Lydia joined in as Tabitha grabbed onto her hands. Raising their hands in the air, Lydia let everything fly out of her mind from the last few weeks, letting her body take control and sway to the rhythm of the song she couldn’t comprehend the words to anymore. They were there to let go and—maybe, have a little fun. The latter was more difficult as no one had caught her eye since she entered the establishment. She couldn’t say she was particularly picky with men; she knew she had a type that couldn’t be put into words. They either caught her eye or they didn’t.

Her friend already had her eye on two people. She knew Tabitha didn’t need any help scoring either one. She was like the flame drawing in moths whenever they went out.

“Let’s get some more drinks, Lyd,” Tabitha slurred, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the bar.

Lydia didn’t object, laughing at her friend. They stumbled to the bar, mumbling apologies as they tilted into other people. She knew Tabitha’s intentions to get more drinks into her system before approaching either one. It wasn’t as if Tabitha needed the confidence boost. They ordered more shots, downing the first ones quickly; the effects hitting her fast. Tabitha got a glint in her eyes when she turned to stare at her. 

“I’m going for both tonight, girl!”

Lydia covered her mouth with the back of her hand, bursting into laughter. She shook her head and gave Tabitha a curved smirk, encouraging her to go for it. She scanned the floor for the fifth time that night, disappointment blooming in her chest. There were some cute men there, but none that made her stomach twist into knots with an unquenchable desire. 

Lydia downed her other shots, the liquid burning her throat when she swallowed. She grabbed her other drink, washed down the burn, and set it on the counter again. The loud music fueled the buzz that entered her system, her hips swaying to the rhythm while she steadied herself with one hand against the cool wooden bar top. The neon lights danced across the room in a ray of movements synchronizing with the bodies that swarmed the dance floor. The scent of sweat and alcohol wafted through the area, but no one cared. They were free in those moments of bliss. 

“I’m off to score. You better text me when you get home, or I’ll hunt you down!”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Lydia shouted back over the music, her words slurring. 

Tabitha snorted before shouting back, “And what’s that?! Last I knew, you liked to try everything!”

Lydia shrugged with a smirk, giving her friend a sly look before Tabitha first sauntered to the blonde woman. She ordered another drink, hoping that someone would show up she could go home with, or she would wind up home alone with a less mind-blowing orgasm than she could conjure in her mind. 

The need to go to the bathroom hit her in her haziness. Slowly, she went to the bathroom with her drink, knowing never to set her glass down and leave it. Finding an empty stall, she emptied her bladder before leaving, her drink still in one hand. She stared at her glass in front of the smudged fingerprint mirror. She would at least enjoy the rest of it if she weren’t going to get satisfaction anywhere else. 

The thump of music dulled as she made her way to the door. She didn’t think twice about the tempo change as she swung the door open, quickly covering her eyes as brightness invaded them. The room went quiet, except for the hushed whispers that she could barely make out the words of as they echoed off the high ceiling.

Lydia blinked a few times, trying to eliminate the haze in her eyes. She settled for squinting at the blurry figures in bright colors. She stepped further away from the door she walked out of, trying to get a clearer image of what mess her mind conjured for her. All she wanted was a night out with her best friend and someone that might blow her mind away for a night, not for her reason to take one for the team and give her weird fantasies. 

Her throat closed as her eyes finally adjusted. It was as if she went from a nightclub straight into a gala. Women wore bright, intrigued-colored dresses. Men were adorned in clad-in darker-colored suits. 

Lydia blinked thrice at the crowd, wondering if she had blacked out in the bathroom stall and was dreaming. She snorted at that thought. She would either wake up in a bathroom to someone shaking her awake or to a hospital after someone called an ambulance after someone found her passed out. She glanced back at the door she walked out of, only to see a white decorative door instead of the old dirty, heavy wooden one she had walked through before. Taking a deep breath, she turned to stare at the crowd and then down to her drink. It had been in her hand since the time she got it. There wasn’t any way for someone to slip something into it. 

Without a word, Lydia turned back to the door, the handle cool to her touch, and opened the door, walking through. Lydia stopped two steps in when a room bigger than her apartment—if it was all open floors, greeted her. The couches were spectacular and the brightest cream color she had ever seen. Everything seemed to sparkle in the room, and she cringed at how much work a person had to put into cleaning it.

Stepping backward out of the room, she slowly turned around to face the swarm of people again. The faces of the people passed her vision quickly as she scanned the room, no matter how slow she tried to take in the vast space. 

What the hell, Lydia thought, downing the last of her glass and setting it on a tray that a man beside her was holding. She could hear the incredulous whispers begin again. 

“W-well, sorry to interrupt this lovely evening for everyone. I-I’m just—” she pointed toward a considerably large door, her words slurring— “gonna take my leave.”

With what dignity she had left in her, she sauntered off in the direction she pointed, hoping it led out of wherever she was. She wanted to curl under her blankets in her bed and wake up from whatever she saw. The whispers intensified as she walked along the edge of the room, yet no one approached her to help. Lydia usually never got embarrassed at her actions, but when she finally made it to the door and swung it open, she found herself facing a hallway with no end in sight. Heat crawled up her neck, warming her cheeks. She was sure it was as red as one of those women’s dresses behind her.

“Excuse me, could you tell me which door leads me to the entrance to leave?” She half-whispered to the man standing outside the door. The quicker she got out of the awkward situation, the better.

The only response she got was a finger pointing to doors at the other end of the room. The opposite direction from which she pointed. She thanked him quietly as she closed the door again and made a bee-line for the door to her escape. The click of her heels echoing in a room was something she loved to wear heels for, but her feet wouldn’t follow what her mind told them to do as she would falter once in a while, adding to her embarrassment. Each word out of the women’s mouths pushed what patience Lydia had left in her state. She couldn’t even remember the last time a group of women was so blatant behind someone’s back. Louisiana didn’t have any woman that would say shit behind someone’s back; it was told straight to their face—with words or fists. 

Twenty yards from her destination, she stopped when a scoff came from close by her. She could deal with the whispers as they talked about how she dressed, everyone had their opinions, and they seemed to be from some high society club or other that she wanted no part of. It was the blatant disrespect of thinking their way of life was better than anyone else. Her rationality snapped, pointing a finger in the general direction she heard it. “Ya know. I’m sorry I crashed your little soiree, but it’s not like I’d want to be around any of your pretentious asses. I would have preferred to leave quietly than waste my breath on people like you, but no! Y’all just had to say some shit about people you don’t like, then shut your trap and leave your opinion to yourself!”

Gasps echoed in the quiet room at her words. The woman closest to her placed her hand on her chest, mouth parted slightly. Lydia wouldn’t regret telling someone where to shove it, especially those within that room. If it meant giving them the cold hard truth they wanted to lie to themselves, so be it. Her night was ruined, and the warmth that flowed through her made her want to find the closest place to sleep and deal with everything in the morning. Getting home be damned at that point. 

Lydia turned to leave when no one made any other outward snarks, finding her path blocked by a figure. He wasn’t bad-looking, but the smug grin on his face made her face scrunch up. The way his eyes raked over her figure had her sobering up a tad bit more.

“You seem to be a little drunk tonight, my Lady. Why don’t I offer you a ride home?” 

Lydia realized the man was at least half a head taller than her. Dirty blonde hair fell around his hazel eyes. She chided herself for getting swept away by his looks, forgetting that he looked at her like a dog in heat. “I’ll be leaving by myself, thank you.” 

He laughed halfheartedly, grabbing her elbow, “It wouldn’t be gentlemanly of me to let a woman in your state go home alone. I could give you ample amounts for coming with me if that’s what you’d prefer.”

Lydia wrenched her arm free, glaring at the man. “I’m not a prostitute, you asshole! I may be drunk, but I can still think for myself. And I have obviously told you no! Do you know what that means?” She could see the man’s face harden as whispers began around them once again. The worst was that they talked about how she was seducing the man in front of her. Her heart rate quickened when the man stared down at her, his lips curling upward, yet his eyes darkened, her actions angering him.

“Now, now. Let’s not make a scene. We can discuss everything on the way,” he chuckled darkly, grinning as he glanced around the room.

“Excuse you!? I’m not leaving with you,” Lydia retorted, going to walk around him, only to be stopped as he blocked her exit again.

“You have such a way with words, don’t you?” He kept the grin as his eyes drank in her figure again.

“I do. Now, if you’d be so kind as to fuck off, your presence has irked my last nerve,” Lydia replied curtly, stepping around him finally as he stood in shock and resumed her way out of that awful predicament. 

“This isn’t over, you wench.”

She felt a grip on her wrist tug her backward, almost tumbling back into him as her feet slipped out from under her. A gentler hand grabbed her other wrist, an arm wrapping around the waist that cut between her and the man.

“I believe this is where I should step in.”

The tight grip on her wrist retreated as the deep voice spoke close to her ear. Desire swirled in the pit of her stomach as his breath fanned over the side of her face, a crisp woodland musk scent invading her senses. She took a deep breath in, savoring the unknown man’s scent. 

“I-I’m sorry. Th–”

“Shut up. I’ll take my leave early and ensure this woman gets home safely. Thank you for the kind invitation, Duke Griffin.” 

Lydia didn’t dare look up at the man while he led her out of the room. His deep voice was already doing wonders, and if he wasn’t supporting her weight, she would indeed have fallen to her knees in both fatigue and the heat pooling between her legs she couldn’t relieve. If his face looked as hot as his voice sounded, she would have started stripping then and there and put on a show for all who watched. A door creaked open, voices softly speaking to each other while she shook when cool air wrapped around her bare skin. 

“Are you okay?” He asked.

Lydia hummed a reply, not trusting her voice. She glanced down as a black cloak was wrapped around her, warming her instantly. She did realize the night was chillier than what she was used to. The goosebumps receded on her arms, and she pulled the cloak tighter around her, finding the same alluring scent wafting from it. 

A finger raised her chin gently, which she didn’t object to, meeting a pair of captivating grey eyes. They seemed more silver in the white glow of the night, as if two moons orbited around his existence. Black hair framed his strong jawline in soft waves. She clenched her jaw and swallowed thickly as the need to run her hands through his hair and tug it back to see his reaction hit her. 

“Oh, fuck me, you’re hot,” Lydia blurted out, ears burning once she realized she had said those words out loud and not in her head. His low and soft chuckle twisted her gut with apprehension, and warmth pooled between her legs that she clenched together, leaning slightly more into his touch. 

“You’re carriage is ready, Lo–”

“Thank you. That’ll be all.” He cut off the man that appeared by them.

Lydia blinked out of her haze as she looked to the side, seeing a carriage she didn’t hear coming up. It was unusual with its dark wooden frame and silver outline. She blinked at it again, her mind slowly noticing that there was a carriage in front of her and not a vehicle. 

“Wait, carriage?” She questioned, glancing back at the man.

“Unless you possess the magic to travel by yourself, then yes.” 

Magic, she thought, testing the word in her mind. The man had to be delusional if he thought magic was real or if he was messing with her drunken state. She peered up at him, his eyes holding nothing but sincerity and a bit of doubt—at what, she didn’t know.

The man held his hand out for her. She stared at it for a second, placing her hand into his as he led her to the carriage where the man he cut off earlier stood, opening the door for them as they approached. The silver-eyed man helped her into the carriage, dismissing the other man as he got in himself and closed the door. 

“Where to, my lady?” 

Lydia opened her mouth, closing it a second later, stumped on an answer as she had no idea where anything was. Telling the man across from her she had no idea where she was and had nowhere to go or what hotel to drop her off at when she didn’t have that kind of money to pay for didn’t seem right when riding in a carriage that should have been outdated years ago. 

“I see. Driver, take us to the Oriental Arc.”

“Wait, what? I didn’t tell you where to go,” she chided, leaning forward, trying to look threatening. The slight smirk on the man’s face had her scowling over at him, knowing she looked anything but intimidating compared to his build.

“No, but it looks like you don’t even know where you’re going. Don’t worry; I have no intentions other than getting you someplace to sleep off your self-indulgence.” 

“That’s what they all say. No serial killer would tell you they were a serial killer before they kill you either.” Her voice got softer, leaning into the seat behind her. She crossed her arms, sinking into the comfortable cushions as the warmth of the carriage made her eyes grow heavier. No matter how hard she fought back, they began to close against her will, jerking open each time they closed.

She couldn’t make out the words the man across from her spoke, just the husky way his voice drifted to her ears like a lullaby. The same woodland scent could be smelled by the person that carried her in their arms as they walked. The battle was lost when her eyes closed, and she didn’t have the willpower to open them again.

A voice came beside her, too low to make out the words. She felt herself get lowered onto something soft, her body sinking into its confines. She missed the warmth where the hands had left her before something was placed over her, encasing her in a plush of heat again. She rolled to her side, curling her legs up to her stomach as she pulled the fluffiness closer. Disappointment hit when the smell of crisp grass was more potent than the musky woodland she craved. 

“Ian…watch…an eye…that happens….trouble….” 

“Shut up,” she grumbled, turning her face into the pillow that swallowed her head like clouds. 

A man’s low chuckle echoed in the room. She felt something brush against her cheek and swatted it away as she mumbled into the pillow. The sandman pulled her back under while footsteps moved further away from her.