Escapist

Cassie

"Ben, I don't think this is the place..." I mumble, pissed off that we drove for two hours to a club that I would rather burn down than enter. Gas is expensive and I only work 4 days a week.

Of course it's the place. This is exactly the type of bar Ben would go to.

He chuckles, looking up at the neon sign, bouncing excitedly. "No, no, this is definitely it. Come on, let's go inside." I stay planted on the concrete. He rolls his eyes and drags me into the brightly lit bar. Ben's unemployed. He doesn't have to worry about the bills. I pay those.

A bouncer stops us in our tracks. Ben quickly works his magical charm.

"Oh hey Derek! How are the kids?" He asks, flashing a smile.

"Not bad." He replies gruffly, a muscley arm opening the door.

Sometimes it shocks me how extraverted Ben is.

The scent of vape and weed fills my nose and smoke trails around my eyes as we enter the buzzing club. Ben has disappeared into the crowd.

High teenagers dance mindlessly to some crappy 90s house track that makes the walls shake. I glance towards the bar, only to see Ben already downing shots next to a girl with fluorescent red hair who looks as uncomfortable as me, as he chews her ear off.

Shuffling through the crowd, I spot an empty seat and hurl myself onto it. Why did I agree to come here? I ask myself.

It was about a week ago, and I had just broken up with my boyfriend of 2 years, Sam. Ben noticed I was miserable, so he offered to take me to this new bar in the country.

I was desperate to get my mind off it.

Ben notices me and stumbles over, snapping me out of my trance. "Hey! You havin' fun?" We've only been here 8 minutes and he's already legless.

"No, to be honest. Can we leave?"

He gives me a stunned look that makes me chuckle. "Leave?! The party's just getting started! Come on, have a drink. Let loose!" He hands me a shot, and I wave my hand away. He throws me a defeated look. "Ugh, you're no fun." Before I can protest, he shimmys away. It's not my fault he made me his sober friend.

⭐

Bored out of my mind, I decide to find someone to talk to.

This is probably going to be a waste of time...But hey, this whole night is a waste of time.

Squeezing myself back into the jumping crowd, I spot a handsome brown-haired guy standing in the sea of people, bopping his head to the beat. I fix up my hair, and saunter over. "Hi!" I say over the thumping music.

He glances towards me and gives me a cool-headed nod. "Hey."

Now that I'm closer to him, he's a million times hotter. His eyes are a deep hazel that glint in the strobe lights, his hair perfectly sculpted to his defined face, faded stubble around the ragged edges.

Ahh. Hot as hell.

Wanting to feel the vibes, I subtly lengthen the conversation. "So, are you here on your own?"

"Nah, I'm with a couple mates. I'm their sober friend." He responds.

"Oh, same. I'm with that dickhead over there." I say pointing to a lolloping Ben.

He chuckles a low, bubbly chuckle that, for a split second, drowns out all the noise.

"You're funny...Uh what's your name?"

"Oh, it's Cassie." I say, extending a hand.

He shakes it. "I'm Adam."

Hot name for a hot guy. I have to fight to keep those words in my head.

I gesture over towards two empty seats at the back of the smoke-filled bar. "You want to get to know each other more?" He smiles and nods, before walking towards the chairs. The music thankfully quietens a bit as we sit down. "So, special occasion?" I ask, cooly.

He swallows, "Yeah, my friend Chris is getting married, so we decided to go out." He says, fiddling with his thumbs,

"And you're staying sober? On a buck's night?" I say, shocked at his self-control.

"Yeah, I like to stay in control."

Bingo.

I nod, acting calm and not like I want to grab his face and kiss the life out of him. "Yeah, I get that."

"How about you?"

"Oh, nah, my friend's a party animal, and goes out nearly every night and I was dumb enough to tag along."

If I didn't, I wouldn't have met you.

He looks a bit offended at my comment.

"Oh, no I didn't mean.."

"Nah" he says smiling. "It's all good."

Taking a quiet sigh of relief, I begin "You know, I've never met anyone like-"

"HEYY CASSIIEEE!!" All of a sudden Ben appears at the table, a shot in hand. I sheepishly grin at Adam.

"Ah, so this is Ben." He mumbles, somewhat sympathetic.

"Yup! I'm Cassie's much cooler friend. Nice to meet you."

Before Adam can introduce himself, Ben begins talking again. "So, I'm gonna go to this other bar on Salek Road. Wanna come? You can bring the hot guy!" He says pointing to Adam.

I put my head in my hands, embarrassed. “Nah, its ok, I’m gonna head home anyway.”

Chicken.

"How are you going to get home?" I ask Ben, as he clearly hasn't thought that far ahead.

"Uh...I'll figure it out later." He says dismissively.

"Ok!" Ben says shrugging. "See ya at home, I guess. "Nicole!" he shouts towards the bar, "5 more of these please!!"

"You're already leaving?" Adam mumbles, looking down at his hands.

I immediately regret the decision, but feeling too tired to go on talking, laziness wins me over. "Yeah, sorry. Here, give me your number. Let's stay in touch."

His face brightens and he grabs the phone from my outstretched hand.

Thank God he didn't say no. I've been subject to an unhealthy number of rejections, and don't think I could face another one.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Adam." I say, shrugging my coat on, trying to act aloof and laid back. Inside, I could zoom to the moon and back.

"Nice meeting you too." He remains seated, a polite smile pasted on his face.

I disappear into the crowd for what feels like the hundredth time, hoping the adrenaline will wear off soon.

You are such a chicken, Cassie Roberts.

The midnight air is anything but welcoming, but sleep awaits. My car sits patiently on the roadside, my high heels clacking faster and faster as I rush towards the door, sliding myself into it with a heaving sigh of relief, as I grip the wheel.

For a small country town, that bar was way too vibrant. I've always been a city girl. New York has been home for my entire life. Before my father left, our apartment was full of buzzing conversations and laughter. I felt like I needed to get away from the city, but really, I just needed to explore more.

I explored a little too much evidently, because then I met Ben. It was a cold day about 3 days before Christmas Eve, and I was trapped in Starbucks because the snow had boarded up the doors. It was just me and Ben in that little cafe, aside from bored baristas with no one to make coffee for.

He sat in a booth screaming into his phone, supposedly on FaceTime. "GREG, YOU CAN"T DUMP ME! ITS CHRISTMAS!!" He screeched into the screen. Then, with a dramatic wail, he hit the end button, and I cautiously edged over towards the booth, and asked him what happened.

He looked up, with desperate eyes.

"Oh, my stupid boyfriend just dumped me. Apparently, he met this girl. I was just his experiment, I guess." he mumbled, his face crumbling into his arms.

"I'm sorry." was all I could muster.

"Never mind him. What's your name?"

"Cassie."

"I'm Ben."

That was the beginning of a long friendship I didn't know I needed.

Thank You For Visiting Ridgefield! A sign reads. As I whizz past it I give it the finger. I'm never coming back here.

Suddenly, the center console lights up, with the alerting ringtone that makes me jolt.

Crap.

It's Adam.

My mind frantically thinks of a way to answer the phone. Casual? Direct?

It keeps ringing.

I hit decline. I can't do it. I just can't.

Chicken.

Crap. What if was something important? Like he's getting beat up, and needs a ride. Or maybe I forgot something at the bar?

Cassie, you're over-thinking this. My inner Ben warns.

Whatever. I'll text him when I get home.

The next hour of driving through dark country plains consists of me gripping the steering wheel and holding myself back from swerving into a corn field. Overthinking Adam's call, I pull-over to catch my breath, avoiding a potential panic attack.

Cassie, just call him back. It's not that hard. My inner Ben tells me.

Ok, fine.

I fish my phone out of my bag. The cold dawn air whooshes around my shaking body. Tapping on his contact, the dial tone sounds.

I hear his ragged voice breathe sleepily into the receiver. The sound makes my knees weak.

"He-hello?" He mumbles.

"Hi, Adam, it's uh-it's Cassie."

"Oh, hey."

"Sorry I didn't pick up earlier, I was driving." I run my heels across the gravel in anticipation.

"Oh, no, it's cool. I was calling to ask if you want to go out some time?"

Yes. Yes. Yes. SAY YES CASSIE, DAMMIT!!

"Uh, sure. I'll have to check my availability." I say sounding like a CEO of a tech company and not a hopeless girl who can't pick up the phone.

It's Adam!! Who cares if you're available?

"Oh, right, yeah."

"Well, I better keep driving." I force out, trying to keep myself from exploding.

"S-Sorry, I'll let you go."

"No, no its-"

He hung up.

I throw my phone across the gravel, angry at how distant I was.

CHICKEN!