Lonely Together

01

MARIAH

Loneliness had come to be something that I was entirely too complacent with. I didn't enjoy it by any means, but it had become something that I had to deal with daily, so much so that I came to accept it. I hated it, that wasn't the Mariah that I truly was. I was a confident, chatty, social butterfly, but that seemed to be withering away.

"Myles you're seriously not coming to the club with me?" I shouted from my room as I slipped into the sage green dress that my best friend, Myles, had designed and created for me.

"No. Going over to James's house. Might not be back until Monday. I'll text you!" He muttered back nonchalantly, not even giving me the chance to respond before he was already out the door of our—or what felt like my—apartment.

With a sigh, I looked myself over in the mirror, not even as fazed by his response as I usually was. We had been best friends since practically the dawn of time and had gone through an incredibly traumatic experience that brought us closer together, yet it seemed that while he picked up his pieces and moved on, I was still scrambling for mine.

He never made time for me anymore and I couldn't be mad at him for finding love—but I could be mad at him for acting as if the person who had been by his side his whole life wasn't there.

Once I stopped ogling myself in the mirror because I looked amazing, I picked my freshly blow dried hair out into a huge afro and then applied some makeup. I kept my makeup light; the only striking thing was the green eyeliner I applied that matched my dress perfectly.

After slipping into a pair of white heels and grabbing my purse, I left the apartment and caught the Uber I had ordered. I had a perfectly functioning car, but I knew that there was a chance I would leave the club utterly intoxicated just for the mere fact that I was there by myself. How sad.

In just ten minutes I was at the new club and waiting in line to be let in. The grand opening had been the weekend before so it wasn't as crowded as previously, yet the line was still fairly long.

When I was finally let in, I took in the surroundings of the club. It had a modern design which was a great contrast against the decade old clubs I was used to in my city. To my left was the bar with red LED lights lining it, adding a romantic affect to the already dim club. In the middle was a large dance floor where a bunch of people were congregated as the DJ played his set. To the left were a few tables and even a VIP area that appeared to be completely empty so far.

Knowing that I needed a drink, I stalked over to the bar and took a seat on one of the stools. Immediately, a blonde girl behind the bar rushed up to me with a smile and took my order.

"Rum and coke, please."

As I waited for my drink, I let my eyes travel around the club, partaking in the fun act of 'people-watching'. My gaze landed on a guy about my age who was in a group of friends, yet didn't seem to be enjoying his time at all. His smile didn't meet his eyes and it looked shockingly familiar to me—it was something I had noticed in myself.

When I turned to face forward once again, my gaze instead landed on a man across the bar from me, his eyes already locked on me. Although the lighting was dim, I could make out his features pretty well and see that he was very handsome. He seemed to have an overall dark look: dark curly hair, dark eyes, and a chiseled jawline softly covered by a five o'clock shadow.

"Your drink." The bartender said with a smile as she placed it in front of me, as well as one of the cupcakes that they had displayed at the bar. "The man over there paid for both of these for you." She added with a smirk for walking away to help another person.