The Fancy Pants Club — Chapter 29 - Between Distance and Hallucination

~ Daniella ~

“Mi hija!”

Mrs. Sofia, my family governess, said out aloud with wide eyes once I stepped inside my two-storey modern apartment. Wanting to surprise her, I didn’t use my apartment keys in order to get inside. I let her open the door for me and as expected, I got the right response — with a warm hug that could suffocate the life out of me.

“Tia Sofia! Oh my God! You look good!” I stated giving her a once-over when I was able to pull away. I never thought that my month-long absence could change the way I see her. There weren’t many wrinkles in her forehead at all, and the white hair that she used to tie into a bun was now replaced with a vibrant burgundy color in a short bob. She still wore the usual granny clothes though, but it was a welcoming sight for me.

“How have you been my child?” was her instant question, disregarding my observation of her.

“I’m doing great,” I beamed her a smile. “I see that you fed Paris well.” I stared at my Persian cat with great pride as it padded all the way into my feet.

“Of course, I would,” she nodded and smiled. “Your cat is just too precious to just be ignored.”

I crunched down and scooped my pet with both arms. “Hello baby,” I cooed, making silly puckered lips. “Are you behaving while I’m away?”

My cat meowed as if he was giving me a big, fat, honest yes. I saw Tia smirk at Paris’ response and touched one pointed ear.

One thing to note of my cat was that he never, ever behaves, so I know well that Tia was just teasing me.

“You must be famished dear. What do you want me to whip up?” she asked after I placed my cat on the floor.

“I had dinner while on the plane Tia, but it would be great if you could make me my favorite. I really miss it.”

She awarded me a proud smile. “Triple chocolate and Speculoos cookie butter pancake coming right up then.”

After giving her a cheeky grin, I dragged my luggage and headed for the second floor staircase.

“I’ll be in my room, Tia. Just bring my snack there.”

She nodded once and waved her hand. “Sure, I will.

I didn’t have the urge to arrange my packed clothes inside my closet. All I wanted to do was to fight a bit of jet lag off my head. Yes, no matter how short my flight was, I still got the post effects.

I dropped face down into my mattress not caring to change my clothes at all. With the softness of the bed and with me being so tired, I dozed off for a little while until I heard my phone ring inside my shoulder bag of Ericka’s ‘Twerk It Like Miley’ ringtone.

“Hey, Boss!” she spoke immediately after I pressed the answer button.

“Ericka, what’s up?”

I have already informed my mother of my departure from California five hours ago and she replied with a ‘Have a safe trip’ message. I guess Ericka found out the news about me returning to NY through her that’s why she immediately called me.

“Goodness me, are you really in New York like what your mother said?”

I guess my assumption was correct.

“Yup, I’m in my apartment right now.”

“Wow, then we should celebrate your arrival. How about we go to our favorite hang-out huh?”

My thoughts immediately fell on the club members. It would be unjust of me to party and ‘celebrate’ when in fact the reason I am temporarily deported here was because of the Club’s possible endangerment.

“I don’t think that would be proper, Kee,” I answered with that in mind, sounding sorry.

I heard her disappointment through an audible groan and then she said, “Aw, com’n. Don’t tell me you still need to ask permission on your Master?”

Erik’s face popped out of my head consequently and the recent thing we did together. Shit.

“Ahaha, no, no, no.” I waved my hand in the air as I felt my face heat up. “That’s not needed at all, Kee. He— I...I don’t need to ask permission from him.”

“Hmm, what’s keeping you then?”

I paused for a moment, weighing things down.

I definitely don’t want to explain the complications of the club to her so, in the end, I yielded to her demand, and besides, I honestly missed my night outs with her and the rest of the group.

“Alright, we’ll go, but can I bring someone with me? She’s a Fancy Pants Club member,” I asked after I released a defeated sigh.

Suri, before we departed at the airport terminal, offered me stay in her townhouse. I refused, explaining that I needed to take care of my apartment and some office matters that I have disregarded while I was away. She understood it and we parted with the promise of keeping in touch and updated from time to time.

“Really?!” If it was possible, Ericka screeched. “Of course, you can Dani!”

I bit my lip from giggling. I do believe that Suri would love to have some night out girl bonding time with me and my other friends. “Thanks, Kee, what time then?”

“Jiezel and I will pick you up two hours from now, probably ten-thirty. Do you think you can manage?”

“Uh-huh, yes, I can. I’ll see you later then.”

“Good! And don’t forget to wear something sexxxy, Boss. Make this night count,” she stated, pronouncing the word sexy like a snake.

In response, I rolled my eyes heavenward. “Nice of you to remind me that.”

When we were done, I speedily dialed Suri’s number and told her about the plan. She squealed (the first time ever that I have heard her) and gave me a resounding YES.

Since her townhouse was just a convenient short distance away from my building, I offered to fetch her there, but she declined and stated that she will just meet me at our destination and have Mr. Clyde drive her there. I agreed in the end.

If not for this last-minute decision, I would have been soaking myself in the tub and relax the whole night. I guess I will have to defer my R and R time by tomorrow.

Tia Sofia knocked on my door after my call with Suri and left the freshly-cooked pancakes in my coffee table. Alongside the square porcelain plate, there was a hot chocolate mug placed. I took a sip of the content to warm my belly and devoured two pancakes before I changed my clothes into a sexier get-up.

After I slipped on an elegant and not slutty party bandage dress of the white, black, and red mixed colors, I heard my cellphone ring again. It was a message this time and not a call.

‘Are you in the apartment now?’

Were the words written by Erik himself. I replied not a second longer with a single word:

‘Yeah.’

He replied in the same amount of quickness with another single word, ‘Good’, and I honestly waited for him to have a follow-up message but then, he didn’t send one.

I didn’t think much about it after. Erik was always a man of scarce words when it comes to texting. I am not his girlfriend to actually root for him to text or call me every single damn hour.

However, what we just did this morning wasn’t just something to be taken lightly right? It was mostly what boyfriend and girlfriends do when in the throes of passion.

Then what are we? What was the status of our relationship other than a master and servant? Or a president and club member? Or a savior and damsel-in-distress?

I chose not to answer it this time. Maybe when I return to the chateau, yes, but as of now, I can’t, especially when Erik wasn’t here to confirm it.

Like any other nightclubs, ‘Crescent Moon’ had all of the amenities and machines to provide a very lively party. There was a center stage with strobe lights, pulsating neon bulbs, fog machines, and a DJ mixing hot beats. There was also a second floor with railings crowded with people, a wide dance floor that had the same jam-packed guests, and a circular bar right at the base of the dance floor to serve customers drinks.

The reason why Ericka and I loved this place however was because we are loyal patrons and that we get to have free use of one of the VIP rooms on the second floor. This was where the four of us (Ericka, Jiezel, Suri, and I) spent a good amount of time drinking low-content alcohol cocktails, dance our assess off, and converse with silly topics.

Ericka and Suri synced instantly right after I introduced both of them. They all agreed with me that we were destined soul sisters always ready to lend a helping hand and become a shoulder to cry on.

Crying wasn’t in our list of activities as of the moment though, so we spent the rest of the late evening partying like the free women that we are.

“Oh jeez, we're running out of ice,” voiced Suri after a few minutes. She was sitting on my right side holding an empty glass. She wore a really elegant black tube dress that accentuated her figure. Her hair was untied (all of ours were) and she had this really charming necklace that had an initial A on.

During our flight, she told me that this was Amano’s gift to her as a good luck charm. He gave it before we boarded the airplane. It was placed in a box and wrapped in a fancy paper.

And now that I think about it, Erik did give me one before I left his room.

As I stared at Suri’s necklace, I spaced out. She waved her hands in front of my face and I immediately snapped my attention at her.

“Ah, yes, yes! The waiter I had ordered earlier must be busy, so I will just go down and ask the bar for a bucket.”

I stood without waiting for them to answer and waved my hands in the air.

“You guys just wait for me here.”

“Flaunt your ass Boss while you’re at it.” Under the dim blue light, Ericka winked at me.

I gave her a grin and then proceeded to my task.

With the empty ice bucket in hand, I managed the winding stairs down to the first floor; rolling my eyes from time to time when I came across couples and couples and more couples grinding their bodies against each other.

Finally, I reached the circular bar that housed six male and one lady bartender.

“What do you need Sweetheart?” asked the lady in front of me.

“Hi! I just need a bucket of ice please.” I gave her my sweetest smile just so she could give me what I needed without the waiting time.

“Right,” she nodded and took my bucket from the counter.

As I waited, I felt nervous suddenly. There was this nagging feeling inside that someone was watching me from afar. Call me crazy, but I felt eyes examining the slightest changes in my position.

I released a long breath, twirled my fingers in the counter, and focused on the techno music but my uneasiness didn’t disappear. Tired of the feeling, I decided to look around to see if I was in fact being watched. And there I found, with the sea of people as the background, a lone man stood looking directly at me, wearing a white flannel shirt. He was hunched forward in the counter of the bar; dark orbs fixed, mouth neutral but when our eyes met, I swear I saw a faint curve from the corner of his mouth.

Amidst the pulsating neon lights and the dimness of the place, I could still define his features, and when I was able to, my breath was caught in my throat.

“Erik..?” I murmured, astonished by his presence.

“Here’s your bucket Sweetheart,” the lady bartender said, interrupting me successfully from calling Erik again. My focus momentarily stopped on her and I said, “Thanks,” before taking the bucket.

When I looked back at him, he was no longer there, and dammit I couldn’t zero him out from the dancing people in and around the dance floor and the bar.

“Suri, when did Erik arrive in New York?” was my immediate question when I arrived, practically racing, to our room. I didn’t even bother to sit back on my seat and just crossed my arms whilst acting like a detective in front of my girlfriends.

She furrowed her brows then. “Huh? What are you asking Dani?”

“I just saw him standing at the other side of the bar a few minutes ago.”

“What? Are you serious?” She narrowed her eyes at me as if she didn’t believe a word I said.

“Yes, I am. I’m not joking at all.”

“Huh.” Shrugging her shoulders, she tapped a pointy finger in her lips as if thinking. “That man probably was just his look-alike, Dani,” she then said. “I am not aware that he would follow us here. He’s still solving the problems in the chateau as we speak, you know that.”

“But I swear it was him, Suri,” I shook my head in disbelief. “We even made eye contact.”

“And were you able to talk to him?” was her inquiry.

I blinked and looked down.

“No... No. He disappeared before I could approach him.”

“You should contact him maybe? If he is in NY, then he might reply to your message or answer your phone call.”

This time, I eyed my phone on the table and weighed her words. I would love to do it actually, but...

“Ah, I guess, I made a mistake,” I stated after remembering a piece of detail. “On second thought, the guy did have a lighter shade of hair.”

“What do you mean light shade?” was Suri’s clear confused response.

I sighed.

“Platinum blonde. A bit like Karl’s but much silvery.”

“Hmmm, then it's official. That man you saw is not him,” Suri confirmed, while the others all but nodded. “Prez disliked coloring his hair. He had kept his natural dark brown shade since time immemorial, or that’s what at least Alec told me about.”

Huffing, I sat down on my seat. “Maybe that’s the case,” I said, but a certain second memory had me thinking the latter; a memory of the man’s neck tattoo, exactly just like Erik’s. I chose to hide this information from Suri instead, thinking that maybe...just maybe it was really just a random man who looked creepily a lot like Erik and had a neck tattoo of spears and spade.

“Hey, Boss. Stop thinking about men and enjoy the night instead! You are a free woman!” Ericka butted in, effectively cutting my deep contemplation.

“Alright,” I said and then beamed all of them a smile.

I was in the party mood all over again.