right now. Evidently, Maverick was a massive player, and he wasn't afraid to show it either, apparently. He continued chatting away animatedly, occasionally locking eyes with mine whenever possible.

I'd never thought of myself as the kind of person anyone would be interested in romantically—especially someone so blatantly straightforward like him. From an outsider's perspective, and a tipsy one at that, our dynamic certainly seemed mismatched. Suddenly, our conversation shifted gears entirely into more intimate territory. Everyone began sharing stories about previous relationships or lack thereof. Of course, being surrounded by older, more mature individuals meant that most had tales to tell.

"Remember Victoria? She was crazy for you back in the day," Maverick teased Chandler with a sly grin plastered across his face. Chandler sighed heavily in response before giving him a look that screamed, 'Not this again.'

"It wasn't like that between us. We were just friends," he clarified matter-of-factly. Despite his denial, something told me that perhaps there was some truth behind what Maverick had mentioned. "I don't even like blondes. You know that."

"But you still screwed her, though," Lucia chimed in unapologetically, causing everyone else at our table to erupt into fits of laughter—all except for Chandler, who remained stoic throughout the whole ordeal. I guess he must've gotten used to being teased by these people over time.

"Really? You had s*x with her?" Dimitri came off as innocent, but evidently, he was more than comfortable with this topic of conversation.

"He totally f****d her," Maverick confirmed confidently, jigging his eyebrows suggestively towards Chandler. Apparently, this guy didn't understand personal boundaries very well—or perhaps he enjoyed seeing others squirm uncomfortably under such scrutiny from him.

Chandler downed another shot glass full before sighing heavily once more in defeat. "Fine," he relented after taking a deep breath, "I did." Lucia snorted derisively at his confession as if she expected nothing less from someone like him.

Mid-conversation, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw that one of my colleagues had messaged me about our upcoming project deadline tomorrow morning—something I completely forgot about until now. "Shit..." I muttered softly under my breath while checking through the rest of my inbox for any other vital notifications from work.

"Something wrong?" Serena asked curiously, noticing my sudden change in demeanor almost instantly. Upon hearing her question, everyone else turned their attention towards me simultaneously. I shook my head dismissively at them all before carefully placing my device back inside my purse.

"It's fine. Just work." I brushed it off casually without worrying anyone further than necessary. Unfortunately, though, it didn't exactly work as intended.

"On a Friday night? Damn," Maverick whistled softly under his breath. "That sucks." He flashed me a sympathetic smile afterward, which made me feel slightly better, even after his pathetic attempt at flirting earlier.

"Yeah, but I'll manage," I replied half-heartedly. "I always do." Spoken like a true workaholic. It was hard for me to admit sometimes because I knew that most people my age wouldn't be caught dead, staying late every single day and working overtime so that they could get ahead in life sooner rather than later.

"You sound like Sebastion," Chandler interjected lightly. I looked at him questioningly before noticing his gaze directed towards the blonde man sitting across from me—Sebastion himself—who merely shrugged indifferently upon hearing those words.

"I'm just responsible," he countered calmly. "Unlike some people here."

"Hey now, no need to get all high-and-mighty on us, alright? We're still young, after all," Maverick retorted playfully with a wink explicitly aimed my way. "Right, Aurora?"

I blinked several times in rapid succession as I felt everyone else's attention shift directly onto me once more following his comment. "Um...yeah…" I trailed off lamely while nodding my head slowly up and down in agreement with whatever it was that he had said previously. Truthfully speaking, I wasn't sure exactly what I agreed to.

After finishing another round of drinks, courtesy of Serena—who insisted upon ordering more rounds despite protests from Sebastion and Dimitri—we chatted away animatedly again about various topics ranging from current events to personal interests. Throughout our conversation, however, something seemed slightly off, namely how close Maverick kept getting towards me whenever given a chance. At first, I thought nothing much of it since we sat closely together due to the limited space around the table. But then, he started brushing up against me repeatedly whenever possible.

His hand brushed against mine accidentally while reaching for the same bottle, his shoulder pressed against mine when he leaned forward, and his knee nudged my leg under the table. I could tell he wasn't doing any of these things intentionally either—they all appeared natural and unplanned—but the fact remained. "Why do you keep doing that?" I finally blurted out in exasperation after being unable to hold myself back from asking him outright.

He tilted his head curiously, giving me a confused look as though he had no idea what I meant. "Doing what?"

I sighed to myself, thinking that maybe I was overthinking it. After all, I'm way past tipsy at this point. "Nothing. Sorry." I shook my head, embarrassed by my own behavior. Maverick chuckled quietly beside me, causing goosebumps to immediately spread across my skin.

"I think I should call it a night," Sebastion said, suddenly standing up from his seat and stretching his arms over his head.

"Aw, already? But the party's just getting started!" Serena whined slightly before glancing over at Sebastion pleadingly. "Don't leave yet! We haven't even gone dancing!"

"I have to get up early tomorrow. Work," Sebastion responded curtly before turning around and heading toward the exit without saying anything further. I watched him leave, thinking I might also follow suit and go.

"I should probably head home, too." I stood up from my chair, trying not to stumble due to how drunk I had become during our lengthy discussion tonight. Drinking was never a good idea for me, and now it was proving why.

"Not you, too!" Serena exclaimed loudly. "Come on, Aurora! Stay a little while longer, okay? Pretty please?"

"Don't mind her," Lucia cut in, attempting to restrain Serena from continuing any further. "She's just drunk. We'll get her home safe later. Don't worry. Do you need help getting home? You're not exactly sober either."

"No, no—I'm fine," I replied confidently, despite being somewhat disoriented. My stomach began to feel uneasy as the surrounding room slowly spun out of control, causing me to grip the table's edge with one hand to steady myself.

"I'll take her." Out of nowhere, Maverick offered to escort me back home. Everyone glanced over at him curiously, unsure whether they heard him correctly.

"Seriously? You?" Lucia's tone was skeptical, almost disbelieving. I completely understood why. Maverick didn't seem reliable enough to be trusted with anything beyond the simple tasks of everyday life, yet he stood offering me assistance here. "I don't know if I can trust you not to be a perv."

"I'm not going to touch her, relax. I'm just going to make sure she gets back safely," Maverick explained, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Besides, it's not like anyone else is stepping up either." He pointed out bluntly. That was true. Nobody else volunteered to go with me, leaving only Maverick or leaving alone—something that I didn't particularly want to do at the moment.

"You know, I could've called an Uber or something. Really, it's fine," I protested, attempting to reason with him, even though part of me felt happy knowing someone cared enough about my safety to offer their company on such short notice.

"You could," he shrugged. "But I'd rather not let a pretty girl go home by herself, especially after drinking so much." My face was already red, but this comment sent an extra flush of color across my cheeks, causing my ears to burn slightly. Maverick held out his arm, inviting me to loop mine through it, which I reluctantly accepted after a moment of hesitation.

Before leaving, I waved goodbye to the rest of the group—who waved back in return—and followed Maverick outside into the warm summer night.