"The next rounds on me," I sang and flung my shot glass up in the air. The crowd standing near me hooted and picked me up from my chair and tossed me up like the head cheerleader on top of a pyramid.

"She is the best," one blonde male screamed before launching me up again. "Cheers."

"Wohoo," I hooted as I rose up and nearly touched the roof before being cradled back into his muscular arms. Upon landing, I held his bicep for support. "Man, that was hawwttt."

Sliding to my barstool, I swirled my finger up at the chisel chested bartender for another round of drinks to wash my sadness away.

"You are cut off, girl. I don't want destruction of property here." Sniggering, he jolted his head. "How about this," he leaned over as did I. Shouting on the top of his voice near my ear, he was ensuring I could hear him in the background of loud thumping music with neon lighting dancing in and around. "You wait for another fifteen minutes before I serve you."

"Booo," I pointed my thumbs down and stuck my tongue out. "Now. Service me now."

He waved his hands and moved over to another brunette whose back side of the dress was nearly missing. The bartender scanned her for whatever she put up on display at the bar while leaning over to order her drink. With a high held pony and charcoal layered eyes, the woman was an epitome of a cat woman. One whip in hand and thigh high boots and she could give any woman a run for their money.

"Here," the bartender slid a drink near me before mixing the drinks for the cat woman.

"What is it?" I shouted, standing at the edge of my stood. "Vodka?"

He nodded. I chugged. It was water.

"Oh screw you," I tossed the glass towards him. With the moves of a jungle cat, he caught it and placed it near the sink.

"See, destruction of property," his eyebrows danced at me before sliding the drink towards the other lady. She walked away with her drink after sliding her finger near the bartender's neck. My eyes widened when I realized the backless dress lady didn't pay.

"Hey, I kept paying and still you are not serving me," thumping my fist on the bar, I kept hounding him.

"Because she will pay later and you won't. You will probably have to be taken to the hospital for all the drinks you downed in that little body."

I blew raspberries and turned around to watch the dancing crowd. Drunk to the point of recollection, many swayed to the music while many other sat in a corner, watching the neon lights swing from the bottom of the floor to the roof.

"I need to pee," I said to myself before sliding off the stool. My brain tried to scan the place that sprawled with drunkards like me. Blinking my eyes to lift the hazy vision, I moved towards the arrow sign.

In was in the narrow hallway when I realized it wasn't the washroom that I ventured into. Tables on the side had people crawling over it, kissing and grunting. Their lips and nose were powdered white and the whole atmosphere in the pink colored lit room induced me to a state of nausea. Whatever pipe was being smoked around clearly wasn't cigarettes'. I would know the scent of tobacco from miles away.

Having never been exposed to a view where public fornication occurred, I tried retracing my steps. The water content in my body was replaced with alcohol. My legs turned jelly and I sat in a corner, worried if I'd ever walk with the feeling of numbness that crept up my toes.

Leaning over, I heaved, my lungs fought for air in the smoke filled hall. The blurry vision turned watery and I held my knees close to my chest, cradling myself. All the worst decisions of my life crept up in my memory, tears dripped down my face. The world around me started to spin and the back of my neck felt a cold draft that sent shivers down my spine.

"Someone help me," I cried out but wasn't sure if my voice was audible to anyone. Any chance of trying to pull up and walk out resulted in me falling two more steps lower to the place I was perched before.

"Hey," a voice called me. I gave my hands up for the halo creature to take me up. The rest of the vision fazed into complete darkness.

My eyes jolted open upon hearing the loud honk from a Hummer that rushed past me on the street. Cool night air stroked my flushed face and drove in a sense of relief. I could breath again. My hands crawled over to my chest before touching my warm face.

"Ya, ya. You are very much alive." Someone said. I turned to see the bartender standing behind me, smoking. "You had a panic attack," he delivered the news before I could ask for any post-movie credits that was my life.

"I never had them before," I stood near the clean shaven man who tossed the bud in the air. It summersaulted before landing near his feet, the heels of which crushed it. "You littered," I pointed.

"And you need to get your bearings right," he mocked, tossing a mint at me.

"Oh please don't tell me I puked on you...or someone..." My palms rested my face as I drowned in drunk plight.

He didn't bother answering. Watching me bury my head between my hands before bending over to rest it between my knees, he chuckled. "Don't worry. You did no such thing. If you would have, I would take your platinum card away," his pointed towards my bag.

It would be rude to check my bag's content now. It would seem that I didn't trust him. Sliding my hand cautiously inside the open zipper gap on my bag pack, I smiled at him. "So you are done with the shift?"

He nodded sidewise before pulling his metallic cigarettes holder and tapping one more cigarette. "You can check properly," he lit it, carefully cradling the lighter flame between his palm to protect against the wind. "...your bag."

Upon his words, I ran a quick check before tossing my head up, smiling. "Everything is here."

"Good," he nodded, whispering. After a brief pause, he tilted his head. "I have to go back inside. My break is over. Will you be fine here?"

"Oh yes," I shook my head vigorously and gestured him to leave.

"Cool. Stay safe kid," he tipped the fictitious hat of his, moving in through the exit.

"Wait," I called out but he was long gone. I didn't knew the good Samaritan's name. Sitting at the curb, I dropped my cab request and watched as girls in stellar dresses trotted everywhere with heels the size of bamboo shoots.

There was nothing else I had to do but wait. The map which indicated my cab, pinged some far away distance. There was time to kill and what better way to do so than by calling up friends whom I missed terribly.

John and Sasha were on were speed dials since Roseville and even now. Their non-removal depicted the sorry state I was in, not having friends to fill the hole they left. Not that Linda was any less a friend but she had some large shoes to fill, if she ever tried to push them off their leading position.

"Hey baby," Sasha picked up my facetime call and immediately fell on the couch, nuzzling her way into John's chest.

"Ahhhh, how are you?" I screamed watching them both.

"Oh Daisy, its been so long. When are you coming back. Take a few days off and come. The twins miss you." Sasha was smart to play the twins' card. She knew very well how much I loved them.

I could only shrug. "I will try but things are hectic around here," and right on cue, the worst of my days that was today floated up in my memory. With Philip's confirmation on being back with his girlfriend and Marcy's pep talk on my mind wandering acts, I was sure to be fired within days of the incident.

"Are you okay? Tell me everything," Sasha's voice drifted to me as she left the comfortable hold of her husband and moved into a secluded part of their home. "Is something wrong?"

Tears, which triggered more with the alcohol still swirling in my blood, swan up to my eyes. There was no shame in wailing in front of Sasha. She had always been my rock and the sensation of missing her and feeling rudderless drove up my voice to turn squeaky.

"I don't know Sasha what I am doing wrong. I tend to be on the path of goofups that getting things right." Sniffing my reddened nose on my sleeves, I looked up at the screen. 

Sasha's kindred connection was strong, even over a video call. With pursed lips, she heard me as I ranted about the debacles I ensued. "It will all be fine," she breathed her reply and asked me to look up. "Trust me. This is just the start. And the choppier the start," she waited for me to finish.

"The better the rest of the journey," I chuckled, pointing at her. "You are turning into John too. Be careful or you both will one day turn into one giant blubber."

She laughed and fell back. "So what else," her voice spiked up like all times before whenever she wanted me to divulge details about my life. "How was your date with Steve?"

I wiped off the residual tears off my sleeves and sighed, looking at her cheerful expressions. "That's the funny part. He didn't make it. He ditched me because..." like a blood sniffing hound, my senses pinged. "Sasha, I never told you about the date. This is the first time we are talking after the day you were leaving and I clearly remember not telling you anything about the date."

With a pale face and her eyes dancing over to someone in the camera's background, Sasha tilted her head to state, "I have to go."

"Nooo," my commanding voice halted her finger approaching the red button. "Don't you dare end the call, Sasha. You would rue the day you did it. Now tell me, how do you know?"

Sasha held her head low, donning on silence as her attire. John slid besides her and picked up the call. "Hey kiddo," he waved at me.

"Give the damn phone back and let her reply, John. Tomorrow is Sunday. I swear to god I will drive up there if you guys don't tell me now."

Sasha nodded holding her palms up. "Fine. Philip told us."

"That I was to go on a date with Steve?"

She nodded. "And..." her lips pursed and she turned to look at John. He might have given his seal of approval for her to turn back. "Philip set up the date for you."

"What?" those were the lucky words to have escaped me while the rest of the questions pricked the back of my throat. My phone chimed up as the driver parked in front of me. "I have to go," I waved carelessly and slid into the car.

In a flash, I slid inside the car, reeling over Sasha's words.

"To the assigned location?" The driver turned to confirm as his finger hovered over the accept button on his screen.

Sliding the map on my phone, up and down and right and center like I was tossing something on the wok, I realigned the new drop point. "To the new location. Three Aces Restaurant."

~

Guys...

What do you think Daisy is going to do? Will she confront Philip or would she tap out at the last moment?

Let me know. Also, if you like the chapter, do vote and comment please :)