The Rise of Phoenix

Her Uber pulled up as she had just lit up her joint. She went to the driver's side and asked if he minds that she smoke her joint in his car. The driver had no issue with that so she got in, grateful that she wouldn't have to smoke with him waiting on her. She hated feeling rushed when she smoked. She finished the last joint she had rolled as she walked through the door. Garfield was already on the other side of it, his tail wagging and his tongue dangling out of his mouth.

She nuzzled his head and headed to the kitchen for some water. She drank water at the club at various intervals but she wanted to have a last glass of it before heading to bed. Phoenix heard and felt her stomach grumble and remembered that she hadn't had anything to eat. The club's kitchen closed at midnight so when she realized how hungry she was, she couldn't order anything to eat.

"Urgh, damn, I can't even drive in my condition to one of these 24 hour places. Too bad they don't deliver at this time. I'll have a spoon or two of peanut butter. I can't have a full meal now anyway. What say you, Garfield?" Phoenix asked her loyal companion as she headed for the cupboard with a spoon in hand. She twisted the peanut butter lid and dug out a spoonful of the peanut butter. She groaned as she put the whole chunk of it in her mouth, enjoying the smoothness and creaminess of it. She enjoyed it even more because she was high and settled on having a second spoon of her current choice of a hunger-buster.

After a few hours Phoenix was awoken by Taydo calling her. After they had spoken on the phone she saw that she had 3 missed calls from her friend. Phoenix groaned as she slammed her head back in her pillow, "Don't these people need sleep at all? Taydo will be here in 5 minutes. I'll shower after I've let her in. I don't wanna have to cut my shower short to open for her. And she can prepare breakfast while I shower. Yea, that's works out great actually."

Phoenix got out of bed and put her slippers on, headed for the door and out to the gate to open up for her friend. "Park your car anywhere, and when you get inside just prepare us some breakfast, please. I'm going to have a shower quickly and get ready," Phoenix said to her friend through her rolled down window. Taydo consented and drove into the big yard, finding a spot on the lawn under a tree to park her car.

She didn't get all the sleep she would've liked, but Phoenix was feeling good - she wanted to dress and smell like she felt. She took out her sleeveless shirt with the buttons starting in the middle going to the top of it. Then she picked out a pair of her good boyfriend jeans, which she rolled over twice at the hem. She was indecisive about shoes but chose a pair of sandals - they'd be more comfortable for walking on the sand in. After a spritz of her favourite eau da parfum and a final check in the mirror, Phoenix went to the kitchen to join Taydo just as she started plating their breakfast.

"Smells delicious in here," she complimented Taydo. "Wow, you know how to spoil me Tay, a proper full breakfast. The man that will take your hand had better know what a treasure he'll have in you." She looked at the various foods in her plate and commented further, "I see you came here knowing that you'd make breakfast cause I didn't have some of these things, like the mushrooms." Phoenix loved her friends dearly, but Taydo had a special place in her heart. They had a special bond, and they haven't been able to figure out why, but they never bothered with trying to uncover the reason - they were simply grateful for the bond.

"Don't forget that I know you. You say you're a foodie, but a different type of food - one that likes food and likes eating, but doesn't take pleasure in preparing it. I knew you'd need some food in you," Taydo said lightly, Phoenix recalling the peanut butter she ate earlier when she was feeling hungry. Taydo was right, Phoenix hated preparing food-for-one, but when she eats with someone else she puts some effort into it.

"And we can't have you out on the prowl with an empty stomach, you don't need hunger pangs distracting you. Yea, Ben told me about your plans to have him help you with scoring the ladies," they chuckled as Taydo let Phoenix know she knew about her plans. "Not that you asked for it, but in my opinion I think it's great that you're looking to put yourself out there more. You're a great person. You need another great person to be great with," Taydo said as she expressed her wish for her friend.

Outside the gated property Ben reached over Charlotte and hooted, letting Phoenix know they had arrived. He knows that Phoenix hates when people hoot but he insists on doing it, just to mess with her. "That has to be Ben, I don't know why he can't just shoot me a text or call that he's outside." Phoenix left her almost-finished plate of breakfast to look out the window - she wanted to be sure she wasn't letting just anyone in. "It's Charlotte's car. They must've driven here together." With the push of a button the gate opened for them, they knew to park anywhere and make their way inside the house.

"Good morning good people, the party has arrived," Ben proclaimed as he walked through the door, arms spread out wide. He took his sunglasses off and put them on the coffee table, joining Phoenix and Taydo at the counter where they were finishing off the last of their breakfast. "What're we having this morning?" he asked as he made his way into the kitchen. grabbing a plate and helping himself to the food, he made sure to leave some for Charlotte who walked through the door at that moment.

"Tay, Nix, you guys are looking good," Charlotte complimented her friends. "How'd you guys sleep? I hardly slept, you know? Ben, can I have some too, please?" She asked nicely with puppy eyes. Ben gave her the plate he'd prepared for himself and got another one out, finishing the last of the food.

"Tay, you are a star. You're the only good person out of all of these two other girls. You know how to care for your own. I would starve to death without you," Ben joked, knowing neither Phoenix nor Charlotte paid any mind to his good-natured joke.

"If you wanna eat, you know how to help yourself," Charlotte defended herself and they all laughed.

Phoenix told Taydo to relax and poured Taydo another glass of juice. She offered to do the washing up cause Taydo had prepared breakfast. Once everyone was full and the cleaning up done, Charlotte took the car keys and headed for the car they'd be using.

"Wanna light up first before we leave," Phoenix told her friends. They all joined her on the patio and passed the blunt around. They shared some jokes over the blunt about Phoenix's quest for the day, but everyone was internally hoping that this is the birth of a new Phoenix. She had made great leaps in her confidence, but she just couldn't get it quite right around strangers, especially around women she considered good-looking.

At the beach, they found a parking space for their car and got out, heading for the esplanade. They were on the road for just under an hour and they were feeling goofed from the blunt they smoked before their departure. Phoenix loved the ocean and led her friends to the pier. They followed behind, chatting and having a good laugh, but she had one thing on her mind.

She wanted to get to the end of the pier, as far out above the sea as she possibly could, listen to the sounds of being on the ocean, take in the scents and the feeling of the waves lightly splashing on her as a result of crashing against the concrete supporting the pier. She closed her eyes and wanted to stay in the moment for eternity. She could smell the salty water, hear the waves and she let herself float, figuratively.

She let her spirit float. For her it was symbolic, she was letting go of the weight she felt she was still carrying. She didn't want to know what that weight was, but deep down she knew it had everything to do with Angela. She decided to tell herself that the burden she felt was her shyness and awkwardness around people; that this is what her problem is, but realistically, it was a small part of the problem. She heard the seagulls cawing and imagined her spirit flying among them in the sky.

Her reverie was disturbed by the faint chattering and laughing sounds of her friends in the distance. She ended her little moment of solitude and turned to them, "It's a really beautiful day out here. I could live here, you know?" Here friends looked at her with confusion more than anything and just sat on the nearby bench.

She walked towards them and stood as there was no space for her. Phoenix spoke, "So, how about we just walk the esplanade and when we're hungry we'll go to the nearest restaurant for some food and drinks. By the way, lunch isn't on me, we'll split the bill, you're already here on my fuel." Phoenix was always generous with them concerning money, but she knew when to draw the line. She wouldn't bring them to the beach and then feed them.

They were all very aware of her generosity, but they were all working as well. As much as it was her idea, if they had any problems feeding themselves, they were more than welcome to decline the trip. No one had any problem with that, and so they started back towards the beach.

"So, Nix, I don't want you to depend on being intoxicated when approaching someone. None of these people know you, so if you bumout with one person, you'll just move swiftly along to the next. It's part of the process, it happens to me too, so there's no way it ain't happening with you," Ben advised his friend. "When you see someone you wanna try your luck with give me a heads up so I'll be on the lookout." Ben wanted to see Phoenix's whole approach and give her pointers on what to fix. As he was finishing his last sentence he spotted a girl he thought would be good as a first try for Phoenix.

"Yo, Nix, check that honey out with the green shorts," Ben pointed to the direction of where his attention was focused.

Phoenix remembered what he said earlier about not needing to be embarrassed as none of these people knew her. She then inhaled sharply and made her way to the young woman sitting on a beach towel on the floor. As she walked up to the woman Phoenix opened her mouth, "Hey, mind if I join you?" She was still feeling a slight bit high and thought that the weed should hold out for her, feeling confident that she'll do well.

The young woman looked up with a smile, "Sure, no problem." Phoenix sat on the sand and extended her hand, introducing herself. "I'm Laura," the woman spoke again, introducing herself.

"It's beautiful here, I don't know why I stayed away for so long," Phoenix shared with Laura as an attempt to make conversation.

"Yea I love it out here. It's my time to unwind after a long week, and this week seemed abnormally longer," and they chuckled.

"It couldn't have been that bad, not if you were doing something you enjoy doing," Phoenix countered as she tried to keep the flow going.

"Yea, you're right," answered Laura, not taking it where Phoenix was tryna steer the conversation.

"So what do you do? I hope you don't mind me asking. From the minute you caught my attention I couldn't help but take an interest in you," Phoenix confessed honestly. She saw that she made Laura blush a little and she decided that this could only mean one of two things; a, she's flattered and is responding well or b, she's feeling uncomfortable.

"I'm a dental assistant, but I'm looking at getting into something different now," Laura told Phoenix and the conversation carried on. Laura was nice enough but she didn't flirt back whenever Phoenix had tried flirting with her, eventually saying, "I'm flattered by you Phoenix, really, I am. I just don't have an interest in being with another woman."

At that Phoenix said she understood and left amicably. They'd been chatting for a while and Ben was impressed, he told Phoenix. She just had to work on getting a girl to laugh now, just make a light joke during their conversation. They carried on with their walk along the esplanade having a merry time. Phoenix tried again a few times. Her high had come down and she knew it, but she carried the confidence she'd gained from Ben's encouragement and the encounters that had gone well with her.

When anyone in the group spotted someone they liked, the person would make their way to the object of their desire to flirt and have harmless fun. Taydo, although she kept the flirting minimal, joined in and just had fun conversations with a few people, choosing to approach females and be friendly than flirty. She knew that most girls wouldn't make anything out of it, and she wasn't looking to make something out of nothing either. She just went along with the game and wanted to support Phoenix.

Phoenix had had enough for the day and said she was ready to get some food in her stomach and some drinks. They decided where they wanted to go for lunch and made their way there. They spent the rest of the afternoon eating, talking and laughing. They were in a party mood now and decided that they'd hit the block of clubs and bars here later on. Charlotte had refrained from drinking any alcohol thus far, but knew that her efforts would go down the drain when they'd be club hopping.

They hadn't prepared themselves for club-hopping and so didn't have a change of clothes. Ben always wanted to have his best foot forward and said he'd have to go buy an outfit and freshen up, so they went to the mall nearby and got some outfits for the night. When they were done they booked into a hotel suite and the bill was voluntarily split between Ben and Phoenix.

Since they already had booked the hotel suite, they figured they'd stay the night. Phoenix had asked her neighbour's son to check on Garfield during the day but made a call to him again to let him know she wouldn't be back so she needed him to check on Garfield again in the evening and take him for a walk. The boy was fond of Garfield, and whenever Phoenix asked him for a favour he knew she'd pay him, thus he agreed with no reluctance at all.

The night came and they took an Uber to the block, knowing that they'll have a problem with parking spaces and having a person staying sober to be their driver. They went from club to club, spending about fifteen to 30 minutes at a club, deciding whether to stay or not until they settled on one.

Taydo and Charlotte were at the bar ordering a round of drinks while Ben and Phoenix were discussing how to split the Bill for VIP. The bar lady serving them their drinks was answering one of the other patrons when she said, "Yea, radio Angela, but she's only scheduled to go up in an hour."

Taydo and Charlotte looked at each other as they paid and made an unspoken agreement. When they reached Ben and Phoenix Charlotte spoke convincingly, "Guys, VIP is full here, we overhead the bar lady talking. We can stay here if you don't mind finding a table in the general area, but as you can see they're all occupied. Or we can find somewhere else. There's a gay club just up the road, I've never been to it, and I think it would be a great experience you know?"

Taydo was quick to express her agreement, "Yes, I agree actually. Besides, Phoenix, it's gonna be great for you to hook up with someone. Most of the girls there are actually into women. Ben, sorry but tonight's about Phoenix scoring, but that's not to stop you from chatting up some of the men."

They all chuckled and Ben was about to say something when he saw Charlotte squinting her eyes at him and knew something was up. "Uhm, sure, why not? Let's go but I am not gonna chat up any of the men. I'll just admire the women from a distance and watch my girl here Nix work the ladies."

Phoenix had her turn to talk and said, "Well, let's down these drinks and go. There's no use hanging around here then."

Charlotte and Taydo gulped their drinks down as if they were competing. It went straight to their heads, especially cause the last meal they'd had was lunch. "But first, a meal would do us good. There's this restaurant that serves the best dishes in this whole area, even better than the clubs with a kitchen. It's just down the street. Let's start there and then we'll go up when we're done," Charlotte suggested.

They shared a meal over good music and they were all feeling ready to hit the club. They'd been there for more than an hour, Taydo had been aware of the time. When they left Taydo suggested they use the side road so they can see more of the places that are open, her reason being that they'd already been up this street and seen the places on it. However the real reason was that Angela would be at the club they left and didn't want them to bump into her by any chance.

They partied the whole night and Phoenix chatted up a few women. It was easier this time cause it was assumed that all the women were into women. Those that Phoenix approached entertained her advances, and she wasn't bad at all. She made them blush, made them laugh and made them feel good about themselves, and she did not need to lie about any of the things she said.

When their night came to an end they waited outside the club for the Uber to arrive. When it did Charlotte took the front seat next to the driver, Ben and Taydo were behind them and Phoenix was sitting alone at the back. She was looking at the time on her phone, figuring out how much sleep she'd get when she looked up and out the window. She wasn't consciously looking at anything specifically, she was just lifting her head when she made a double-take, unsure if her eyes were deceiving her.

'Angela,' She thought. Her heart pounded inside her chest and it felt like she was gonna explode. She started trembling, unnoticeable to anyone but her. She felt it get hotter in the car and couldn't sit still. Her eyes stayed stuck on Angela, turning her head around as they drove past her getting into her car, parked opposite the club they coincidentally chose but then left earlier. Nobody else in the car had seen Angela nor Phoenix's reaction to seeing her, and she was glad for that. Charlotte was talking with the driver, Ben and Charlotte laughing at something.

When they arrived back at the hotel Phoenix's mood had changed and she wasn't sure how she felt. Her friends could see that something was up and Charlotte finally asked her.

"Dammit, I spotted Angela when we were coming back from the club," Phoenix told them, deciding to be honest.

They were surprised, having forgotten that they were in the same area as her. But more so, they hadn't thought they see her. "What?" They were genuinely shocked and disappointed that their attempts to shield Phoenix from exactly what was happening now.

"Oh Nix," Taydo said, "I'm so sorry that you had to see her. We tried to keep you from having to face her by leaving the club we'd settled on spending the night at. We overheard the bartender say she was going to be hosting the party tonight, and that's why we left." Taydo confessed everything as she stepped closer to Phoenix, running her hand up and down Phoenix's back to comfort her.

Phoenix stepped away asking, "So you guys lied to me?"

There was no other way and Charlotte answered her question in the positive, "Yes, Nix. But we only did it to avoid what's going on right now. We knew that seeing her would be bad for you."

Phoenix started towards her bedroom and spoke with her back facing them as she walked away, "We need to get some sleep, we only have a few hours before check-out." And that was that.

Phoenix knew that what her friends did was what they thought was in her best interest. She acknowledged that they lied, and reasoned that the lie wasn't detrimental to her or them. She appreciated honesty in her relationships, and they did come out with the truth when she told them about seeing Angela. She tried to get some sleep but all she could see behind her closed eyelids was the image of Angela as she had been tonight. The curve of her lips as she was laughing at something, the shorts she was wearing, the red heels she had on and the shirt she was wearing to complete her look.