“Megan, I can’t decide which dress to wear tonight. Which do you think, the pink one or the purple one?”
I walk from the en-suite bathroom of the hotel that we are staying in for a few days. I’m wearing a soft cream dressing gown; the hotel’s logo is elegantly embroidered on the left-hand lapel. The logo is of two green twirls intertwining with the letters HH under it. Jenny is in the lounge, wearing a matching gown; she is standing in front of a huge mirror mounted above the electric fireplace and straightening her shoulder-length blonde hair. As I walk past the large black corner sofa, I look at the dresses that are hanging in front of the big floor-to-ceiling windows, which provide a fantastic view of the city. It is like looking at a picture postcard. This part of the city, which is away from all the tourist traps, is the real city and I have fallen in love with it.
Everything about this suite and the hotel impresses me. This is the first hotel in the city I have actually stayed in; I have only ever come down for the day before. When I see hotels like this, I can see why some people live in them.
“Jenny, these dresses are the same, right?” I enquire as I stand in front of the two dresses, feeling them. They are both made out of some thin cotton material, perfect material for January.
Her green eyes sparkle as she walks towards me. “Yes, they are the same. You know me. If I like a dress, I get it in every colour I like.”
Both dresses are strapless, straight up and down with a ripple section across the chests. Jenny always chooses amazing dresses, very pretty and elegant, never anything too long. She loves her legs. The dress is gorgeous, but not something I would wear, as it is too short for me. Jenny will look stunning in either.
“Go with the purple one, Jenny. You look good in purple especially that shade. I’m going to get changed.”
I walk back into the en-suite bathroom and change into black leggings; I slip my feet into a pair of gold Grecian goddess sandals. I pull on the cream dress, though to me it feels more like a top. I like the way the rounded neckline is cut low, but not too low, and I like the way the material billows and floats. I apply some lip-gloss, a must have in my life. Some people love shoes; some love handbags, but I adore lip-gloss.
I run a brush through my long, brown hair with its natural blonde highlights. Unlike Jenny, whose hair has always been naturally curly, I don’t have to straighten my hair. Mine is naturally straight, which can be a pain, as I love it with a little wave.
I stand, looking at my reflection in the rectangular bathroom mirror to make sure I look all right before I leave the bathroom to rejoin Jenny. Jenny is applying her make-up; she doesn’t need it, as she has flawless fair skin. Nevertheless, she always wears it, a lot of it!
This could take some time, I think to myself as I walk over to the sofa and sit down.
“Jen, you look fab,” I comment. I wish she realized she doesn’t need to take so much time getting ready, well, putting her make-up on. She is naturally pretty.
“Thanks, Megan, you look fab, too. I love those shoes. They would work so well for my wedding.” Jenny giggles, looking at herself in the mirror.
I giggle. “Yeah, Jenny, they would.” I lift my foot up and look at them. I love these sandals, and they are so comfortable and pretty and work with everything, unless it is raining.
Jenny is one of my closest friends; we first met at work four years ago. She was the extremely shy girl that did not say much, but that quickly changed and she soon came out of her shell. She is now one of the most confident people I know. In addition, if truth be told, I do not know what I would do without her in my life. When Jenny left the company two years ago, we remained friends; we are like sisters, so close. Jenny has never been close to her sister, Sam, unlike she is with me.
Jenny’s been with her fiancée, Rich, for longer than I have known her, and the three of us are great friends. We’re in the city shopping for Jenny’s big day. It’s only six months away, as Jenny constantly reminds me. I can’t wait for the wedding, and I still can’t get over the fact that she asked me to be her Maid of Honour.
“Are you ready?” I ask, as I am getting bored of sitting and waiting.
“Done, let’s go.” Jenny spins around, showing me her outfit that she has finished off with a pair of black stilettos.
I stand up and grab my sparkly black cardigan along with my sequined clutch. They match perfectly. I always say that life without a little sparkle is far too boring. With my clutch safe beneath my arm, I head for the door with Jenny following behind me.
Jenny decided that we should go out for a drink while we’re here, though I would have preferred to stay in. Jenny looked at me with that look of hers that says “please, you know you really want to”, so I decided I would go out with my friend and have a little fun, while I still could.
Rich is out with his best man, Luke. I still don’t know what to make of Luke. I’ve only met him on a couple of occasions. He is famous and knows it. He comes across very cocky, but you never know what he might be like in a different situation. Luke is about the same height as Rich. He is slim with dark blonde hair and very dark green eyes.
We leave the hotel and head out into the night. Walking next to Jenny, I listen to my friend talking about all her plans once she and Rich are husband and wife. I hope her plans work; she hopes to have the fairy tale wedding and marriage. I hope she gets her happily ever after because I am not sure such things happen.
This part of the city is a mixture of boutiques and wine bars, and Jenny quickly finds a place that she likes. I look up at the establishment’s name and it intrigues me, and I smile at Jenny as we head for the entrance. My eyes once again settle on the neon sign that reads “Bar 3000”.
We giggle and walk toward the bar. It has six expansive floor-to-ceiling windows mounted in black modern frames, and it looks very smart and classy. It seems quite empty, but that’s fine by me as we only popped out for a quiet drink.
As we open the double doors to the bar, I notice that the exterior décor continues into the club. Everywhere is stylized black and red décor with huge flat screen televisions hanging on the walls. The main bar is centralized and runs in a complete circle, and I can see bar staff busy behind the gleaming counter and stools positioned the entire length of the bar.
The bar is busier than it had looked from the outside with mainly men sitting in small groups or in pairs. Most of the customers have their eyes on the screens. A football match is playing, and this would certainly account for the lack of women.
Although I am not looking for a man, I cast my eyes across the room, but none of the men warrants a second look. As we reach the bar, I notice a group of three men standing farther down the bar.