By the end of the story, the tension in Luis’s shoulders had eased away.
When Minnie came back to the table to grab Julien for his second drink, Luis realized he’d finished his own second drink, and needed to use the facilities.
Usually, Luis tried not to have to leave their table when they went out. His job was to be attentive and another set of eyes while the vampires drank, but tonight he’d sucked down his drinks far too quickly.
He held his hand up, interrupting Julien getting up to go with Minnie.
“Sorry, I need to use the restroom. Would that be okay before you…?” It would be better to do now and not leave anyone alone at the table.
“Of course,” Julien said. Then, before Luis could apologize, Julien waved him off. “We’ll be fine, go ahead.”
“I’ll give you ten,” Minnie said with an easy smile and disappeared.
“Be right back,” Luis said, slipping out of the chair for the bathrooms.
The place was much busier now, and there was a hoard of people clotted together at the bar to get a drink. Luis had to weave through the crowd to get to the line-up in front of the only bathroom.
The line shrank painfully slowly, drunk bar patrons taking their sweet time. Luis tried not to fidget, tried not to feel guilty as the minutes ticked by. There was nothing he could do, but he still felt bad.
By the time it was finally his turn, there was sweat prickling the back of his neck from his nerves. The bar felt hot and stuffy, and he raced into the open door.
He made quick work in the bathroom, pausing only to blot his face with paper towels when he caught his reflection in the mirror. There was a flush showing across his brown skin as if he’d been drinking, and his eyes were bright, almost feverish.
Anxiety? Or was he coming down with something?
He thought back to the reminder on his phone he’d swiped away earlier. Maybe he should’ve taken care of that before going out tonight. He was overdue five days now, and kept telling himself hefelt fine.
He didn’t feel fine now though. Now he felt sort of sick?
Luis threw out the paper towel and unlocked the door. There was nothing he could do about it now, even if that was the cause. Best to just get back to the table so Julien and Karim could have their second drink and then he could drive them home. He could deal with it then. He wasn’t going to drop dead in the next hour.
Probably.
“Oh hey!” A loud voice crashed into him as Luis exited the bathroom. A man’s arm wrapped across Luis’s shoulders withtoo much familiarity, and Luis’s eyes met the bright, square smile of Eric from earlier.
“Oh hey,” Luis said, trying for casual. He didn’t like strangers touching him, even handsome ones that had given him their number. But Eric’s grip was strong and solid, and his shrug didn’t knock it free.
“Thought it might be nice to chat for a minute without your bodyguard,” Eric said right into his ear. He started walking them deeper into the bar, away from his table. People jostled them from every direction, and it was so hot, nearly suffocating, all of a sudden. Luis shivered at the cool sweat soaking into his shirt. “If that’s cool?”
It took a moment to put the words together. Luis was feeling worse by the second. There was a lag in his head, like his thoughts were suddenly struggling through molasses. He bumped shoulders with someone else in the crowd hard, but when he turned his head to apologize, his vision swam.
“Uh,” Luis licked his lips, mouth dry. He was burning, sweat dripping down his back, and he was starting to feel nauseous. “I really need to get back. ‘M still on the clock ‘n everythin’.” Each word felt difficult, like his tongue had become too thick for his mouth. He tried to reach up a hand for his burning cheeks, but his arms weren’t working right.
A sudden wash of weakness crashed through his body. He staggered, but Eric didn’t let go, only strengthened his grip to support him.
“Oh hey, you alright?”
The voice sounded farther away than it should be. Luis shook his head to try and focus. He was melting, his body so loose it felt like pulled taffy. He thought he might actually be sick the way the lights of the bar were swirling around him.
“Looks like you could use some air.”
Air.Yeah, that sounded good. Luis did his best to keep his legs working as Eric ushered him out a crowded doorway and into the cool night air. The bouncer that was usually there, Vick, was absent.
A strange thing to notice. To care about. The lights had stopped flashing in his eyes though, and that was nice. Fuck, he was hot. Itchy.
He was supposed to… supposed to… something. His thoughts became like clouds blown apart in a strong breeze.
The outside air was a balm though. He needed air, so much air. It was so good on his burning skin. Luis gulped it down, eyes fluttering back open to see the dark sky above. He had the urge to unbutton his shirt, but couldn’t get his hands to work. He was sweating, sticky. It would be nice to take it off. Get everything off his skin.
