CHAPTER 3

Lillie

I heard the loud honk of Sassi's car clearly announcing her arrival, to me and to the entire neighborhood by the looks of it. I gave my head a quick shake.

I checked myself in the long-length mirror in my room. I had a red, flowy dress that stopped at the knees with white polka dots on. I tippy toed in my beige baby doll heels, as I struggled to get the hair clip to grip some of my hair that I pulled back, a look that I usually did. I looked closer at the mirror, scanning my face. The natural makeup complimented the look, with a light red lip. A quick rosy blush across my light freckled nose, and I was satisfied.

One last twirl around the mirror, and pebbles, my sweet ginger cat, meowed in approval. I sprayed my favorite perfume in the air, Chanel no. 5, and ran through it. It might look dumb, but it made the perfect effect that lingered from my head and all along on my body. I inhaled deeply, grabbed my purse, and walked out of my room, down the stairs, and out the front door. Where I bumped into Sassi, about to open herself.

"Why are you taking forever? What were you doing up there? You said to be on time." She looked at me. The last question was dripping with sarcasm. She narrowed her eyes. Before I could answer the 21 questions, I gestured my hand towards her Audi A1, suggesting for us to get in.

"Hey! let's get going." I huffed, pushing forward. Sassi rolled her eyes and lagged along behind me.

***

In no time, we were at the jazz club. People already queued outside. We waited for a good twenty minutes in line to get in too. I could hear the jazzy music inside and the bustling of people coming in and out.

"I thought jazz clubs were supposed to be more low key?" I said to Sassi as we stood between a group of girlfriends giggling away and a couple groping each other." It's sounds like a full-blown club in there?"

Sassi shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I don't know... there's a lot of young people here. They need to cater for everybody, I guess." She popped her gum and looked ahead. "Look, we up next," she said, beaming.

I instantly felt awkward. I always felt uncomfortable at events and places like these. My shyness came into full effect.

We finally arrived inside the club. It was swanky. Dimly lit and jazz music filled the club played by the band on stage. It was open planned, with a large bar on one side. The tables and booths were on the other, filled with couples and groups of friends. Waiters were all over the place, placing drinks on tables. A small dance floor was in the middle.

Sassi was in her element, and dare I say, she looked glamorous tonight. Her gold halter top glittered underneath the florescent lights, her black heels complemented her skin tight leather leggings and her blonde curls bounced behind her as she swayed. But what did I expect, she always was the star of the show. Since senior high school, she grabbed every guy's attention, while I looked like the duff (designated ugly fat friend) next to her. What can I say? I was pretty used to it by now.

"Let's wait by the bar." She said, turning her head to me, taking my hand leading the way. She always thought I was a fragile little bird needing protection from big, bad wolves. Not that I needed it to begin with. No big bad wolves were interested in me, anyway. I probably attracted the likes of otters and squirrels. The thought stung a bit.

We headed to the bar. Of course, heads turned from men as Sassi and I approached. It wasn't a surprise to see their eyes glued to Sassi however. We sat down on two empty high stools and ordered our drinks.

"This place is looking great. I'm definitely feeling the vibe here." Sassi said, scanning the crowd. Obviously looking for a hunk. I just hoped she wasn't planning to go home with the dude.

I scanned the crowd with her. A tall man with a white top and dark jeans in the far-left corner caught my attention. He was a looker, and really pleasing to the eye, with his chiseled frame and dark ruffed up hair. He stood, chatting with some guys. The man caught me staring at him. Oops! I thought to myself, not again. Twice in one day! How do these guys know I'm looking at them? Do I have a sign in lights say 'HEY LILLIE CLARKE IS EYEING YOUR BODY 'above my damn head? Jeez!

I whipped my head to the side, almost bobbing into a distracted Sassi.

"What's up with you? You almost let me spill my drink." She said, salvaging her cocktail. Sassi peeped over my shoulder when she saw me wide eyed and blushing.

"Nothing. I just wanted to look over the drinks menu again," as if my strawberry daquiri wasn't enough. I grabbed the cocktail menu. But nothing could get past Sassi. She knew me too well.

"Hmmm... Which guy we lookin' at?" She said teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows. I felt the urge to roll my eyes and looked over the menu, completely ignoring her.

I turned my head and saw the tall man approaching us. In shock, I twirled around again, my heart picked up a beat, I faced the bar, lowering my eyes. I know, it's kinda pathetic. But I was terrible at this. I blame it on not having enough dating experience.

"Hey there," came out a deep, sexy voice next to me. I sat, holding my breath.

"Wanna dance?" he continued. I closed my eyes. Preparing to turn around.

"Sure." Sassi said effortlessly.

I looked at Sassi; she gave me a wink instead. I watched in awe as she and the tall 'pleasing to the eye' man held their drinks and took to the dance floor hand in hand.