There were two different scenes going on in front of me at the club that I could not comprehend. My lack of explanation wasn’t due to being drunk, because I hadn’t had anything to drink all night, and I was the designated driver. I simply watched in amazement as the events unfolded in front of me.

The first was that Mika and Kendra were dancing together on the dance floor, and had been completely inseparable all night. In the car, the two sat in the backseat together, and began talking about everything. Both were a fan on the same soccer team, and started tossing around names of players and stats that made no sense to me. They may as well have been talking in Swedish. They’d been together for the rest of the night. I wasn’t upset; I was extremely excited for Kendra. Mika seemed about as laid back as a guy could get. Even though she had moved on from Andrew in only a day, based on the way the two were looking at each other on the dance floor, their arms tightly wrapped around each other, I knew there was something special between them.

Another reason why I couldn’t fully explain how well and quickly the two had connected was because of my interaction with Dave. The entire drive to the club, he’d been shooting me glances and grins that nearly made me lose focus and drift the car into oncoming traffic. As I was driving, he’d also poke my side, or my cheek, or my neck. I’d hiss at him to stop, but he’d always giggle at me, as each and every time I had an uncontrollable grin on my face. I’d shoot him a glare, he’d shoot me one back, and we’d erupt in giggles all over again.

The second scene that I could not believe was that Dave was absolutely hammered.

I’d wondered what Dave would be like drunk. And it was quite the image. His cheeks were bright pink, and he had loosened his tie and undone the top two buttons of his oxford. I could see hints of his chest hair, and he was licking his lips as if they were covered in sugar. I sat at a booth with him, my arms folded on the table, and I watched as person after person approached the table for a picture or an autograph. After each person left, he’d take another gulp of his beer. I’d lost count of how many times girls approached the table, half of them smashed, asking if he was a hockey player, and asking for a dance or a kiss. As the night progressed, he got progressively nicer to the girls, but always refused, explaining that he had a girlfriend. I wondered whether Dave had really labeled Miranda as his girlfriend after our chat last night, or whether he was only saying that to make the girls leave us alone. Every time he answered them, I’d get a nasty glare from the girl, as they understandably deduced that the female sitting across the table from him was his girlfriend.

Between the pictures and the autographs and the girls, Dave and I talked about anything and everything. We talked about his family, his home in Sweden, my family, and even our past relationships. As we moved from topic to topic, his number of beers consumed quickly began to rack up. If the giddy, bubbly waitresses hadn’t rushed to our booth to snatch the empty bottles away the moment Dave placed them on the table, there would have been seven perched on our table.

He let out a quiet belch, that almost sounded like a bunny belch considering his size, and giggled to himself. “How ya doing over there, Dave?” I asked.
He gave me a serene smirk. “Swimmingly.” As the waitress passed, he ordered a round of shots for the four of us. Practically running, the petite blonde waitress brought over the shots for us, winking at Dave. It went completely unnoticed as he signaled to Mika and Kendra, who were waving their hands, refusing.
He looked at me, and I shook my head. “Driving,” I responded, before he could ask. He shrugged, and my jaw slowly dropped in shock as I watched him throw back shot after shot, squeezing his eyes shut at the bitterness, then opening them and exhaling in refreshment. He left one shot on the table, and looked up at me.

He bit his lip, and reached across the table to my folded arms. He took my small hand in both of his large ones. They were warm, and surprisingly dry and smooth, considering the sweat that glistened on his forehead. His sleepy eyes were gazing at me even sleepier than usual. “Come dance with me,” he mumbled, almost inaudibly, stroking my hand.
I shook my head at him. “You’re drunk.”
He held on tighter to my hand. “Please? I feel bad about the whole Mika mismatch.”
So it was a pity dance? I shook my head at him again, more slowly and dramatically mouthing 'no'. “I don’t think I could consider your dance moves as compensation.”
He stood up, downing the last shot, blinking hard. He still held my hand in one of his, then pulled me up to my feet with both hands. He was a little wobbly, but held me firmly. “You won’t know unless you try,” he murmured into my left ear, his hot breath sending the whole left side of my body into an icy shiver.

I didn’t want to dance. If Miranda had been there, all of his attention would have been on her, and we would have never danced together, considering I wasn’t his girlfriend. He was also completely wasted, and I was sober as a judge, not to mention he was doing it because he ‘felt bad’; I wasn’t willing to dance with anyone who felt like they had to. They way he was looking at me as he led me to the dance floor, however, I would have never labeled as pity. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have said it was...lust.

The song that was playing was very fast-paced, so I jokingly danced in front of him, shaking my arms and hips, making a duck face at him. He smiled and quickly flicked his tongue over his teeth. I looked over at Kendra and Mika, who were only a couple feet away. Kendra was laughing, and Mika looked at me with a borderline confused smile. He didn't know me well enough to judge whether or not my moves were for real. But as the song ended, and the pace of the next song slowed down, I stopped dancing. I stood motionless, looking up at Dave. He stepped towards me slowly, and we both started dancing to the new song. I was surprised how well he was moving, considering the level of alcohol he’d consumed. He was, after all, one of the most coordinated athletes in the world. He gently spun me around so that my back faced him, and he pulled me close. I could barely breathe, let alone dance, or move at all. I was frozen, and I had no idea what to do.

His whole body was pressed against mine, and his hands slid slowly along my sides. I had left my jersey in the car, wearing only a black camisole and a thin bra. My cami had ridden up just over an inch above my jeans, and his warm fingers were traveling along my bare skin. He played with the hem of my top, running his fingers along the top of my jeans and sliding his hands into my front pockets. At that point, I had become starry-eyed, and my heart was hammering against my ribcage, begging to escape.

He leaned forward to bring his lips to my ear, and I could feel his disheveled brown hair tumble onto my cheek. The music was loud, and he whispered, so it was barely perceptible, but the words to me were as clear as day. “You’re the most beautiful girl here.” As soon as the words escaped his lips, he took the corner of my ear between his teeth and bit down softly, his hands everywhere. They were traveling down my arms, along my hips, and over my cami up towards my breasts.

I shut my eyes in complete rapture. I had lost all control of my body, and my senses had fully shut down. I was letting Dave do anything and everything he wanted. I couldn’t force myself away from him if I tried. The desire was too strong, and couldn’t imagine bringing myself away from his perfect touch.

But it was all wrong. Very, very wrong. My roommate and best friend was probably expecting him in her bed very soon, and here he was, tracing his tongue along the ridge of my ear. All the doubt I was experiencing was confirmed when I forced my eyes open to look over at Kendra and Mika, who were watching us like we were a car crash unfolding in front of their eyes.

Just as Dave whirled me back around, reality set in, and all of my functions returned to normal. As he tilted my chin up gently with his hand, and leaned forward to bring my lips to his, I put my hands on his chest and gently pushed myself away. “I’m sorry...I can’t,” I squeaked, my voice quieter than the drop of a pin.
“But...” he reached for my hand, and I released it from his grip. My body was practically screaming for me to run straight back into his arms, but my mind and my heart were screaming even louder.

I turned to Kendra, who had already started walking over with Mika. I looked at my phone, and it was almost 2 o’clock. “We should go,” I called, Kendra and Mika nodding. I forced myself to look up at Dave, who was looking towards the wall, avoiding my gaze. He rubbed his eyes, and started towards the door.

I didn’t know why, but I was starting to choke up. As we exited the club and I pulled out my keys, I reflected one of the best and worst moments of my life: being in the arms in one of the most beautiful and wonderful men I’d ever met, all while almost destroying one of the closest relationships I had in my life.