Chapter 1: Chapter 1
The bass wasn’t just a sound; it was a physical weight in the chest, a tremor in the floorboards. Colored light cut the smoke-thick air into slices of moving bodies—red, then green, then red again, turning the dance floor into a strobing, sweating organism. Caleb leaned against the sticky bar rail, the cool of his beer bottle doing nothing to cut through the damp heat coming off the crowd.
“You’re staring into space like you’re at a funeral, man.” Cameron appeared beside him, a grin plastered on his face, his arm already around the waist of a laughing redhead. “This is supposed to be fun.”
“It’s a Tuesday,” Caleb said, his voice flat.
“And your point is?”
Caleb just shook his head and took a swig. The beer tasted like nothing. That was the problem. Everything lately tasted like nothing. The conversations, the wins at work, the women. Especially the women. It was all the same flavor, and he was sick of it.
Justin slid in on his other side, reeking of some expensive, aggressive cologne. “Look at that,” he hissed, nudging Caleb hard enough to slosh his drink. His eyes were locked on a woman moving near the center of the floor. A red dress. It wasn’t just clothing; it was a statement, a provocation. She danced with a contained, fluid intensity, completely for herself, a quiet storm in the chaos. Her dark hair swung, catching the green light for a second like polished obsidian.
“I’m going to talk to her,” Justin announced, already straightening his shirt.
“You have a girlfriend,” Caleb said, not even bothering to look at him.
“And she has a book club in Queens tonight. Different universes.” Justin winked. “Don’t wait up.”
Cameron laughed, whispering something to the redhead that made her blush, and they melted back into the throng. Justin followed, a shark on a