The Ocean’s City

The thundering nightclub music blissfully blocked out the hazy feeling in my mind, but it did little for my heartache. I reread the message on my phone as my best friend Dannie was off getting us our third round of drinks. It read: we’re done.

Colton and I had been dating for about six months when I realized he wasn’t looking for anything serious with me. A growing suspicion became solidified when I scrolled through his browser’s history and accidentally found the flowers he had ordered for some young 20-year-old freshman in college.

The color purple burned in my eyes, making me see red. If I saw another purple flower in my life, it would be too soon.

I glared at that message on my phone. It had been two hours since our first round of drinks, and me boldly hitting send. Agitated that Colton left me on read, I hastily blocked his number and boldly threw my phone into the glass of melted ice. Dannie slid into the booth with me, squealing. “We got free drinks!”

“What?” I wasn’t sure I heard her right over the rumbling of the music.

She pointed to the bar where two well-dressed men in suits were raising their glasses for a toast. We both grabbed our glasses and returned the gesture, smiling at each other like silly school girls, although we were nearly thirty. But now, once again, both single and, as Dannie had already said, five times in one night, ready to mingle.

The neon blue cocktail tasted rich and tropical. My lips eagerly sucked more of its rejuvenating sweetness into my mouth as I noticed the dizziness in my head. I should slow down, but... Dannie sure as hell would not be the one to stop me. We both quit giggling when we realized the two men got up, drinks in hand, and headed straight to us.

They were equal in height, but the one on the left was more muscular and had a rounder nose, giving him an innocent puppy dog look. The other man had a neat facial haircut. He looked like a man who could hold down a bargain in business. His eyes were a dark chestnut and looked like they had locked on their prey. Me.

“Hello, ladies; mind if we sit?” He said, striding over, not taking his eyes off me, not even once. My heart pounded. This guy would be perfect for tonight’s regrets.

Dannie and I giggled with giddiness. Then Dannie stood up halfway to gesture for the two sex-dreamy men to sit. “Please sit,” she squealed, and we all cheered again, glasses clinking.

“I’m Hutson, by the way,” the man with the puppy dog looks spoke, shaking our hands in a gentlemanly manner.

“Dalton,” the brown-eyed Casanova sitting next to me added. Our hands touched, and currents shot up my arm, exploding as he lifted my hand to his lips.

“Silvie,” I responded. His eyes lit up at the sound of my name. Dannie faintly introduced herself over the boisterous music, but this elegant man and I were too busy, lost in each other, paying her no mind.

He was stunning down to his pearly white smile. Every part of him was like he was some high-end mafia boss. How he stared at me made me melt, causing excitement to pool between my legs.

Dannie interrupted our gaze, rambling about something that instantly sank my heart.

“So yeah! He cheated on her, and now we are enjoying our night of freedom.”

Mr. mafia god tightened his hand around his drink. He stopped himself from frowning and turned it into a dazzling smile.

“Well, may I help you in your night of freedom by asking you to dance?”

Before an answer left my mouth, Dannie’s drunk squeals and light taps on my arm forced me to my feet.

His hand in mine felt like perfection, and a part of me felt proud that a man this well-groomed was walking me to the dance floor.

He spun me around once, then stopped me. My butt touched his groin. I would have found his move too forward if I hadn’t found the man attractive. It’s good I was already plotting how to take him home for the night.

As I swayed into him, my hips knew what to do, and he groaned in my ear. His left hand was in my hair, then tracing my neck to feel my breasts. His right hand slid from my stomach to my waist. His hand fit over my waist easily, and the way he grabbed me with a bit of dominance made me feel like my knees would cave in.

I wasn’t sure how long we danced like that, but it felt like ecstasy.

“Wooh, easy there. You okay?” His voice rippled through my bliss as he steadied my stance.

My head felt fuzzy. How much did I have to drink? “Um…yeah, just the alcohol.”

“Let’s sit you down,” he whispered as softly as he could in my ear over the music.

We walked to a usually hyper Dannie, passed out, curled up next to Dalton’s friend. She slowly stirred when I rubbed her arm. “You okay?” She gave me an adorable, sleepy nod.

“Let’s get you two home,” Dalton spoke in a boss-like tone.

Hutson turned to Dannie and petted her hair. It was sweet of him to be close to her within just a few hours.

“Where do you live, Danniella?” He asked her, oddly calling her by her full name. None of her boyfriends had ever done that before.

“Parkson Street and 12th Ave.”

“You?” Dalton asked, handing me my jacket.

“I, um, think I should head to her place for the night.” He nodded and then escorted us out of the club.

As Dannie woke, she found her usual self again, skipping and spinning in the street. “Liikkke ddaaaaaaammnnnuuh, I haven’t felt this good in I don’t know how long.”

I laughed and danced with her as we followed the men to the top-down, light blue sports car. I knew nothing about cars, but it looked vintage.

At the sight of the fancy car, Dannie pulled my arm to a stop and giggled in my ear.

“You hopping in?” Hutson called after her, and she sprinted towards the car like a little kid given a stuffed animal.

She called for me to follow and then rambled on to convince the guys to play us girlie music we could sing along to.

We were about two songs in our backseat private stage performance when a glimmer of something caught my eye. My mind hadn’t fully registered what it was, yet I knew something was terribly wrong.

“Wait, shhhhhh. Dannie, shush!” I scolded, smacking her arm and reaching over the seats to turn down the music in the front of the car.

“What?” she asked in a whining tone.

“What the fuck is that?” My finger pointed in the direction we headed, and noted the skyscrapers were translucent. Waves rolled past our car on the asphalt road. My head could not turn fast enough to look behind me. As I registered the new scenery, my hand clutched the side of my leg, pinching myself to see if I was dreaming. Twinkling stars shone brighter than they should in a cityless city and an endless horizon of a darkened sea. The waves returned, rolling back to the ocean, washing away the asphalt road and leaving behind sand. The skyscrapers disappeared before my eyes.

The last thing I saw was the 9th Avenue sign; before that, too, disappeared and was replaced by sandy beaches with ocean waves crashing into the shore.

“What the fuck?”

9th Avenue was only a block away from Dannie’s apartment. They headed deep into the city, and sure as hell, there was no such thing as an ocean in the middle of the city.

The waves rose and gushed forward past the front of the car. The sports car didn’t lose speed or friction as it continued.

Dannie soon imitated the same energy, and we hit the back of the boys’ seats, screaming for them to stop. But it was as if it did not shock them to see the city become one with the ocean, and they continued to drive.

Dannie looked at me, bewildered. The change of scenery was too fast for my eyes to keep up with. In front of us now was a line of beach houses near the shore and waves rolling in. The air changed to a salty sea smell.

Hutson turned the music back up to a normal level, and the song we were singing before now felt eerie with the change of scenery. The light on the radio glowed, showing the time well past midnight. Hutson tapped his thumb to the beat of the music while his head swayed and his gaze focused on the view outside. The rearview mirror perfectly showed Dalton’s thick eyelashes and brown eyes on the road. All of my attention was on the mirror image of him as he met my gaze. “We are almost home.”

Thanks for reading the first chapter of The Ocean’s City. Let me know what you think! Grammar Nazis are welcome!