The bass thumped in my chest. Sweat dripped off the half-naked bodies around me as they jumped up and down on the dance floor. The club was busy for a Thursday night.
Just the way I liked it.
The Titan Club was my favorite out of the rotation. Not too much security, plenty of women who were all too eager to go home with me, and most importantly cheap drinks.
I couldn't go the same club too many times in a row for the risk of being recognized. It was one of the many ways to protect myself.
I stood by the bar with my cold glass of whiskey on the rocks. I stirred the drink with the small straw and took a sip. Even though the alcohol never affected me like it did other people, it still tasted good and made me feel at ease.
I scanned the dance floor, searching through the bodies of women. I had to find the perfect one. I could have anyone I wanted but I didn't want to waste my time with trash. Each woman had to be memorable. Each one had to leave their mark on me.
The music swelled. The crowd raised their hands into the air. The strobe lights made it hard to get a good look at any one girl.
My eyes landed on a brunette. She wore a tight black dress that showed off a lot of legs. She was skinny but not too skinny. I didn't care for the women that threw up after every meal. Their bones protruding from their skin made them look like the undead.
But this brunette was everything I always wanted. She danced among a few friends. Her smile was contagious. I knew she would be mine by the end of the night.
The hunt was on.
I took a few more sips of my drink and set it back on the bar. I dragged my fingers through my short black hair and waded through the sea of bodies.
Everyone moved in slow motion. My eyes blurred everything else out except for the brunette. The dancers made a path without me having to push my way through.
Her brown hair bounced against her bare shoulders. I could feel the hunger deep in the pit of my stomach. I needed to taste her.
Her girlfriends noticed me first. Their eyes went big and they blushed. It was a normal reaction to my appearance. I singled out the brunette and she finally noticed me. She stopped dancing right there and time stopped.
We stared at each other for eternity. Neither one of us said a word.
I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Care to have a drink with me?”
I didn't need to see her face to know the answer. It was always the same with every girl. I grabbed her hand and felt lightning go straight through me. Something I'd never felt before. But I ignored it and pulled her through the crowd and to the bar.
We both sat down on stools and I motioned for the bartender. A chick in a white t-shirt with a low v-neck came over. The music was too loud so I showed her my old drink and gave her two fingers. She understood immediately and went to work.
The brunette twiddled her thumbs next to me. Another normal reaction to me. Women got so nervous when I was around. It made it easy to manipulate them.
She leaned over and yelled, “What's your name?”
I never gave out my name to anyone. Even the name on my driver's license was fake. And I didn't need to know the name every woman I met at clubs.
I gave her a smile that said things wouldn't be so easy with me. She almost melted to the floor right in front of me.
The bartender returned with our two drinks. It didn't matter if the brunette liked whiskey or not. She would drink it because I ordered it for her.
She took a sip and winced. “What's your name?” she asked again.
A devilish grin spread across my face. She wasn't going to get any information out of me. And I didn't need to know anything about her. This night would be the last time we'd meet.
But there was something different about her. I watched her as she drank her whiskey through the tiny black straw. Her eyes held secrets.
A hidden pain.
“Do you want to go somewhere quieter?” I asked. We always went back to a hotel room after a drink. That's how every night went.
She looked deep into my eyes, smiling. She was going to be all mine tonight. The brunette shook her head, taking another sip and setting the glass down on the bar.
“I have to get back to my friends now. Thank you for the drink.” The brunette got off the bar stool and ran back onto the dance floor.
I sat there with the most dumbfounded face. What the fuck was that?
That had never happened to me before. Women couldn't resist me. It just wasn't possible.
But she did it with ease. I thought I had her under my spell but she had me fooled.
Was something wrong with me? I must've been off my game. There wasn't a good explanation.
I could've brushed it off and hunted my next prey but I couldn't let her get away with rejecting me like that. She was going to be mine no matter what.
I knocked back the rest of the whiskey, wiped my mouth, and walked back onto the dance floor.
The night was far from over...