I sat down right next to him, elbow on the counter. Flirting wasn't really a skill of mine -- I hadn't actively tried to flirt with someone in a while. But here I was anyway.

"Hey," I greeted, trying not to seem overly interested. I tried to angle my body, so I looked more attractive. Once again, I wasn't an expert in this field and was slightly worried I just looked dumb.

The man glanced over at me, and to my surprise, smiled. Great start. "Hi there...you are?" he asked. His words were a little slurred. Yikes.

That made my job easier.

"Liz," I replied, smiling at him and sticking out a manicured hand. My gold bracelets jangled on my wrist.

I saw his eyes go to them.

I wondered if he knew just how much money I owned.

He shook my hand gently, before calling over a bartender. "Can you get two drinks, one for the lady here and one for me?" he asked.

The guy nodded and quickly went about making something. I guess he already knew what this blonde-haired dude liked.

"It's lovely to meet you," he said turning back to face me. He honestly wasn't too attractive face-on. No offense. "I'm guessing you're here with someone?"

But hey, he didn't need to be attractive for this to work. Just attracted to me.

"Just some friends," I commented, waving towards a random group of a few girls.

"No one else? No special someone..." He smirked a bit.

Fortunately, this was already headed in the right direction.

I just shook my head innocently and gave him a flirtatious smile. The bartender dropped two drinks off at the counter, and I watched as the man pulled out his wallet and handed a couple dollars to him. "Thank you so much," the guy said as he pulled one drink towards him, and handed the other to me. The bartender nodded, before walking off.

The interaction had seemed normal...but something had felt a bit odd. It was weird of him to just hand the bartender money like that, but I passed it off as him trying to impress me.

The one good thing that had come of it -- the man's wallet was still sitting out, just in my reach.

On the note, my blackmailer hadn't been too specific about instructions. I'd thought this was going to be a lot harder. I knew I needed him to reveal his wallet at some point, but I hadn't been positive when.

He smiled and took a sip from his glass, muttering a quiet, "Cheers." I quickly took a sip of my own, downing a bit more than I'd intended.

I met his gaze, barely glancing at the wallet still lying out by his arm. He seemed to have forgotten it for a second.

For a couple more minutes, we talked, joked, laughed, and flirted like nobody else was there. It was surprisingly easier than I'd thought. Maybe it was the drink. I felt a bit reckless, honestly.

But I still had a job. Right? I had that job to do.

And I needed to do it.

I looked down at my drink and took another sip. "And guess what happened next?" the guy continued, telling this story that I'd only half paid attention to. "He looks at me and goes, 'Too late for that.'"

My shot.

I started laughing hysterically, leaning forward in my seat to the point where I toppled forward, splashing my drink all over the front of his shirt.

He reached for me quickly, trying to stop my fall. At the same time, I splayed my arm out, fingers grasping the wallet and tucking it quickly into the spandex hidden under my dress. All before he could notice.

When I was finally righted, he looked at me in a way...that was almost predatory. I was suddenly uncomfortable.

I carefully placed the glass back on the table, feeling wildly dizzy. And a bit confused.

He leaned forward and whispered something in my ear that made me cringe.

And as I tried to pull away, he grabbed my arm.

He started to stand.

I really didn't feel like moving, but he was pulling a good amount and I got up anyway.

"Eliza," came a voice from right behind me. "There you are...we were wondering what had happened to you."

I turned around in confusion, meeting Jonah's gaze. He stood there with an innocent smile, reaching out a hand to help me stand while the man next to me looked on in concern.

I grabbed Jonah's hand as the blonde-haired man let go of me.

Jonah's grip was a bit harsher than I'd expected. As I stared at his face, I realized he was angry. Was that directed towards me?

I was trying to remember something. I knew something bad had happened to him today, but for some reason I couldn't figure out what.

"Sorry about him," I said suddenly to the blonde-haired man who just looked irritated, too. Wow, was I really pissing off a ton of people right now?

The man just gave a tight smile. "It's all right. I'm guessing you have to be on your way. It was nice to meet you." Then, he turned and disappeared into the crowd, not even checking for the wallet he left behind.

I giggled a bit. I'd actually done it. Stolen from someone. I didn't feel any remorse.

That seemed to piss off Jonah even more. "Okay, we need to talk." He dragged me off the dance floor and to some side hall where the restrooms were. When we got there, he stopped, crossed his arms, and stared at me in accusation. I didn't know what to do so I fiddled with the hem of my dress.

"What's wrong?" I finally asked after a few more seconds of awkward silence.

"Jade said you disappeared," he stated, factually. I just tilted my head at him. The world spun a bit.

"Yeah."

"We were all hanging out on the dance floor. Having fun. But apparently you prefer other company." Was he mad at me for not hanging with him and his friends? I hadn't realized that had been a requirement.

"Sorry," I mumbled, leaning my head against the wall to stop the world from spinning. God, I was feeling pretty weird.

"Sorry? Really? That's all you have to say?" he asked, his voice disturbingly calm.

I nodded.

"Okay, great. Great to know. I'm glad you're having the time of your life flirting and screwing with random strangers."

My face contorted at that. "I'm not...screwing with strangers...," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. My words were a bit slurred.

That wasn't the appropriate response apparently. "You know what? Whatever. Have fun. Obviously, I mean nothing to you. Keep drinking and having the time of your life because you have a money, family, friends, and a lovely house to return to."

Oh.

Right.

That.

It hit me then why he was so mad at me.

Thinking back to my day, I hadn't really talked to him about his house burning down...I mean, I'd practically ran out the second I found out about it. I was his best friend and...

And me flirting carelessly must've seemed inconsiderate when he was still wrapping his mind around what had happened to him.

Another sudden burst of dizziness hit me, and my fingers tried and failed to grab onto the wall. Of course I couldn't grab onto the wall. That was stupid.

Jonah kept going, riled up in his anger. "My house burned down today! You're supposed to be my best friend. You're supposed to..."

He stopped mid-sentence as I suddenly fell down the wall.

My knees had gotten tired. I'd felt like sitting. A laugh bubbled up in me.

"Shit," Jonah muttered as realization dawned on him. "You're drugged."