Waiting for a Call Back
1280 Words
Lora only gawked for a second before she pulled herself together. “She’s my friend, I’ll take her home.”
Theo smiled, “She looks like she just fell asleep. I have a private room at the back where she can rest until she comes to. I’ll make sure to send her back home safely.”
Lora shook her head, “Look here, I don’t want to be rude but we don’t know you and I can’t leave my inebriated friend here all alone. It’s not safe.”
Theo rolled his eyes, “I can have any woman I want in the world, you think I’ll make a move on her?” He jabbed a thumb towards Tania.
Lora felt her blood boil. “What are you insinuating? Tania’s beautiful in her own right! She might not be model-thin but she’s got goods in all the right places! Plus she’s got a heart of gold! Damn all you men with your rotten eyes. Give her here! I’m bringing her home!”
Theo laughed, “Alright, I apologize. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. Let me help you out to your car as an apology.”
“No need! I don’t want us to be swamped by your fans or have our picture taken.”
Theo pointed to his bodyguards around him, “Don’t worry, my boys are professionals and can handle that.”
Lora huffed and eyed Theo warily as he picked Tania up.
“Ooph, she’s heavier than she looks…”
Lora snorted and led the way back to her table. Shaking Connie and Jessica on their shoulders she called out urgently, “Ladies! Wake up! We are going home!”
“Huh?” Jessica snorted as she came to, blinking her eyes weakly, “Where am I?”
Lora placed a cup of ice water into her hands. “Drink this and pull yourself together. I’m sending you guys home.”
Then she moved on to Connie who was laughing deliriously.
Lora shook her head in disgust. Connie was one of those happy drunks that she’d heard about. She was about to shake Connie again when a man’s hand rested on her shoulder. Lora whirled around to see Jason and Darren in casual clothing.
“Huh? What are you doing here, sir?”
Jason ignored her question. “I’ll take her home.”
“No wait, what?”
Jason didn’t bother waiting for her to register what was going on before he picked up Connie in a bridal carry and walked out of the room. Jessica who was sobering up gaped at the departing duo. Darren, who was also watching Jason, shook his head and answered Lora’s question.
“We were here for some drinks and happened to see you guys. I never knew Tania could sing. What a surprise. Anyways, why don’t you drive Tania home? I’ll take Jessica home for you. That way you can get home to your kids sooner.”
Lora smiled brightly, “Oh bless you, sir! You’re the best boss ever.”
Darren scoffed but a small smile found its way onto his face.
Jessica, hearing Darren’s offer, quickly adopted a tired drunk look and leaned back in the booth wishing Darren would also carry her out the same way Jason did.
Unfortunately for her, Darren had already seen Jessica sober up so he knew she was acting. Shaking his head he picked her up and hoisted her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and grabbed her bag.
Lora didn’t know what to say as Darren marched out of the room with a very embarrassed Jessica over his shoulder. She stood there dazed, what a weird night.
“Any day now, lady. This girl, Tania, is it? She’s not getting lighter.”
Lora huffed, “Follow me.” Theo had the looks of a Greek god but the mouth of a devil. As they got to her parked car, Lora opened the passenger side for Theo to put Tania down.
As Theo was buckling Tania up, he could feel the dampness of his shirt in the cold night air. Scowling he looked at his dirty shirt then at Tania’s face and noticed her face had a trail of smudged mascara.
“Oh, what the f…”
“Stupid fucker,” Tania grumbled.
Theo, still leaning over her, glared at Tania. “What did you call me?”
“You… stupid… fucker. Hope… you… suffer.”
Lora stepped in from behind. “She’s not talking to you. She just annulled her marriage to some asswipe who kicked her to the curb because of some ludicrous reason. That’s the reason we’re all here tonight. She needed something to get her mind off of it.”
Theo felt a tight squeeze in his chest as he looked into Tania’s messy face. On second glance, she wasn’t that bad to look at. Maybe it was because they both suffered from heartache that made them kindred souls.
Theo straightened up and handed a card to Lora. “Here’s my business card, please give it to Tania when she is sober.”
Lora raised a brow. “Why? What’s this for?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I hosted the open mic tonight to see if we can find any good singers and Tania stood out. I came down to talk to her but she passed out on stage.”
Lora huffed, “Well okay. I’ll pass it to her later but don’t get your hopes up. Our work is demanding and I don’t think she’ll have free time to have a second job.”
Theo shrugged, “You never know.” Closing the passenger door gently, he stared through the window at the grumbling Tania. Something about her made him reluctant to leave. He couldn’t place a finger on the feeling.
He stood there for a while, disoriented, even after Lora pulled out of the parking spot and drove off into the night.
“Sir? You okay?”
Theo jolted out of his reverie and nodded at his bodyguard. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go back in.”
As he walked, he pulled out his cellphone to text his brother.
Theo: Hey bro. You awake?
Chris: Yeah. What’s up?
Theo: What was it like when you met Amelia?
Chris: ??
Theo: Like how did you feel? How did you know she was the one?
Chris: My colorless world suddenly burst with color. Wait…why are you asking?
Theo: I donno. I just felt weird with this girl. She’s not a hottie or anything. Just… felt like reuniting with someone I met a long long time ago.
Chris: Interesting. Bring her home.
Theo: Dude, I just met her.
Chris: So? Bring her home. Mom and Amelia are good with people. They’ll give you unbiased feedback. With your awful track record, it’d be a good call to check her out before you sink too deep into the relationship. What’s her name?
Theo: Tania.
Chris: Got her number?
Theo: No. She passed out.
Chris: … s**t. Don’t do anything stupid…
Theo: Alright, moral police. She went home with her colleague. I gave her colleague my business card. I don’t even know if she’ll call me back.
Chris: You’re a famous actor. I’m sure any girl would jump at the opportunity to call you.
Theo: I hope so. Anyways, thanks. Good night.
Chris: Yep
Theo tucked his cell phone into his pants pocket and walked back into the club. He really hoped Tania would give him a call in the morning.
Hope… Theo chuckled softly. It was something he thought he would never have again.
- Writer
