Her Perfect Life

Modern Day Adonis

I am woken up by the incessant ringing of my phone. I know its Rehan making sure that I did not doze off to oblivion. Rejecting the call, I drop a message to him mentioning that I am getting ready and will meet him in the hotel lobby on time. I make a short call home to check if everything is okay and to inform about my well-being.

Taking a quick shower, I decide to keep it simple and wear my black leather skirt which ends just above my knees and pair it with a black lace tank top and black leather jacket. I lightly curl my hair and keep my make-up minimal with slight smokey eyes and a bold red lipstick. Wearing my suede ankle boots, I give myself a quick look over in the mirror; definitely liking what I see; and put the key card in my black Gucci cross body bag. I open the door to leave and notice Rehan’s hand midway, about to knock on my door.

“You don’t read and follow messages I guess” I ask him, noticing his attire - black t-shirt, black jeans, brown leather jacket paired with black boots. Oh Boy! Now, Rehan is a very handsome man, no doubt, standing tall at 6 feet, fair complexion, attractive face, brown eyes, not too bulky, but a well-toned body, yet what I love the most about him is his boyish charms. 

He is a typical good boy next door, but today he looks every ounce of a bad boy in that leather jacket. I can only guess what trouble he is going to cause today. He smiles goofily, giving me a quick look over, “Now I would not be much of a gentleman if I let a lady find her own way to the lobby, would I? A lady should always be escorted!”

I was impressed! My ill-mannered friend was finally behaving like a true gentleman. However, before I could show my appreciation, he blurted “Also, I had to make sure that our looks don’t match. You are looking absolutely gorgeous, but you need to change! How is it that we always end up matching our looks!”

That was it for me! I walked out, slamming the door and pressed on the elevator button not paying any attention to a whining Rehan who followed me, knowing that I won’t budge.

“You should have told me what you were wearing Rehan, I would have planned accordingly then.”

“I would have told you, only if you answered my calls earlier!” Rehan said irritably.

“Anyways, our looks are very different! I am wearing a skirt for God’s sake! Please Rehan, let’s not start the evening with a fight. Where are we going first?” I try to steer the conversation away from Rehan’s pain point and step inside the elevator. 

Rehan follows me saying, “I will feed you first, then we will go to a nearby club. Its new and the currently topping the popularity index. We’ll hop clubs if you don’t like this place.” He is always considerate and gives priority to my comfort. That’s one of the reasons why he is my best buddy.

I smile giving him a quick side hug and walk out the elevator. We have light dinner in a sea food restaurant inside the resort and drive down to the club that Rehan mentioned earlier. I notice the long queue at the entrance and realize that Rehan was right, this place looks quite popular. Rehan leads me towards the VIP entrance and we quickly pass by the security and enter the club to blasting sounds of trance music and smell of alcohol, cigarette smoke and people!

The club is packed, and music is really good. Rehan leads me towards a group of people in one of the VIP booths; a bit confused, I notice that they are Rehan’s friends who live in Goa. I know all of them and have met them on a few occasions. I look at Rehan surprised and he smiles smugly saying, “How did you think we got VIP entry? I had told you a few people are joining us. Surprise!”

“You dint think that we would let you go back without meeting us, did you?” Joy asks me, giving me her sweetest smile.  “You are our favorite, yet we don't hear from you and get to know from Rehan that you are in Goa, how heart breaking” Alex adds in. I simply smile at them, utter a sorry and give a quick hug to both. I feel bad that I missed telling them because I was so occupied in my work. Benjamin hugs me and gives a quick peck on my cheek. We settle in, order our drinks and start the friendly banter, pulling each other’s leg and recollecting embarrassing stories from our past.

I have been laughing the whole time. I always feel good when I meet this group of people, humble, jovial and easy going. All are from decent backgrounds and well-respected families in Goa and have their independent businesses across the state. We move towards the bar and line up for our customary shots race. Gulping 5 back to back shots and banging down the shot glass, everyone cheers as I win! I always win! I can hold my alcohol really well.

I notice Rehan talking to a girl and his mouth is near her ear as the music is loud. Then she moves her mouth to his ear and the cycle repeats. A wicked plan forms in my mind immediately. Taking out my cell phone from my purse, I click their photos from an angle where it looks like they are kissing. This will come handy when I need something from him. Benjamin notices what I did and raises his eyebrows questioning my intentions. I wink at him and we both laugh and walk towards the dance floor, getting lost in the trance. We dance for a while and I realize Rehan pulling me towards the small center stage. He lifts me and places me on the stage along with Joy. Again, the customary dance off between Joy and me.

Both Joy and I love to dance. We get lost in our own world and sway to the music, forgetting the hoots, cheers and whistles coming from the crowd. Rehan, Alex and Benjamin always stand close to the stage to ensure our safety. I dance to my hearts content and give my hand to Rehan indicating him to get me down. Feeling parched, I walk towards the bar and sit on an empty bar stool ordering a bottle of chilled water. Gulping down the water, I notice Joy still dancing on the stage and the boys on the dance floor as well.

I am lost in the music when I notice someone’s presence behind me and hear a rich voice with slight British accent “Bourbon for me and a Long Island Iced Tea for the lady, please”.

I turn only to be captured by the most beautiful blue eyes staring down at me. I feel awed by the exquisite creature in front of me, standing tall at atleast 6'2", pale skin, narrow nose, sharp jawline, brown hair, voluptuous pink lips tilted up in a smile; this person is a modern-day Adonis, dressed in blue jeans and perfectly fitting black shirt, teasingly showcasing his well-toned muscular body. 

I quickly look around myself, to make sure whether the lady he ordered a drink for, is me or someone else. Now don’t get me wrong, I am self-assured and content with my looks, yet anyone would have an ounce of doubt when a Greek God tries to make an acquaintance with you. Or that is what I thought he wanted; to make an acquaintance!

“Zion”, he mentioned forwarding his right hand towards me for a handshake. I look at him still unsure yet shake his hand and say “Anaita”. 

He gives a gentle squeeze to my hand, taking it towards his mouth and presses his lips on my knuckles all the while pinning me with those blue eyes. Something about this man gave me chills down my spine and not in a good way; in a mysterious, dangerous kind of way. That’s when I came out of my trance and quickly pulled my hand out from his.

The bartender kept the drinks on the counter and Zion pushed a glass towards me. “Thank you, but I can buy my own drink” I tried to reject as softly as possible. “Also, I don’t like to accept drinks from strangers”, I added.

“Still you accept the drinks that the bartender makes for you, I am sure you don’t know him!” Zion said looking at me with a playful smile.

I was not ready for this comeback. How do you respond to this? “The bartender is an employee here and am sure the club won’t hire someone who they don’t trust” was the first thing that came to my mind.

“If that is the logic, then you surely would not mind accepting a drink from the owner of the club!” Zion said with a genuine smile this time; however, I was shocked. He burst out laughing and I joined him not knowing how to respond. For the first time, in a long time, I felt at a loss of words.

“Fair Point, I’ll accept the drink, but I’ll pay for it myself” I told him smugly. “Fine by me, only if you spend your time drinking this one with me” He said amused.

One drink right, what can go wrong? I interact with strangers very often when I travel for work, speaking to this guy should not be a problem. Also, I am not alone, my friends are around if I need them, with these thoughts I said, “Deal”.

“Deal”, he added with a glint of victory in his eyes, leaving me utterly confused.

**********

Next chapter will give you Zion's perspective and a peek into his life.

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