Embrace Me Ch. 01

Tapping her fingers along her bedpost, Olivia watched Gaby, her best friend and roommate, go back and forth between their bedrooms and pull clothes from their closets. She was relieved when Gaby took charge of the plans for Olivia's birthday as she had no clue what to do for herself.

For Olivia's 20th, Gaby thought it would be fun to have a night of club-hopping. Olivia trusted her to pick the clubs to go to because not only did Gaby know her favorites, she knew which clubs played which type of music. She had decided that they would pick three clubs and spend some time at each.

Along with planning the night, Gaby also dressed her up. She put Olivia in a tiny black and red tube dress that flared slightly from her waist. Luckily the dress had a built in bra for her 34B chest, because she couldn't wear a regular one without the straps showing. With the dress she wore black over-the-knee stockings and red pumps that gave her 5'3" figure a few more inches of height. Olivia didn't wear heels too often so she had to practice walking in the pumps to get used to them. To finish her look, they curled Olivia's black tresses to give them volume with her straight bangs pinned back, painted her lips a deep red, and winged her eyes with black liner.

"Well, I certainly look different," Olivia told her once they were finished. Olivia usually went clubbing in short shorts and a tank top with sneakers for comfort while dancing. She knew at the end of the night that her feet would ache terribly and she and Gaby would both be walking back to Gaby's car barefoot.

"Different? No, you look hot," Gaby told her. Gaby was dressed in white lace shorts and a purple crop top. She had on white wedges that turned her from 5'6" to 5'9". Her caramel brown hair was loose and wavy with a waterfall braid going around the back. Her white shorts looked good against her tan skin and large, but not fat, butt. She always claimed she got her curvy figure from her Hispanic genes, but Olivia knew it was because Gaby worked out three times a week. She was jealous of Gaby's figure, but Olivia's slender form wasn't bad to look at. She may have been small, but her hips did have noticeable curve and enough guys grabbed her butt, letting her know that working out with her friend also paid off even if the results weren't as grand.

"I can guarantee that tons of guys are going to be hitting on you; we may have to fight them off," Gaby laughed as she put her phone, wallet, and lipstick in her small clutch.

"You make that sound like a good thing. Maybe a few cute guys wouldn't be too bad to dance with, but I really doubt I'll get that much attention. Besides, that would be annoying wouldn't it?" Olivia sat down on her bed as the pumps were already starting to cause pain.

"Let's just go." Gaby told her as she pulled her from the bedroom so they could leave the apartment. "I know a DJ at the first club and he put us on the list so we can be in the VIP line, but we have to get there before 10."

***

The first club Olivia had ever been to when she turned 18 was the same club they were hitting first tonight. Called Le Marc, it played nothing but EDM, had go-go dancers in skimpy bathing suits and fishnets, and a rotating floor. Olivia loved that the dance floor moved, even if it was slow. A person could get on it but halfway through a song realize they're at the other side of the club. The only lights in the club came from the raised stage where the DJ played surrounded by five screens playing trippy imagery to the music. Beside the DJ were two go-go dancers in white bathing suits with black bras underneath, white go-go boots, and neon green fishnets. Olivia noticed that tonight the dancers' lips and eyelashes glowed under the black-lights above them.

With no time to people watch Gaby pulled Olivia right into the middle of the dance floor. She was surprised that she wasn't in pain from dancing in heels, just from standing in them, and that made her enjoy dancing in them even more. The beat around them could be physically felt due to the speakers being so close to the people. Olivia could feel her whole body vibrating to the bass. Smoke from cigars, cigarettes, and fog machines blended together and filled any space that wasn't taken up by a body. People pressed against them obnoxiously but the two girls ignored it as they danced together. "Happy birthday!" Gaby yelled.

After an hour of dancing, Olivia pulled them both to the side where the floor was stationary and tables lined the wall. "My throat is really dry," she shouted over the music. Gaby nodded in agreement. "I'll go get us water, but first I'm going to go talk to the DJ." Off she went into the crowd, leaving Olivia by herself.

Olivia leaned against the railing surrounding the dance floor and looked at the people in the club. She could tell that a good percentage of the people were likely high on drugs and enjoying the light shows given to them by people wearing gloves with LED lights attached to the fingertips. Other people were visibly drunk as they tripped over themselves while dancing. She laughed over this, though she knew that when she turned 21 she'd probably look the same.

Looking over more people, her eyes stopped on a man who looked out of place. Usually just the girls in clubs dressed up, wearing dresses and heels, and the men stuck to jeans and tee shirts. But this man wore a semi-casual button-up shirt with expensive-looking jeans. He was leaning against the half-wall that separated the regular tables from the VIP section. He was sipping on a drink while he watched the dancers just as she was before, but he had a look of disinterest on his face, which made Olivia curious. She wanted to go talk to him, but she was a shy person when it came to strangers. Clubbing seemed to give her extra confidence, but she still had to talk herself into doing daring things like initiating a conversation with someone she had never seen before.

After counting to three in her head at least five times, she finally made her way through the crowd, hoping the man wouldn't disappear. She got stuck a few times as dancers pressed against her, but she got through and was relieved to see that the man was still there. As she approached, she could tell that he was Asian and unusually tall. Even in her heels her chin just barely reached his shoulders. He also looked older by some years. She guessed and put him at 26. But she could tell that he was definitely handsome. Mildly tan with dark brown hair that wasn't too long, but not cut short either, giving him a boyish look that worked for him despite his age.

Before her nerves got to her and made her back down, she placed a hand on his shoulder for balance, reached up, and leaned close to his ear so he could hear her. "H-hi."

When she pulled away he just gave her a small smile and a wave. Not letting his gesture shoot her down just yet, she reached up again. "I was wondering ; would you dance with me?"

This time when she pulled back, he leaned down and spoke to her. "I'm not much of a dancer."

Olivia shrugged and gave him an innocent smile before reaching up for a third time. "Well, then can I just stand here while I wait for my friend?" The man shrugged and gestured toward the spot next to him. "So, I didn't know people who don't dance still fancied dance clubs," She said to him, trying to be nonchalant. For a while he didn't say anything so she thought he was ignoring her, but then she felt him move closer to her.

"I guess you could say I'm chaperoning."

Chaperoning? Was he being serious right now? He did look he had no other reason to be at there, but Olivia also felt like he was being sarcastic. She scanned the crowd like she had before and tried to find just who or what his eyes were focused on, but the heads bobbing back and forth were too crammed together. Maybe he had a girlfriend that didn't like to go without him. Olivia said nothing, but she could feel that last thought running through the back of her mind.

"Are you a regular here?" He was back at her ear again, a hand resting on her upper arm as if leaning down put him off balance. The ridiculous possibility made Olivia smile, but she then realized he had asked her a question. Did this mean that he was actually interested in their conversation? Surely if he wanted to brush her off he wouldn't have contributed. She had thought he was disinterested not a moment ago.

"Not really. I come out when I can, but usually I don't feel like it."

"So tonight you just felt like it?"

"Why not? Tonight's my birthday."

After her confession, she felt him pull away, but before she could frown he was in front of her and taking her hand. "What are you doing?" she almost squeaked.

"I can't deny a birthday girl her wish to dance."

He led her back onto the floor where there was barely enough room for two people. His hand felt warm and his grip was firm, but as soon as they found the spot to dance he let go of her. For a few songs they danced with each other, but they were still dancing separately. Honestly, Olivia felt a little awkward. She wanted to dance with him, not next to him.

She wanted to take him by the shoulders and press herself against him, but that was where her confidence ended and her shyness returned. Besides, she wasn't sure if he'd even like that. She was trying to convince herself that he wasn't just dancing with her because it was her birthday and she had asked him to, but because he wanted to. Though, whenever she looked up at him he seemed to be watching her with focus, so she wasn't sure what to think. So while Olivia worked her feminine moves, the man mostly swayed and nodded his head to the beat. Maybe he didn't enjoy dancing because he clearly didn't know how. The thought made her smile and giggle, provoking a sideways glance from the handsome man before her.

The current song suddenly stopped and was replaced by another. Olivia stopped dancing and looked towards the DJ as she heard the familiar beat. She saw Gaby standing on the stage with the DJ, talking to him. Now that she thought about it, Gaby had been gone for awhile. But once she heard the song, she knew why: Gaby had requested the DJ to play Olivia's favorite song. It was a Korean rap song called Mental Breakdown and most people in the U.S. didn't know about it because Korean music was still only a sub-genre to English speakers. People would constantly ask Olivia if she even understood Korean, but the answer was no. She didn't need to understand the lyrics to enjoy the music.

Gone were her upbeat, giddy moves as she was overcome with the same feeling that always accompanied this song: Sensuality. The beat of the bass urged her to move her hips provocatively and run her hands along her stomach and thighs. She would send tiny glances towards the man and she found that he had stopped dancing and his full attention was on her now. She was trying to decide if he was enjoying the show or was repulsed by her sudden change, but other guys around her started to watch with the same intensity, so she was pretty sure he liked how she was dancing. She was pleased.

As Olivia slowly turned her back to him while rolling her body, she felt hands on her hips as she was pulled back against someone. She looked up and saw that it was the man. She didn't need to ask questions; she just went along with it. If anything, she was glad that he made the move because she didn't think she'd have it in her to do so herself.

The song was very bass-heavy and perfect for grinding and dancing on another person. She placed her hands on his and went to lead him, but was intrigued to see that she didn't need to. Most guys couldn't tell the difference between grinding and sporadic dry-humping so she had to be the lead when they danced. This man knew what he was doing and matched the rhythm of the song with his hips pressed against hers. This gave her a little extra courage and she took one of his hands and slowly moved it up towards her chest, but she stopped short on her ribs. He took the hint and finished the journey, gently but firmly massaging her right breast over her dress.

She felt bold and dirty at once, having a stranger grope her in a public place, but she wanted him to keep doing it. Was she really allowing a stranger to grope her in public? Even when she danced with strangers in the past, she kept them from fondling her because she never had intentions of bringing a boy home or leaving with someone other than Gaby or whomever else. As he massaged her, she sucked in a breath and lean her head back against his chest. Slowly she could feel her body starting to tingle, beginning at her right nipple where his fingers caressed it over her dress. She imagined what it would have felt like if her dress wasn't in the way, what if would be like if she felt his skin on hers. She wanted to know how it would feel for him to pinch her nipple between his fingers.

Olivia rolled her body against his and reached an arm behind her to hold onto his shoulder. The hand on her chest slowly moved up her raised arm with a feather light touch that made her shiver as his fingers grazed the inside of her upper arm, goose bumps following his fingers' path. He moved his other hand, grasped hold of her left thigh, and squeezed firmly. She flinched a little at the ticklish move; he must have thought she didn't want him to touch her there because he quickly jerked his hand away.

Unhappy about this, Olivia moved his hand back and even gave it a quick squeeze to get her consent across, a move that did not go unnoticed, as he promptly pulled her to him even tighter. She tried to will him with her mind to raise his hand higher towards the apex of her thighs, but she couldn't bring herself to move his hand up. Olivia was becoming more wet with every moment that his fingers traced spirals her thigh, reaching the hem of her dress before going back down. She wanted to groan with the frustration this man was causing her. Was he doing this on purpose? She was beginning to think he was cruel for teasing her so she made sure she grind her ass against his hips more firmly.

She immediately felt a bulge press against her before he turned her around. Now she could feel his hard on poking her abdomen and she bit her lip. Thoughts of the things he could do with that hard on in private flooded her mind. She tried her best to rid her imagination of the many positions she'd want to try with the cock she felt beneath his jeans, but with a hand holding her by her ass and another on her lower back, he was watching her and Olivia felt small under his stare. This was completely different from the attention he had given her when she first approached him. She wasn't sure what was going through his mind and she really didn't care.

Right now as she stared at his mouth she just wanted to kiss him.

Again, she had to build up the nerve to be so bold and repeatedly counted to three in her head before she thought "Fuck it." She lifted on her toes and just did it. She pressed her lips against his. His lips were soft, but firm. The moment she kissed him he took charge as if he was waiting for her to do it and he ravished her mouth with his own. His tongue past her lips and she welcomed him.

The hand on her lower back moved to her hair and gripped her neck while he kissed her with a fierceness that made her shiver. Was he actually kissing her back? Oh, yes. She pressed herself against him even more tightly and bit his bottom lip teasingly. This made him kiss her more passionately, causing him to gently push his hips into hers and they both soon forgot about dancing to the music at all. They stood on the dance floor kissing each other aggressively. He squeezed her ass and she gasped into his mouth, holding onto him tighter. In the background Olivia could hear a guy hollering and hooting in their direction.. "Look at these fuckers! Sweetheart, wanna kiss me too?" She ignored him. He didn't matter to her. She still felt like this wasn't really happening, but the man's body against hers certainly felt real. And that bulge...

A vibration against Olivia's breast where she kept her cell phone hidden in her dress jolted her to end the kiss reluctantly. Looking at the phone screen she saw a text from Gaby, saying "Enough sucking face, Liv. We've been here awhile so meet me at the exit."

Olivia looked up at the man with a pout. "I have to go," she shouted over the music. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want this man to disappear after how strongly her body reacted to him. If only she could ditch the rest of the night and just take him home...

He took her phone and she watched him put a phone number in her contacts. "I'm Nathan," he told her, almost kissing her ear lobe because his mouth was so close to her ear. His breath on her skin made her shiver for a second time. Another text from Gaby pushed Olivia to leave the dance floor with Nathan left behind.

Gaby gave her a scolding look for not coming faster, but didn't say anything as she escorted her friend out and to the next club on her list.

That night Olivia danced with a few other guys. They were what she was used to: tee shirts, sporadic dry humping, cocky attitudes, and all drenched in the smell of a popular body spray. She danced with them out of boredom just to pass time when Gaby found guys she was into, but her mind kept going back to the tall Asian man from Le Marc. She bit her bottom lip every time she thought about their kiss. Of course a few of the other guys tried to grab her, but she'd quickly slap their hands away and end the dance.

At the end of the night when she and Gaby were back home, her whole body felt sore and exhausted from all the excitement. When she sat on the couch in their living room she took off her pumps and stockings. She stretched her toes and sighed as a sweet ache surged through her feet, the same ache every girl got when they took their heels off at the end of the night.

"So, that guy from before was cute," Gaby said as she made herself a bowl of cereal. She was still in her wedges, but she was beyond used to wearing them.

"Which guy? The one with the snapback hat or the one with the YOLO shirt? Because I'm already regretting giving those guys my time." Olivia turned to rest her legs on the couch and leaned her head back against the arm.

Gaby picked up her feet and sat down, setting them on her lap. "No, that first guy. The Chinese one."

"We don't know he was Chinese, you racist." She was being truthful: the man could have been of any ethnicity, her tone wasn't a harsh one, but the rebuke was clear.

"The point is he was sexy and I thought he was going to fuck you there on the dance floor."

"Gaby! What the hell?" But Olivia had a smile on her face. Her friend had always been blunt.

"Yeah, I was into him... I guess..." Gaby raised her eyebrows, a silent call on Olivia's subtlety. "Name's Nathan. He gave me his number," She finally admitted.

Instead of prompting her to text him or call him, Gaby just winked at her and finished her cereal.

***

A while later, in bed, Olivia held her cell phone in her hand and stared at the new contact. Should she text him? It was obviously too late to call him. Maybe she shouldn't contact him at all. Maybe he gave her his number on a whim, but didn't fully intend for her to use it.

She click on the message button next to the number and typed a simple message. Then she erased it and typed again. She did this a few times, wondering what would be appropriate. Eventually she became tired, went with simplicity, and finally hit send.

"Olivia".