About an hour later, the five of them were all at the bar of a packed nightclub in the heart of the city. Techno music was thumping loudly, and the only way to converse was by shouting at each other, which Austin and Sam were doing with two girls they had met. Mia was standing behind Jane on her bar stool and fiddling with her long, blonde locks.

"Jesus Christ, Jane, have you brushed your hair since I saw you last?" she shouted the question as her fingers worked through her hair. “White girls, man.”
Jane was wincing at the pain she was causing, but the inquiry still caused a laugh. "Don't think so. What the hell are you doing to me?"
"Almost done!" Mia said in her ear right before she swiveled Jane around to face her. "It looks so good."
Jane's hair, usually voluminous with knots and natural thickness, now sat closer to her skull, and a braid trailed her hair from her part around to behind her ear.

"Look, Rob," Mia nudged him to get his attention. "Girl, you should take better care of yourself. You'd look so much better if you tried once in a while."
Jane put on a mockingly snobby expression on her face as the two eyed her. "Yes, you are [i]so[/i] right. I'm actually [i]dying[/i] for a manicure."
"Oh god, I don't even want to see your nails," Mia covered her eyes, and Jane stuck a tongue out at the two of them.
"Not gonna lie, it is nice to be able to see," Jane smirked as she grabbed her beer from the bar and took a sip.
Mia leaned over into her ear. "Wanna go smoke a joint? Just the two of us?"
Jane nodded as Mia grabbed her hand and yanked her from the bar stool.


"Hey, Rob," Jane called as she put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll be right back." She gave him a reassuring nod as Mia dragged her away outside of a side door.


The alley they stood it was so narrow that Jane came to the conclusion that it was a mistake on the architect's behalf. The tall buildings that sandwiched them almost looked as if they would collide into one another. Jane wasn't used to the chilly nights here, and she hugged herself and Mia lit the joint and passed it to her.


"Thanks for taking us out, Mia," Jane smiled as smoke trickled from her lips.
Mia scoffed and plucked the joint out of her fingers tips. "Of course, girl. I love seeing old friends here in this big, scary city." She handed the joint back to Jane as she exhaled. "You gotta tell me if Rob's single or not."

Jane could get her fight-or-flight instincts kicking in as soon as Mia finished the question. There were so many things she wanted to tell her:
[i]"Actually, Mia, I'm eventually going to profess my feelings for him, so I'd rather you not fuck him."
"No, Mia. He's not."
"He and I are together. Sorry!"[/i]

"Um," Jane began, shaking the thoughts from her head, "yeah. Yeah, he's single."
Mia smiled with satisfaction. "Good. He's gotten even cuter since the last time I saw him."
Jane forced a smile and nodded.
"Jane, I never told you this, but," Mia's demeanor changed as she exhaled the smoke, "Rob and I hooked up before I left for New York."
She nearly choked as she inhaled the joint. "Oh."
Mia nodded. "I figured he had told you, but I felt bad for not. I just never knew what was going on between you two. If figured yall would be married by now."
Jane squeezed her eyes shut momentarily before replying. “Uh, no. We’re just friends.” Her heart was racing as Mia extinguished the joint and nodded her head towards the door. 
“You ready to go back in?” Mia asked as she extended her hand to Jane.
Jane shook her head as she hugged herself again. “Uh, not yet. I’m gonna get some air.”
Mia displayed a concerned expression. “Okay. Don’t freeze. You don’t have an ounce of fat on you.”
Jane smiled and nodded. “I’ll be in soon.”

As soon as the door swung shut, Jane leaned against the wall and shut her eyes. Why the hell didn’t Rob tell her he slept with Mia? He knew all of the people that she had slept with. She told him [i]everything.[/i] Not only that, but now, thanks to her own pride and lack of courage in the situation, Rob was now a target for Mia’s advances. All because Jane didn’t want to make herself vulnerable, she’d have to deal with the possibility of them hooking up. [i]Again.[/i]

Jane lit a cigarette in her trembling hands. The nights she had fantasized about with Rob were now replaced with Mia, and the visual in her made nearly made her puke; the consequences of her idleness felt as if they were punching her repeatedly in the stomach. 

After eventually making her way into the bar, she plopped down on her bar stool in the middle of the others and ordered a shot of tequila, not hesitation to throw back the clear liquid as soon as it was served to her. “Another one, please,” she requested as she scooted the glass back towards the bartender.

Austin came over and placed a hand on her shoulder as shew waited for the second shot. “Someone is trying to get drunk,” he said close to her ear so he wouldn’t have to shout. 
“Yep,” Jane replied, unamused with his observation. 
“Need to talk?” He asked her, his playful tone now switching to a worried one as he noticed her distress. 
“Nope,” Jane replied matter-of-factly as she received her second shot and downed it just as quickly as the last. 
“Jane, come on. Lighten up. You guys aren’t together,” Austin tried to reason as he eyed Mia talking to Rob. “And I thought you didn’t want to be.” 
“I’m fine.” Jane chugged the rest of her beer and ordered another. “I’ll be fine.” 

She watched the crowd of people jumping and dancing to the beat mindlessly as she sipped the new beer. Part of her wanted to jump in, to dance with someone, to be touched by a stranger, to forget everything that was unfolding in front of her.

The other part just wanted to go home and sleep the night off. 

Jane figured getting drunk in silence was a good middle ground. Sulking in the realization of the pain she had caused herself, in her mind, was what she deserved. She wasn't going to stop Rob from doing what he wanted, and if he wanted Mia, she would have to live with it. 

As the night continued, Jane only spoke when spoken to, and she unintentionally bit on her bottom lip as she stared off into space. The effects of the alcohol were beginning to make there appearance, and her racing mind began to slow, and she sighed at the temporary relief. She talked to Sam and Austin, mostly them asking for her opinion on different girls at the bar. 

"She's cute," Jane pointed conspicuously. "Brunette, nice ass. Seems like your type, Sam."
"Oh, J, you know me so well," he smiled as he grabbed the sides of her head and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Wish me luck."
"Good luck," Austin and Jane said in unison as Sam dashed off to the dance floor to explore his interest. 
Austin turned his attention to her, and she immediately got uncomfortable. 
"You gonna tell me what's going on, J?" 
"Nothing, Austin. I just... I didn't tell him how I felt. I don't want to ruin things. Things have been so [i]good[/i]."  Her speech was slurring slightly as she confessed the emotions she was feeling. "But now Mia is here and... it would just be a cop out to jump in and tell him everything now. I can't do that just because I'm jealous."
Austin nodded in agreement. "But, you're gonna have to tell him soon enough. It's eating away at you. Look, you're drunk as fuck right now."
Jane flashed him a smile. "So, it's not all bad, right?"

[url=https://youtu.be/sDI6HTR9arA]Let It Be by Blackmill[/url] began to fill the bar, and Jane closed her eyes and nodded her head to the beat. "I fuckin' love this song," she admitted, not really talking to anyone but herself. A cigarette hung out of her mouth as she sang along quietly, only being removed to sip her drink, but after the first round of the chorus ended, she let out a "fuck it" and stood up. 

"I'm going out there," she notified Austin.

Jane weaved her way onto the dance floor and shut her eyes once again as her body moved to the rhythm of the music. Any time an unwanted hand touched her or someone's body came behind her, she'd shove them off her without interrupting herself. A pleasurable sensation moved through her body, however, from the heat of the packed crowd surrounding her until the song ended and she found her way back to the bar. 

"I think I'm gonna call it a night guys," she lazily pushed out as she checked the time on her phone. "Don't forget we have that interview tomorrow at 9."