EIGHT HOURS AND TEN MINUTES

Cassandra deliberately applied a much thicker layer of red lipstick to her narrow lips. In her twenty-four years of life, this was the first time she had worn lipstick almost five times heavier than she normally did. She even put eyeliner around her eyes and blush on her cheeks. Her dress was so revealing that the outline of her nipples and the curve of her groin were almost visible. Her sandals had four-inch heels. As she stared at herself in the mirror, Cassandra could see the dramatic change in her appearance and the way she was dressed. She looked like a woman who only came out at night to look for customers.

"Get ready, Vincent. You'll see what kind of woman you left behind," she said while facing the mirror.

A few moments later, she heard a knock on the door of the apartment she was renting. She picked up her small pouch containing her cellphone, wallet, and makeup.

"Oh? It's good that you arrived early, Luz," she said as she opened the door.

Luz looked her up and down several times before speaking. "Who am I looking at right now?" Luz asked in disbelief.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "It's Cassandra, girl!"

Luz looked her over once again, almost speechless because of Cassandra's dramatic transformation.

"I must be drunk. That whiskey I had earlier must have hit me hard." Luz touched her head as if she were dizzy from what she was seeing.

Cassandra took a deep breath, then walked out of the apartment first, leaving her friend standing by the doorway.

"Cassy! Wait!" she heard Luz shout.

Cassandra stopped and waited for her friend. "Are you done with your nonsense now?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Yes! I can't imagine such a huge transformation because of your breakup with Vincent."

"This is the first and only time I'll do this because I want to see Vincent's reaction later."

Luz clapped her hands. "That's the spirit! Show your lustful ex-boyfriend that he's not a loss. Let's see if he won't start drooling over you."

"Just this once, Luz. I'm only doing this once," Cassandra replied.

They got into Luz's car. Luz was a bank manager. She was Cassandra's best friend; they had been friends since college and remained close even after moving to Manila for work. Luz worked as a bank manager, while Cassandra was an assistant secretary at a well-known company in Manila.

"You may only be doing this once, Cassy, but your lustful ex-boyfriend will never forget this night because he's definitely going to regret leaving you," Luz said.

Cassandra nodded and chose to focus her attention on the road instead. She was already inside Luz's car, and Luz was driving because Cassandra couldn't use her own car that day due to traffic restrictions.

"We're here," Luz said as she parked in front of a disco bar. They could clearly see people coming in and out of the establishment. They also noticed Vincent's car after parking, and Cassandra felt a surge of anger when she realized that her ex-boyfriend was inside the disco bar.

She reapplied her lipstick to make her lips look even redder. She brushed blush onto her cheeks and practically bathed herself in perfume.

"Let's go, Luz!" she said before stepping out of the car ahead of her friend.

"Be ready, Cassy," Luz reminded her.

"I'm more than ready."

"Good."

With their heads held high, they entered the disco bar. They had barely reached the entrance when several men started trying to get their attention. Some whistled at them and called them sexy. What Cassandra did not expect, however, was for a man to follow her and grab her curvy butt.

"You jerk!" she shouted as she slapped him.

"You wear clothes like that and then complain when men mess with you," the man replied.

"You idiot! You disgusting monkey!" Luz snapped. She took off her sandal and hit the man with it.

The man cried out in pain and turned toward Luz in fury. He grabbed her wrist.

"Let me go!" Luz screamed.

Cassandra quickly removed her four-inch heels and swung one at the man's head with all her strength. The blow forced him to release Luz.

"Run!" Cassandra shouted.

But before she could get away, the man caught her by the hair and yanked her toward him.

"Damn you, woman!" he growled.

"Let her go!" Luz yelled.

Cassandra struggled, but the man was much stronger than the two of them. He grabbed both women by the hair. Despite all the commotion, not a single person dared to help them.

"Let them go!"

"Who are you—ugh!"

The man was sent flying by a powerful kick.

"Are you okay, Miss Shorty?" asked the stranger who had come to their rescue.

Cassandra was left speechless when she finally got a good look at him. He looked like Apollo, a Greek god—tall, tanned, and incredibly handsome. He had a gentle face, narrow eyes, and a sharp nose. His eyes were hazel brown. He stood well over six feet tall, forcing Cassandra to look up at him. She also could not help but notice his muscular physique.

"S-Shorty? Me?" Cassandra stammered.

He held out his hand and smiled at her. "Stay with me inside so nobody bothers you anymore."

Cassandra nodded. "Are you sure that's okay?"

The man gave her a sweet smile. "It would be my pleasure, especially when I'm accompanying such a beautiful woman."

"Uh, excuse me, Mr. Chinito, are you going to accompany both of us?" Luz asked.

"Sure."

The man gently guided Cassandra as they entered the disco bar.

"You'll be safe here," he assured them.

The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke filled the air inside the bar. Because of the noise, Cassandra could barely hear what the tall stranger was saying.

"Cassy, Mr. Chinito is talking to you," Luz said, nudging her.

"Can you repeat that?" Cassandra asked.

The man leaned down and brought his mouth close to her ear. A shiver ran through her body, and goosebumps rose on her skin.

"You're safe here," he whispered.

"Thank you," Cassandra replied softly.

"Cassy, the guy who helped us is so handsome," Luz said after he walked away.

She sighed. "Let's just order something. I suddenly feel thirsty."

Luz ordered drinks, and the two of them started drinking. From where they were standing, Cassandra and Luz spotted Vincent, Cassandra's ex-boyfriend. He was smirking at Cassandra while wrapping his arm around the woman beside him. On top of that, he deliberately flaunted their affection in front of her.

"Your ex-boyfriend is such a jerk," Luz said as she downed her drink while staring at Vincent. She was already drunk from all the alcohol she had consumed. Even before picking Cassandra up, she had already been drinking at a party she attended.

Cassandra paused for a moment and looked at her ex-boyfriend. "Tsk... watch me, my dear."

She drained the last drop from the bottle in her hand before heading to the center, where people were dancing while a band played on stage.

She swayed and danced with the men who wanted to join her. It didn't escape the notice of her ex-boyfriend, whose eyes burned with anger.

"Woah! Party! Party!" she shouted as she danced in the middle of the crowd. The alcohol had stripped away her shyness.

"Guys, let's play a game."

The lively music stopped, and the people who had been dancing in the center returned to their tables.

"You're already drunk, Cassy. Let's go home," Luz said when the two of them were back at their table.

Cassandra grinned. "Looks like I'll be the only one going home alone," she said, glancing at the man sitting beside Luz.

"No... we'll take you home before we go to heaven," Luz replied flirtatiously, giggling as if she were being tickled.

Luz was liberated, and that was something Cassandra had never picked up from her friend. Even though Luz loved flirting with different guys, Cassandra never copied her despite their close friendship.

"I need three girls who are confident enough to stand here on stage!" they heard someone say.

Cassandra stared when she realized that the man who had helped them earlier was on stage. He was actually one of the band members who had been performing all night. She hadn't noticed, probably because she was drunk. A smile spread across her lips after she took another sip of her friend's drink and stood up.

"Me! Count me in!" she shouted.

All eyes turned toward Cassandra, including the gaze of the man who had helped her.

"Woah! We've got one hot and sexy beautiful girl who's brave enough," the man said.

Two more women boldly climbed onto the stage. The disco bar erupted into cheers.

The man who had helped them kept his eyes on Cassandra until she made it onto the stage.

"Okay! Our game is a body shot challenge," the emcee announced.

The crowd cheered again.

"Which guys want to join?" the emcee asked.

"Me!"

Cassandra looked up when the man who had helped her and who was also a band member—spoke.

She swallowed nervously when he stepped beside her. Her hands suddenly felt cold, but when she glanced below the stage, she saw her ex-boyfriend staring at her.

"Watch me, my dear Ex," she thought.

After two more men were chosen to participate with the other women, each of the three men was handed a shot glass. Then Cassandra and the two women placed lemon juice on their chests.

"Okay! Ready!"

The crowd erupted once more. The men holding the drinks faced the three women.

"On the count of one... two... three!"

The man who had helped Cassandra quickly drank his shot, then licked the lemon juice from her chest. She let out a moan even though she hadn't meant to. A ticklish warmth spread through her body, especially when he didn't immediately pull his lips away.

"Time's up!" the emcee shouted.

Cassandra let out a deep breath when the man lifted her face from his chest. She felt as though she had run out of air from holding herself back. She felt lust for the man.

"Shit!" the man said.

He pulled Cassandra behind the stage. Then, the man who had done the body shot on her claimed her lips in a kiss. She did not resist; instead, she responded to his kiss.

"Bro! You can have her later—we haven't finished our session yet." the bandmember said.

Reluctantly, the man stopped kissing Cassandra.

"Stay here. I will be back at 1:00 a.m.," he said, kissing Cassandra on the lips.

Cassandra bit her lower lip and smiled. The gesture seemed to entice the man, prompting him to steal another kiss from her before leaving.

"I will eat you later. Please stay!" he whispered to Cassandra.

"Sure! Eat me, babe. I'm sweet like chocolate," Cassandra replied absentmindedly.

She was no longer fully aware of herself because of her intoxication, so she remained in her seat and fell asleep before the man's gig was over.