I wrote this short story in April 2024 for a short story competition based on a prompt. It won first place, which I was so excited, I’d never won a writing contest before, so, it was a shock. Now, I’m working on a novel based on this short.
So, let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Olivia Raechel Baker. I was born and raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, about twenty miles outside of Detriot. Yes, the wealthy Bloomfield that has been showcased on multiple cable channels, including a special dedicated to my parent's estate.
On a personal level, well, I was born blind. Now, before you go, ‘OMG, you poor girl’, it’s all good. I mean, how can I miss something I never had, right? My parents tried everything and used every specialist when I was a baby to see if they could restore even just a little of my eyesight, but they hit dead ends with every avenue.
As I’ve been told, I have long, silky, straight blond hair, a dancer’s body, and striking, bright blue eyes. My mom used to call me her little Barbie doll when I was a kid. Then, as a teen, she tried to get me into modeling, which was a no-go. I wanted to dance, all my heart and soul went into that type of art.
I use all of my other senses quite well, and I think I get along pretty well in this life. I’ve excelled in dance, created artwork that has made me a few dollars here and there, and graduated in the top five percent of my class last year from Bloomfield Hill High.
As much as my parents want to protect me from the world, I know I have to discover life on my own.
And that all starts tonight.
“You’re seriously going to do this?” My best friend, Rella, yes, her mom is a huge Disney fanatic, asked me the same question two times in the past five minutes.
“And, once again, I’m telling you, yes.” I run the brush through my hair once again,
“But, you’ve never gone alone.”
I knew Rella was worried. Shit, so was I, but I couldn't let a little bit of brief paranoia stop me from going out tonight. “I’ll be fine. We’ve done this for the past year. I’m nineteen, and it’s time I start doing things on my own.”
“But, it was always us, the two of us, fighting off all the demons of the night.”
I snorted out a laugh. “Oh, yeah, all those demons that hang out in the city.”
“You do know that Detroit has one of the highest murder rates in the country, right, Vi.”
I waved her off. “Eh, nothing ever happens. It’s not like I’m going inner city, gang bangin'. I’m just going dancing, El, the same thing we do every other Friday.”
“But I wanna go,” Rella whined, like the kids I hear at the park when they don’t want to leave.
“El, go to the wedding rehearsal, your brother needs you. I'll catch up with you tomorrow at the wedding.”
I heard her giving in when she sighed. “Alright. But I want all the details of the night, and I get to walk with you to the bus stop.”
“Got it.” I grabbed my crop jacket, which I always leave on the back of my computer chair.
“Girl, you’re gonna need an umbrella too. It’s been raining all day, and the temp has dropped. It was seventy-five yesterday, and today it’s like fifty degrees outside.” Ella pushed the mini-umbrella into my hand.
“Welcome to April in Michigan, baby.” We all knew it could be summer one day and snowing the next in our state during the springtime.
I took the dark sunglasses out of my jacket pocket and slipped them on. I didn’t need them, but they gave me a sense of security. If people couldn’t see my eyes, they wouldn’t know I was blind.
The bus lurched forward as I sat down in an empty seat near the back. This was my and Rella’s mode of transportation when we went into the city. Yes, we could afford an Uber or even a private driver, but this was a trip that we never wanted anyone to find out about, especially our parents. There would be hell to pay if they found out we went into the city alone and to a club.
I knew how many stops I had until I had to exit. The bus stopped three doors down from the nightclub we frequented every other weekend.
My iPhone announced the time, which meant I’d been on the bus for almost thirty minutes. I had three more stops until it was exit time.
I heard someone from the last pickup sit down in front of me. It was a guy, I could tell by the thump of his seat. Most women usually slide in gently, as if they don’t want to be heard.
He smelled clean. Unlike many guys, he wasn’t overly done with cologne; more like he had just showered.
Three stops later, I stood and got ready to exit. I felt the guy in front of me stand, but he didn’t move from his seat. Maybe he was waiting for me to go.
I walked past, smiled, and whispered, ‘Thank you.’ I felt him behind me as I waited in line. It seemed like the majority of people were getting off at this particular stop; I guess everyone was going dancing tonight.
The all-day rain had faded to a light mist, and the temperature felt like it had dropped another ten degrees. I didn’t have far to walk, so I counted my steps as I moved along with the small crowd and Mr. Clean.
“Where’s your friend.” The bouncer at the door, who knew me and Rella fairly well, stamped my hand. He didn't even ask to see our IDs anymore since we’d been coming for almost a year.
“A wedding rehearsal, not hers, but her brothers.” I gave the rundown where Rella was tonight.
“Sounds fun.” Sarcasm in his tone. “You’re good to go.” The guy dismissed me so the others could come in.
I felt the bass thumping, the heat of all the bodies, and the smell of the machine pumping out all the smoke. There was also the faint odor of cheap perfume, marijuana, and alcohol permeating the air.
I was in my element.
Dancing was my heaven.
This particular club played all the new underground shit that no one else would air. Not because it was bad; in fact, it was a hell of a lot better than the top forty shit, but this wasn't played because these people weren’t signed or A-list singers.
I bypassed the bars and went straight to the floor. My body moved with the beat.
The crowd grew thicker. It felt as if everyone in the club was dancing right now.
I felt a hand touch my ass but brushed it off as space was limited.
Then, hands circled me from behind and began to massage my breasts.
I tried to wiggle away, but he held me tightly and moved one hand further south on my body.
I screamed, but it was blocked out by the loudness of the amps.
I felt Mr. Hands being pushed.
“Leave her the fuck alone, Raj.”
That was Mr. Clean’s smell. And now, I knew his voice.
“Hey, De, I was just messin around.” Mr. Hands sounded panicked.
“Get the fuck out.”
I sensed Raj move away and let out a long-held breath.
De lightly touched my arm to get my attention and leaned in close. “You good.”
“Uh, yeah, I think so. He was just…”
“Being an ass.” De finished my sentence. I nodded that he was correct.
We both had to practically scream to hear one another over the music. And after that little incident, I sorta lost my drive to dance.
“Do you need a drink?” De’s mouth was next to my ear, which gave me goosebumps, in a good way.
I nodded and pushed my way through the people dancing, hoping I was going the right way.
The crowd thinned out as I moved closer to the outskirts of the room. The music began to fade, and I heard glasses clinking. I walked in that direction, thanking my great hearing for making me look like I knew where I was going.
I bumped into the back of the barstool and then stepped up onto the seat. Hopefully, De would brush off my stumble as alcohol-induced or nervousness. He sat beside me as if he were my appointed guardian for the night.
“Do you want a beer, or…I don’t know…I don’t think they do mixed drinks. Hey, Martin, what you have back there.” De called out to the bartender.
I touched his arm and felt him stiffen. I pulled my hand away and placed it on my lap. “I’m gonna have a plain Coke for right now.”
“I’ll have the same. Martin, two Cokes, bruh, when you got some time.” De ordered for the both of us.
A few moments later, I heard the glasses being set in front of us. I carefully reached out my hand to feel for the cup and then took a long drink. “Thank you for coming to my rescue with…”I couldn't remember the guy’s name that was groping me on the dance floor.
“Raj. And he needs the shit beat out of him.”
“Well, thank you once again…De?”
“Demarcus, but everyone around here calls me De.”
I held out my hand. “I’m Olivia, but everyone calls me Vi.” De shook my hand. His touch lingered for seconds longer than a normal handshake.
We sat in verbal silence for a few moments, just sipping our drinks every few moments. I had no clue what to say to him. He was a total stranger, yet he wasn’t.
“Ok, Vi. I gotta ask you, girl, what are you doin' here?” De broke the tension around us.
“What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure what he was getting at.
De snorted out a chuckle. “A beautiful white girl who obviously has some cash,” he tugged on my jacket, which, yes, it did cost a pretty penny. “Why you hangin' here? Drugs?”
I shook my head. “The music is good. And, sometimes, I need to get away.”
“Away from what?” De actually sounded like he wanted to know what was so wrong that I would come to a place that most people in my neighborhood shy away from.
“Life.” Yeah, I didn’t want to go full-blown I need a psychiatrist mode on him, so I kept the answer simple: “What about you? Why are you here?”
“Escape.” De gave an answer similar to mine.
“Escape from what?”
“Life.” My response was thrown back at me.
We talked about everything and nothing for what seemed like hours. We didn’t get into specifics of our lives, but we got to know one another like it was a first date. I found out he lives in Chadsey Condon, a community that is less economically fortunate than mine. There is a lot of gang activity in that area, but my better judgment told me not to bring that topic of conversation up.
“Okay, we came here to dance, right.” De tugged on my hand.
“Yep.” I took another sip of my Coke. “But I have one more question.”
“What’s that, Vi.”
“Why did you help me earlier with Raj? You didn’t even know me.”
De took my hand and led me away from the bar. “Because you smiled and said thank you. Not too many people do that anymore.”
De and I danced to every song the DJ played. It was like we were in our own little world. After a few upbeat songs, the Dl threw in a slow, seductive song that brought all bodies close together.
De snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me close. I nestled against his chest and breathed in.
His scent was intoxicating.
I didn’t need any alcohol tonight, he was my high.
De’s fingers ran through my hair and found their way back to my sunglasses. He slowly tried to remove them, but I stopped his hand. I didn’t want to ruin the night, not yet. Just let me be that girl for as long as I could.
I let my hands explore De’s body. He was definitely fit. Everywhere I touched, the muscles jumped to life. His hair was done in dreads. I knew what those were from all those touch-and-feel lessons I had to do during my life learning experiences.
My fingers moved over his face. I felt the day stubble across his chin. Closer to his eyes, I felt five bumps, which, in all of my education, felt like hardened scar tissue.
“What happened.”
I felt De shake his head. “Don’t ask. I want to forget all that just for one night.”
I learned that some gang members give themselves tattoos or cut themselves when one of their own gets killed, maybe that’s what De is trying to forget tonight.
This is something I will never know, though.
We continued dancing closely for the next three songs and then went back to dancing as if we had just been released from our cages.
The night wound down quicker than I wanted. De persuaded me not to take the midnight bus back to my section of the city. He called for an Uber and waited with me until the car stopped at the location we’d given them.
Why did this perfect night have to end?
And then, he kissed me.
I’ve been kissed before, but this…
this kiss was sweet and sad.
Demanding and loving.
It was a kiss that said hello and goodbye all at the same time.
De broke the kiss and took a step back. He lightly ran his finger down my cheek and across my lips. He opened the door of the Uber and I got into the backseat. He shut the door and tapped three times on the window. The driver pulled away as I took off my sunglasses and wiped my eyes.
I knew I probably wouldn’t meet up with Demarcus ever again.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime connection.
That, sadly, would only happen one time.
But, I will never forget…
The smell of his skin
The touch of his hand.
The sound of his voice.
The taste of his lips.
I would recognize him anywhere.
I can understand why it was a prize winner.
"Everywhere I touched, the muscles jumped to life."-- jeez, I wish I could get MY muscles to jump to life-- they always seem to be on break!
You conjured up quite an atmosphere there, Iz-- well done!