Chapter 1: The club

"You look fucking hot."

I turned my head to see an attractive guy, completely focused on me. "Thank you." I replied, my eyes casually scanning his figure. Maybe a bit too business-like for a club, but that added to his aura. "What are we drinking?" he asked, resting his elbow on the bar. I playfully narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm not telling you. You have to guess." I teased.

"One vodka soda." The bartender said as he put my drink in front of me.

Irritated, I snapped my head at the bartender. "Dude! I said he had to guess!" I complained. The bartender shrugged, placing the card machine before me.

A card appeared in front of me and tapped the machine, paying my drink for me. "It's on me, obviously." The guy said, suddenly standing a lot closer to me. "Not that you gave me a choice." I remarked, grabbing my drink and sipping it. Perfect and ice cold.

"So, where did you come from? I've never seen you around here." He asked me after ordering a beer for himself. A beer? Who drank beer in the club? "Do you know every single person in here normally?" I tilted my head, curious. "I'm a bit of a local." he answered, paying for his beer with a tap of the card machine. "A local? In a nightclub? That's not very impressive." I remarked, taking another sip and nodding appreciatively.

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess it's not impressive. Want to leave?" he asked, his eyes on my rather short dress.

I pondered his offer for a moment.

"Sure." I ended up saying.

One-night stands weren't usually my thing, but tonight, I felt like letting loose. After all, it was my best friend's coronation as queen, and if that wasn't cause for celebration, I didn't know what was. I deserved a night of carefree fun with a hot guy.

He smiled broadly in response, offering his hand gallantly. I took it after finishing my drink, and he led me through the dancing crowd towards the exit. "Elyse!" I shouted when I spotted my best friend. "I'm going! See you tomorrow!"

Elyse shook her head, glanced at the guy, and rolled her eyes at me. But she wore a secret smile, and I gave her a thumbs-up as approval. She air-kissed me and returned to dancing with the boys.

Once we were outside, he signalled someone over and before I knew it, a sleek black car stopped in front of us. "Hi, Pedro." The guy greeted the driver, who nodded his head respectfully. "Where to?" The driver asked, his eyes on me kind and curious. "Home. Is that okay?" The guy turned around to me with his question and after a moment of hesitation, I nodded. "Don't worry, Pedro can take you home whenever you want." He opened the door for me, and I slid into the leather backseat without answering. "By the way, where is 'home'?" I asked as I scanned the rich interior. "I'm not telling you. You have to guess." he replied playfully, sitting beside me.

I grinned back, settling in. "I'm guessing... with your parents?"

"Wow, that hurts. That's a hard no," he laughed, gazing out of the window. "But if you want a hint," he pointed, and I leaned over, "you can see it from here."

He pointed at a a cluster of towering high-rise apartments. I knew this buildings. They were all penthouses for the rich and famous.

"Please tell me you're not one of those rich assholes." I pleaded, causing Pedro to burst into laughter, which he quickly stifled upon realizing the rich asshole I question was seated right behind him. "Rich, yes. An asshole? Harsh." The guy responded, narrowing his eyes at the back of Pedro's head. Pedro accelerated as if sensing the scrutiny, overtaking several cars using the emergency lane.

I scanned the guy from head to toe. He turned to me, leaning closer. "I guess I can be a bit of an asshole, but don't tell Pedro." he whispered with a mischievous grin. "I think he already knows." I replied, raising an eyebrow.

It felt like mere seconds before we arrived in front of a colossal glass building. It screamed wealth, sophistication, and excess—nothing like my cozy student room filled with carpets, candles, and comfortable clothing. I said goodbye to Pedro and the guy, whose name I still didn't know, led me into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

His apartment was the size of three houses, far too grand for a single person. It felt empty and cold. I walked around slowly, with him trailing closely behind, pointing out various items he had recently bought from exclusive places. "This vase I spotted at an auction. I had already purchased the previous five vases, all for my mom, but this one I wanted for myself." He explained, gesturing towards an ornate, ugly vase. It stood on its own pedestal.

Don't fall and push it over. Don't break it.

"Are you not lonely here?" I asked, interrupting his story about yet another random object. "What?" He asked, taken aback. "It's so... Cold here. I mean, you have nice things, but there's nothing personal in here. It feels like a shell, or something. Nothing warm." I observed calmly. "It can be, at times. That's why I invite people like you over." Was the response.

"People like me?" I questioned, my interest piqued in his next answer. "Yeah," he gestured towards my body, "you know... a beautiful woman, wearing a way too short dress, standing by the bar, waiting for someone to approach you. People like you."

I tilted my head at him, trying to remain composed. Relax, Fay, relax.

"You think I waited by the bar for a man to come up and talk to me?" I asked, my tone a bit sharp. "Come on, it was pretty obvious. You look like you can use a good fuck." He continued to scrutinize me and I breathed in and mentally got ready to destroy this guy.

"Well, when I hear it from people like you," I said with a fake smile, "It doesn't hold that much weight. The rich man, so consumed by his career and money that there is a void in his life that can never be filled. Sure, you try to fill it with beautiful women, expensive things, and a lot of alcohol and drugs, but does that truly add any value to your life?"

He stared at me, shocked by my reply.

"Going to the club straight after work to avoid returning to a cold, dark place. I bet this apartment is even brighter than your mind, which is plagued by dark and depressing thoughts."

The guy took a step towards me, offended and angry.

"I suppose the sex with you would be good, above average, maybe.. But tomorrow you will hate yourself for doing this. You'll kick me out, bury yourself in work, and repeat the same pattern day after day. It's a vicious circle." I said, my hand on his precious vase, ready to push it off it's ridiculous pedestal.