The Decameron 2.0

Day 9.6 Coincidence - XIA XENIDES L Maree Apps

The sound of the rain pelting down on the old tin roof drowned out the steady hum of the generator that worked hard to keep the beer cold and the lights lit. It would be hours, possibly days, before they could move on. Fortunate then, they all had a story to share to pass the time.

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Xia closed her eyes and savoured the slow burn as the vodka made its way down her throat, momentarily distracting from the relentless pounding in her brain. And the heightened senses, hyper energy levels, and the hot flushes. God, the hot flushes. It took real effort to refrain from face-planting in the ice bucket behind the bar.

At least all the weird crap gave her something to keep her mind off her father's disappearance. Three weeks he'd been missing, and the Police still had no leads. She wasn't even convinced they were truly looking.

A subtle waft of coffee, caramel, honey and mint worked its way through the stale beer and sweat. Xia looked up, expecting to see her best friend beside her. But Kalinda was still talking to the bouncer at the door. Over fifty metres away. The super senses thing harked back to pre-puberty days. She'd grown out of them soon enough. But with the stress of her only family missing, her hormones were sending her, and her senses, crazy.

If only her father were there, he'd have one of his weird green concoctions for her to drink and she'd be good as gold by morning. It could be a coincidence the symptoms had returned following his disappearance, but Xia wasn't a big believer in coincidence.

Xia ordered another drink as she waited for Kalinda to make her way through the crowds to the bar. It was only early evening, but the place was filled with after-work drinkers. Mostly men in suits. Xia's favourite.

She tapped her fingers against the side of her glass, eager to get out on the dance floor amongst the people. She'd always enjoyed physical contact, giving and receiving hugs, holding hands with her friends and so on. But the last week or so the feeling had morphed from something she enjoyed to something her body craved. She physically needed to be in that crowd.

Finally, Kalinda made it to her. Dressed as she was in a tight, white bandage dress, there were no prizes for guessing why she took so long. Xia held her finger up, prompting Kalinda to twirl. "Girl, you look hot! I didn't think you were going to make it through in one piece!"

Kalinda gestured to Xia's running clothes before opening her arms in offer of an embrace. "I can see you need a cuddle, but what's doing? You thinking about joining the 'active wear' crowd? I want to say you look good anyway, but honey, you look like crap. Still not getting any sleep?"

Xia shook her head against her friend's shoulder, before reluctantly moving away. She gestured to the bartender to bring Kalinda a drink.

"Did you try the pills I gave you?"

"Yeah. No good." Another symptom of her father's disappearance - insomnia. It was like she was amped up on speed. Or so she imagined. At first Xia put it down to stress and anxiety, but no matter what she did, she couldn't slow herself down enough to sleep. "I went for a long run, then stopped back here. Hopefully a few dozen drinks and a couple of hours dancing will help. And if that doesn't, at least I might find someone to keep me company through the night..."

Kalinda grinned and held up her glass in salute. "Honey, with a body like yours you could wear a potato sack and still have guys lining up to tear it off you. Give me a sec to catch up, and we'll hit the dance floor."

An hour later and Xia was feeling calmer. The feel of bodies writhing together, the rhythmic beat of the music, and the flashing lights served to dull her senses. She lost herself as she danced, freeing her thoughts to the sensations.