Seven Dates

Chapter Seven

Club Vigor. I've heard of it but I've never gone. It's a place that's way more Ari's scene than mine.

To me, it's a large basement with a bar, a stage, and tons of people packed inside like sardines. The air is thick with the stench of pot and I can smell alcohol just from passing within a couple feet of people.

To Ari, this place is paradise. I had asked her to come with me but she made up a weak excuse about doing homework. Ari never does her homework, so I assume she wanted me to not cling to her for safety the whole date. As if I would do that. I definitely would not do that. Not at all.

I look around for Jaxton. Ari's only description was "you'll know him when you see him." I push my way through the crowd, wondering if I should call out his name, but I decide he wouldn't be able to hear me over the crowd's screams and the music anyway.

Out of nowhere the music stops. The lights dim. A spotlight illuminates the stage. I hear the crowd squeal so loud it feels like my eardrums might burst. I plug my ears but I can still hear them screaming.

"Jax-ton, Jax-ton, Jax-ton," they yell. I cringe. Of course it's my date. Thanks, Ari. I contemplate walking out. I take a couple steps toward the exit, picture coming out to my parents alone, and stop. I turn around and take a look at Jaxton.

He's in the center of the spotlight on the stage. From where I am, it looks like he's probably about six feet tall. He has dark shaggy black and red hair and is wearing tight metallic silver skinny jeans. He's shirtless except for a pair of black suspenders hanging loosely down his lean torso. To my surprise he isn't carrying a guitar or a pair of drumsticks. Just a saxophone.

If I saw a girl with his style, I think I'd melt.

"Are you all ready for the best night of your lives?" He screams into the microphone. The crowd roars back to him. Some girl in the audience decides that's the right moment to declare her love for him. I squint. Was that a pair of underwear someone just threw up on stage? Jaxton chuckles.

"I hear there's a very sexy lady out in the crowd somewhere waiting for a date with me. After I play, come backstage and we can chill," Jaxton pretends to scan the crowd, then smiles and brings his lips to the Saxophone.

He admittedly plays a very impressive and fast solo. I didn't realize saxophones were used to kick off indie rock songs. After the solo I hear guitarists behind him strum to life and a few seconds after that a drumroll kicks in.

Jaxton leans forward into the microphone again and sings. As much as I don't want to admit it, even his singing voice sounds good. I'm shocked Ari didn't date this guy, although a guy like him probably doesn't stay single for long.

After Jaxton's band plays, I force my way through the crowd toward the backstage area. A mob of girls have already beaten me to it, all claiming to be Jaxton's date for the night. A very annoyed-looking bald man holds them all back from entering what I presume is Jaxton's room.

A couple of minutes pass and I wonder again if I should just leave, but the door opens and Jaxton peeks out behind the bald man's shoulder, eyeing the crowd of girls. His gaze lands on me and he grins. Up close, I notice that he has two eyebrow piercings and snake bites. It also looks like he has a tattoo of a cobra running down his neck.

"Hey, Ash, my girl," he greets me, somehow picking me out of the crowd. What on Earth did Ari say about me to him? Well, I guess she did dress me up so maybe she told him what I was wearing. I look down at the sleeveless Slipknot shirt and tight black-and-white checkered skinny jeans she forced me into wearing.

"Hi Jaxton," I say as I step into the room. "How'd you know it was me?"

"Awe, Ari sent me a picture of you two. You're even wearing the same outfit," he comments. His eyes slide down my figure. "If I hadn't seen you how else would I have known you were the sexiest girl here?"

"Oh, Ari," I mumble. I should have known it was weird for her to want to randomly snap a picture of us before I left for the date. Jaxton winks. The whole room smells thickly of pot and some other substance I can't identify. I notice his band members are also in the room. They nod to me but don't directly say hello. So much for a private date, I inwardly comment.

Jaxton plops down on a couch and pats the space beside him, so I sit down as well. He immediately slinks his arm around me. One of his band members snores from across the room. Just seconds ago I hadn't noticed that any of them were asleep. Jaxton gazes over at me with a worried expression.

"You seem a little tense. The fangirls didn't threaten you, did they?" He asks. I shake my head, pushing myself to smile at him. "Here, close your eyes and open your mouth a little bit. No peeking," he tells me. I'm a little bit suspicious, but I do as he says. I guess this is his cheeky way of getting me to kiss him.

"Now, take a deep breath and hold it," he tells me. Maybe it's some sort of pre-kissing relaxation thing he wants me to do? I guess he's into meditation or something? I do as he says and take a deep breath. As I do I feel something press against my lips. I suck in something that tastes like dirt and my lungs feel like they're seizing. I break down coughing and open my eyes.

"Nice, you got a lot in you," Jaxton compliments me. I realize the thing he put to my lips and made me breathe in was a blunt. My heart starts racing. Who knows what kind of junk he has in that thing? And who knows how many of his band member's mouths were on that blunt before mine was? I shudder.

"Ari told me to let you try the kush," he says. "She mentioned you'd always said you wanted to test it out." My eyes widen. I had mentioned that to her a very long time ago when my anxiety was at its peak. I didn't mean trying it on the first date with an indie rockstar.

I can see that she sorely misunderstood. And Jaxton was a bit misled.

I try to keep it together. Despite the miscommunication, I need to relax and just give this a chance, I tell myself.