I finished my plum brandy, țuică, with a heavy thump and a sigh. I stared down at the neon lights that passed my glass like shadows.

"Are you happy to be out of your shell, Mona?" Laura asked as we clinked glasses. With the ends dyed rosy pink, she fashioned her hair into a doughnut bun.

"Da. This is just the thing I needed," I said, drinking a bit more. "I've had a really long week." I scratched my waves as they spiraled down to one side and bounced against my shoulder.

"What, have your kids been bothering you working since they've been off this week?" Laura asked, and then chuckling. I laughed with her as my drink bubbled inside the glass.

"Nu, not really. I managed to take them out in the afternoon, but I've just had a lot to think about," I said and folded my arms under to lie on. I stared straight at the glass, watching the reflection of my sparkly lipstick rippling through like a glossy, scarlet river.

"That's nice! Now you can have a nice little night out to yourself with me," she said and spread her arm across me, squeezing me a little.

"True," I said, grinning briefly as she swayed us along to the rhythm that flowed through the air like waves. Mihai was kind enough to keep an eye on my kids for tonight. I bet they were having the time of their lives and probably raided my fridge to have a midnight feast with him.

"To cheer you up, do you want to see my paintings?"

"Alright." I tucked my arms as she brought out her phone. Her first work was sprinkled with glitter and had a background consisting of purple and blue flowing through the sky. Small yellow stars dotted at the top and a gray cat sitting with a big tail sprayed up.

"This looks really cool!" I exclaimed, gazing down at the canvas.

"This is my most recent painting. It was inspired by my cat that's waiting for me at home," she explained.

"Your cat is very cute, and I love how you did the sky here." I skimmed my finger over the mixture of colors. "Can I have it? The picture I mean, not the cat."

I turned to her with a full smile and she looked between me, her phone, and then back at me.

"Nu." She shook her head and tucked her phone back into her pocket. All while sliently laughing like she couldn't believe I asked that.

Suddenly, my legs twisted with my bladder pressing down. I set my drink down and hopped off my seat.

"I'm just going to the toilet quickly. Make sure no one touches my drink," I said and got swallowed up by the crowd. I slithered through the ocean of swarming bodies that jumped and wiggled against me. People flared their arms up and sang to the music.

I hummed to myself as I focused on getting to the toilets. I looked up at the several shining disco balls but bumped into a rigid surface as I stumbled back.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stumble into you," I said.

"It's fine. Are you alright?"

The voice softened with concern and laced with a sense of familiarity. My head rose, and the person lifted their sunglasses. I recognised them as the man I bumped into on the street a few weeks ago.

"O it's you," I said and smiled warmly. I slowly brushed my waves against my face, ticking my skin like leaves, and carefully concealed the tingling embarrassment rising.

The man took a step closer. His brown eyes narrowed as if I was being scanned. I stood stiff, and my heart pounded with worry that I had the wrong person.

"O da I remember you." He pulled back, making himself look less intimidating. "How've you been?"

"Good. Sorry I keep bumping into you." I said and nervously brushed some hair behind my ear. "I promise I'm not usually like this," I muttered, feeling my flaming cheeks burn.

"Don't worry about it. It happens to everyone," he said, holding that friendly grin. "Where were you heading to anyway?"

"Just to the toilet," I replied and pointed to the sign just behind him.

"I see. Sorry if I was in your way," he said and moved to the side, allowing me through. I swept past him and walked down the narrow corridor. The cacophony of music and shouting became more distant.

I went, did my business and touched up my makeup. When I came back, I was surprised to see the man still standing there in his spot.

"O you're still here. Were you waiting for me?" I asked, and brushed my hair behind my ear.

"Da I was. I just thought we could chat a bit if that's okay with you."

"Serios?" My voice rose with hope at the suggestion. "Sure, I'll like that." I gave a slight nod, and we began walking together. I fiddled with my fingers as they began slipping with sweat.

We slid through the crowd and his sharp, chiseled jaw protruded as he had a gleaming smile of confidence towards me.

"I'm Ștefan, what's your name?" He asked and brushed his slicked jet-black hair. They sprung slowly, bathing in the mesmerizing sprinkle of the disco lights.

"Sunt Mona," I murmured, my name dripping out like sweet honey. But my gaze wandered as I couldn't help but stare down his buffy arms stretching through his black shirt.

"Mona? like Mona Lisa?" Ștefan's voice snapped me back, and I saw his lips tug into a grin of amusement.

"Da like Mona Lisa." I nodded off with a laugh. "Except Lisa isn't my middle name. It's Maria."

"My middle name is Cosmin. But I love the way your name sounds in my head," his words vibrated with his smoky voice, deepening his heavy sigh.

"Serios?"

"Da, Mona Maria, it sounds absolutely lovely." He smiled with his rosy lips. His eyes dipped down my body and returned to mine with a twinkle in his eye. "Beautiful name for a beautiful woman like you."

"Mmm mersi..." I felt myself blushing and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear to distract myself. "So, are you here with anyone?"

"Not yet. I'm meeting up with a friend who should be coming soon," he said, looking over at the crowd. "It's become our regular routine since we've been friends for a long time."

"I have a friend who I'm close to like that. We come from the same town and everything. I've basically known him for all my life. So he's looking after my kids right now as I'm hanging out with his girlfriend here."

"Is that her?" His hand shot past me and I looked to see Laura waving at us from the bar.

"Da, that's her," I said and waved back. "I better get back because she looks like she's missing me." I chuckled as I saw Laura pouting in her seat.

"Okay. It was nice talking to you Mona, and enjoy the rest of your night. I hope we can speak again soon."

"Me too. If you want, you can give me your number and I'll text you so we can talk more." I smiled while swaying slowly.

"Okay, we can do that," he agreed and gave him my phone. He tapped in the number and handed it back with an excited grin plastered on his face.

"Mulțumesc Ștefan," I thanked him with a smirk. I slipped my phone back and started walking away.

"See you later." I blew him a kiss, and I went back to Laura, who didn't take her eyes off us the whole time.

"Who was that?" She asked as I sat down.

"Just someone I met in a pharmacy." I grinned and took my drink from her.

"It seems like you guys really hit it off." She smirked.

"Da, we did." I nodded. "Now you can stop worrying that I'll take Mihai away from you." I smirked as a scarlet shade bloomed on her cheeks. She avoided my gaze and began playing with her fingers.

"I'm sorry again for calling you a fat little witch," she mumbled and cleared her throat. She looked like a big, sweaty tomato hanging on a stem of embarrassment. I could tell she regretted what she said to me when we first met. I remember when Mihai strolled into my living room with her wrapped tightly around his arm. That this was the special person he desperately wanted me to meet and we would get along.

But when Mihai introduced me as his best friend, her cheery and friendly demeanor disappeared. And her face narrowed into a scowl before she began hurling swears at me. So I screamed back at her and ended up dragging her across the floor by her hair, and slapping her until Mihai pulled us apart. He made us apologize and then we met another day for a fresh start where things were much better.

"You should be sorry," I said, sipping my drink as I started chuckling. "You little drama queen. What was all that about? I was just sitting there, eating my sandwich and minding my own business."

"I guess I was a little jealous." Laura lowered her head with shame flourishing over her face. "You're so much prettier than me, Mona."

I put my arm around her and patted her back until she came back up. "Don't put yourself down like that, Laura. You're beautiful too. There's no need to bring yourself down. Okay?"

She sniffed and smiled at me. "Multumesc Mona."

I got out of my seat and pulled her up. "Come on, let's dance."

We paid, and I got consumed by the crowd as we started dancing along to the music.

A/N: Hey I hope you enjoy the chapter! Honestly I felt second hand embarrassment when moan bumped into Ștefan, like imagine bumping into someone twice 😭😭😭😭

Thank you for 200 reads! ❤️❤️❤️