I finally made it to my seat at the bar I'd been trying to get to all night. I sat down and settled my bag onto the counter. I noticed a good looking man walking over my way. His raven-black hair was slicked up, his white button up fitting him. He pulled a rag out of his pocket and wiped a water mark off the counter. My gaze traveled over to the tattoos that littered his forearm. Paintings ran up and down his arms. He looked up and noticed my staring.

"See something you like, love?" he smirked.

"Somewhat. Your arms must not fail to capture the attention of the people here." I laughed.

"No, no they don't." he laughed as well, "Anything special for our mistress of the night? Or would you prefer to continue our teasing little conversation?" he leaned forward on his elbows.

"Such a flirt we have here. Uh, hmm…why don't you give me whatcha got."

I smiled and thumbed my clutch bag. He laughed and called out to the bartender to the other end of the bar,

"A Gin Rickey for the lovely lady!" he looked back at me and bit his lip, "Extra Gin!"

I knew what game he was trying to play. Unfortunately I wasn't going to be around to finish it. He leant back down, and looked me up and down.

"So what's a girl like you doing down here? You don't seem as stuck up as these old rich souls."

Another man came over and handed him a drink, which he slowly handed to me, being sure to flex his tattoos. I noticed a small quote in acrylics:

Only the Strong Survive.

I sure as hell couldn't go by it. Not everyone can be strong. But there are some people that can be cunningly smart enough to survive. As I took a sip of my strong drink I came out of my thoughts.

"I'm supposed to be singing up on that stage tonight in about another," I glanced at the large clock on the wall, "about another fifteen… twenty minutes." I smiled and took another swig from the glass.

"So that means I've got a good fifteen minutes or so to make a good first impression? I think I can manage." He said and flashed a smile.

Feeling confident, I downed the rest of my drink, "Well while you're wondering how you could manage to get up my dress I think I deserve another glass." He raised his brow in surprise.

"Wow, looks like we've got quite the woman here. I'll bring you another one." He walked off to the bartender that made my drink before and brought it over to me. "Sorry I'm not very good at making these. It's not as easy as it looks."

We both laughed and as I took a sip, he asked, "You said you were performing right?" I nodded. "Well that must make you Lana. I'm Zayn. Some people said that one of the ladies that would be on stage was a beautiful woman. I guess they were right."

I blushed lightly and thanked him, "The show probably won't be as good as people say it should be. Nothing worth staying in this haze for."

"Oh but it is. You don't seem like someone to leave a crowd wanting to jump up and leave all at once. I think it's something worth watching."

Before I could counter, he took my hands in his and said, "Look Lana I loved chatting with you but I've gotta take care of a few other things before I head out in a few hours. But I hope maybe we can meet up later tonight."

He winked. I smoothed my thumb over one of his smaller tattoos on his hand. I chuckled and simply hummed in response. He squeezed my hand with a smile and made his way over to attend other guests.

I now smoothed my thumb over my own small tattoo on my hand as another thought joined the others.

I wanted another tattoo.