Amii was so happy she could not stop smiling. It was Friday and Charles had picked her up from work and dropped her home. They had plans for the evening. He was going to Harlem's Paradise to meet some friends and see some of his favorite bands perform at the club, then he would meet her for dinner at her favorite restaurant. She smiled when she thought about her plan to ask Charles to come up to her apartment for a nightcap….and maybe they might end up spending the night together. It was the first time in a long time that she had felt this way – ecstatic, anxious, happy and scared all at once. She nervously looked at herself one more time in the mirror.
Amii was not very tall at 5'3" but she was slim and had curves in all the right places. Her lustrous black hair fell in long natural waves down to the middle of her back and complemented her large dark brown eyes and thick lashes. Her skin was smooth and was golden brown in color. She was wearing deep red, off-shoulder dress and had just a hint of make-up on to accentuate her naturally beautiful features. She had not been on a date in a long time and was feeling a little jittery. Satisfied that she looked appropriately dressed for the evening, as she glanced out the window she saw that the weather had cleared and suddenly had the idea to go to the club and surprise Charles. It was not her type of club or her type of music, but he seemed to like it and she wanted to give it a try. She really liked him and wanted to be a part of his world. So, she got dressed and hailed a cab to the club, smiling when she imagined the look on his face when she surprised him there.
Amii took an Uber to the club, paid the cover and got inside. The first thing that hit her was the smell of smoke, sweat, and alcohol that seemed to permeate the place. The music was loud, and the song had more cuss-words than actual lyrics, but the beat was catchy. She looked around the dimly lit dancefloor trying to spot Charles amidst the mass of intoxicated, gyrating bodies all around her. She got bumped, groped, and shoved more than once as she made her way through the crowd looking for Charles, but she couldn't spot him. She thought that maybe he hadn't arrived yet and was just about to leave when a movement in the balcony above caught her eye. There was Charles, a drink in one hand and a curvaceous woman in the other. Amii was shocked, she couldn't breathe, it was as if someone had punched her in the gut. She watched as Charles began grinding against the woman, laughing and fondling her breasts and ass as she laughed. Amii backed into a dark corner, her eyes transfixed on the scene playing out above her – Charles, who always acted like the perfect gentleman was publicly making out with another woman.
She didn't know how to react – one part of her wanted to march right up to him and punch him in the face, while another part of her felt betrayal like she had never known before. The last straw was when she saw him snort some drug off of the woman's shoulders while a second woman brought him a bottle of whiskey. The women began kissing each other while he urged them on. From the looks of it, this was not the first time that these three people found themselves groping each other on the balcony of the club. Suddenly Amii felt sick, the bile rising in her throat, the air around her was suffocating, she felt claustrophobic, her head was pounding…she ran out of the club and into the street gasping for fresh air. One of the bouncers asked her if she was ok, and if she needed him to call her a cab. She vaguely remembered saying that she was fine and didn't need help and walked away, her head spinning, her legs shaking, her heart feeling as if it had been ripped apart.
She walked and walked and walked till her legs refused to move anymore. She looked around and saw that she was at a park at the edge of the river and it was dark. She had no idea how long she had been walking and where she was. She collapsed on the first bench she could find and began to cry – her sobs wracking her body, her mind in a turmoil just like the deep, dark waters of the river she sat by.