Alex glanced towards the door to the club. The path was mostly clear, as long as he made sure to skirt around the dance floor. It was barely the afternoon, and despite being the hot new club in town, the crowd wasn't bad yet. Just like James to ditch like this. Who gets sick on an early day off work? James, apparently. Most likely he wasn't sick at all and was just too lazy or timid to leave the house. Alex had every intention of chewing out his deadbeat friend for shirking their night. It wasn't a big occasion or anything, but still, some common courtesy to your buddies. At least give them a bit of warning before you leave them swinging in the breeze. Which left Alex with the equally unappealing choices of going home and doing nothing with his evening, or trying to enjoy a night club alone.
"Mind if I take a seat?" a voice asked. Alex looked up to find a cute Asian girl in a smiling at him. The lights of the club sent waves of color across her white and black polka dotted blouse. Her legs were bare between a short black skirt and pair of black wedge heels. Alex was unaware he could even get the time of day from a girl that of her caliber, much less catch her eye.
Alex fidgeted with the collar to his red button down shirt. "By all means," he said.
The woman sat down across from Alex. "You looked as lonely as I felt," she explained. "I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Alex said, offering a hand across the table. "Alex Freeman."
The woman took the hand and shook it. Her hand was soft, and her fingers lingered as she pulled away. "Toni Nyugen. So what brings you to a place like this?" she asked.
"Ah, was going to enjoy a night with a friend, but was stood up," Alex explained.
Toni tilted her head sympathetically, causing her earrings to bounce slightly off the sides of her jaw. "Sorry to hear that. Mind if I keep you company instead?"
"Given a choice between the two of you, I think I'd prefer you," Alex said, surprising himself with his own daring.
Toni grinned. "Well what can I get you? Sober's no way to enjoy a club."
"Oh, don't worry about it," Alex said. "Besides, I drove here."
"Well then we can share a cab. I'll pay for both our fares," Toni offered.
"That's very nice of you, but you really shouldn't offer to pay for people until you learn whether they're worth the upkeep."
"Well then I shall consider this a gamble. And if you really want to pitch in, how about I pay for drinks and if it comes to it you can pay the fare," Toni said.
"Alright, alright," Alex said, smiling. Toni was forward, but not offputtingly so. Just something about her seemed right. Good chemistry maybe. "I'll take a vodka tonic. And don't worry about getting anything fancy. I don't have the most discerning palete."
"If you say so," Toni said, chuckling. She stood and walked towards the bar. Alex watched her go, and enjoyed the show the entire way.
***
Tony ordered the drinks and waited for the bartender to prepare them. He drummed his fingers nervously on the bar, feeling way in over his head. He had no idea how he had managed to pull off this much with a girl like Alyx. He was worried he was making an ass of himself or coming off too strong, but Alyx rolled with it an even seemed to enjoy it.
Tony glanced back to the table to make sure Alyx hadn't fled already. She was still there, her coffee colored body filling out her dress in all the right places. Spotting Tony's gaze Alyx flashed a smile. Her lips were the same red as her dress.
The bartender had to repeat himself twice to catch Tony's attention. Tony took the glasses and his tab, walking back to the table with a glass in each hand. He set Alyx's vodka tonic down in front of her, and took a seat. This time he sat down one chair closer than the last time. There were six chairs around the round table, so there was still one seat between them, but it was closer. Alyx noticed the difference, but did not seem to mind. In fact, she slid over one seat herself, placing herself adjacent to Tony. Her bare leg brushed his.
"So tell me about yourself, Tony," Alyx said, taking a sip of her drink.
