There's so many people.

"I never do this. I can't believe they talked me into this." I mutter to myself as I navigate this sea of bodies.

All the closeness, all the eyes, all the movement, the music, it's just not my scene..

This constant vibration in my pocket is being overwhelmed by the base of this hip hop house music blend that nobody asked for. Well okay, maybe some people do love it but it's giving me a headache.

Finally I reach the bar, and the spot i snag is surprisingly open with two free barstools.

I cannot overstate how much unwanted touch I just experienced. I straighten my clothes and gather myself as I sit down, pulling my phone out of my pocket to see the group chat lighting up. I don't bother to select it, instead I open the message from my best friend Alex, usually he's quite sensible.

"BROOOOOO Brodieeeeee where the hell did you go, the section is jumping". I can easily imagine the stupid fist pump thing he does, and he’s probably being told right now that he can’t be standing on something haha. I mean sooooo sensible right? Nevertheless, Alex is clearly having the time of his life. I can't help but smirk a little bit at the thought then reply, "Closing my tab and getting an uber bro, let me know when you make it home." A subtle exit, he’ll probably notice the reply later.

I signal the bartender, though I'm not in a rush, taking their head nod as acknowledgment enough. Suddenly, I feel a bump on my shoulder followed by giggles, little drunk giggles. "Sorry, my bad", as she makes a tipsy attempt to wipe whatever she must've spilled on my sleeve before sitting down.

I can't help but notice her, the shoulder length bob cut, the dark hair contrasting with the shiny sliver metallic tube dress, the bright pink phone case she just slammed onto the bar..

"Hey sorry again, nobody was sitting here right?, I’m Jenny"

"What" i reply, "It's hard to hear you".

"Mmm-eeyyee nahy-ma izz Jeh-kneee" followed by a hiccup that shook her entire body. I can't help but chuckle "I got it haha, Jenny".

So, I'd be lying if I i told you I remember much about the rest of the conversation. I only can relive those next moments in pieces, like a slide show or one of those little photo scrapbooks. There was just something about how she looked at me, we all know the feeling right? Thanks to her, I didn’t move. I kept drinking. For some reason now the music just sounded better. Somehow people felt like they disappeared but I could still feel their energy. The closeness.. the thing that bothered me so much earlier didn’t matter anymore. We felt so.. and I was okay with it.

“OH DANG There's no way it's 1 am.”

How’d 1030 pm become 1 am so fast?

Yeah, I need to go home. I unlock my phone to order an uber, and I can’t help but notice the group chat thread jumping with messages about the other club some girls dragged Alex and the guys to. “Wow bet” They left without me? Guess I did say I was leaving hours ago though. Whatever.

As I’m trying to confirm the ride share, I feel breath before I hear words. The sensation behind my left ear sends goosebumps across my arms and neck. “Do you not have a car or something” followed by a playful giggle. “Well of course but I rode with frien…”, she cuts me off smiling with three words, “Ride with me”. I turn towards her, wondering if I heard her correct. Staring right into my soul she says it again,“Ride with me.”

And so, I did. No hesitation.This isn’t like me.

Her hand pulls me through the remaining waves of people, but I can’t see her most of the time. The one thing keeping us connected is her firm grip, our fingers interlocked through the chaos. It feels like this little mystery woman is guiding me into the unknown.

Before I know it, I’m in the passenger seat of this older black single cab truck. Both windows are down, there’s no music playing.. it’s almost as if I can feel the city looking at me.. at us. I can still remember the city skyline outshining whatever stars were visible, and for once I didn’t care, about anything. I’m just riding with this mystery woman and she’s talking but the wind and the drinks I didn’t want are muffling the sound. They can’t drown out her smile though or stop that head movement to the songs I can’t hear, and suddenly a thought pulls me from the freedom.

I definitely don’t remember paying my tab.

Maybe they had my card on file. And then something else it hits me, something really hits me or better yet we hit something. They say in these moments time slows down, and I always questioned that until now.

I didn’t feel any of it at first, just the sensation of being pulled toward the top of the cab and not being able to stop my knees from moving with me. Before I could blink fully i was outside of the truck, it felt like someone lit a match to my skin and I mean all of it. All I could do is look back as that old black single cab truck slowly finished the last half roll.

Maybe this is the part where I’m supposed to yell or something, instead nothing comes out. There I lay, faceplanted in this damp grass. I can move enough to turn my head but I can’t hear anything, just see images i’d never want to add to tonight’s slide show or any photo scrap book ever in history.

If you really want to know, yeah she’s there, arms limp near the driver side of the windshield.

There is no happy ending here, no night to remember. The only thing that remains is that she shouldn’t have driven from that bar, and I should’ve gotten a ride for us both. But here I am, a statistic. Don’t be like us.

Be careful, designate a driver or use a ride share.

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