Mandy took a sip of her drink. She was so confused that she just wanted to just leave and go home. She felt jealous and betrayed. But she didn't have any right to be jealous. Josh and her weren't even dating. They were just co-workers in her dad's company.
"I'm gonna go freshen up," Mandy said to Rae. Rae looked at her for a moment, nodded slightly, and then went back to listening to Alynna's stories.
Mandy stood up, avoiding Josh's eyes. She took her purse with her and went to the washroom. Josh followed her with his gaze. He sensed that she was being distant.
When she was inside the washroom, Mandy opened her mobile phone. She went through the contacts trying to find someone whom she thought would be able to go there and pretend that there was some kind of emergency so she can have a reason to go bail out and go home early. After a few minutes of browsing, she stopped. She shoved her phone back in her purse.
"What am I doing? I came here to have fun but where am I now? Stuck in the washroom," she said to herself. "I'm not going to let this ruin my night. So what if Josh brought someone with him? It's not like we have something going on. We are just friends, nothing more."
She looked at herself on the stained mirror of the washroom. From the reflection on the mirror, she could see ladies coming in and going out of the washroom. They were laughing, having fun. She could hear the loud music playing. She decided to let things be. She will deal with Josh some other day. Right now, she will have fun. She will not let this affect her time tonight. Tonight, she is not out with Josh, rather, she was out with friends. She fixed herself. She retouched her makeup. She straightened her clothes. She fixed her hair. She washed her hands. She looked at herself in the mirror before she went out of the washroom.
She made her way back to their table. There were more people now and the club seemed to be packed. The club was filled with blaring music, people talking, groups laughing. She quickly scanned the people as she passed them, hoping she would see somebody familiar. Some of the people were carrying their drinks as they walked so Mandy was extra careful not to bump into any of them. Spilling drink on her clothes is not part of her plan that night.
"Mandy! Over here!"
Mandy quickly scanned the people near her as she heard her name.
"Mandy!"
She looked behind her and saw a familiar face.
"Xander! What are you doing here?" Mandy asked. She was pleasantly surprised. She and Xander haven't seen each other since the day he came to work with her after she got sick. She didn't now why but she was happy to see Xander. He was holding a drink with his left hand. He seemed to have come from the bar and was on his way back to his table.
"I came with some friends," Xander replied, raising his drink towards a group of guys she didn't recognize. His face close to Mandy's ear to make sure she would hear him. "How about you? Who are you with?"
"Some people from work," Mandy answered, her face was also close to Xander's ear. She could smell his musk perfume. She wondered if he smelled her scent, too. She was thankful that she had just freshened up.
"Really? We seem to be bumping on each other a lot lately," Xander smiled at Mandy. Without waiting for a reaction, he continued, "Where are you guys seated?"
"Just right over there, at the couch," Mandy replied, pointing to the direction of the couch.
"I'll take you there. I wanna say 'hi' to them."
"That's not necessary," Mandy protested. She doesn't want Josh to see her with Xander again.
But then she remembered that Josh had brought a date on the night when she thought they would spend more time together.
"Come on, just a quick 'hi' and then I promise I'll go and leave you guys alone," Xander insisted. The truth was, he wanted to see if Mandy was with Josh.
"Okay, then," Mandy said.
Some guys from behind Mandy were fooling around. One of the guys stepped back and bumped onto Mandy, causing her to lose her balance. She fell forward, landing on Xander's chest. Xander caught her and put his arm around her waist to keep her from completely falling.
"Hey, watch it!" Xander said to the guy.
"Sorry!" The guy said and then their group walked away.
"Are you okay?" Xander asked Mandy as she straightened up.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Let's go."
Mandy and Xander walked side by side but Xander didn't completely let go of her. He kept his hand on her back, just above the waist. His hand was so light on her back that Mandy could barely feel it but she knew his hand was there. She felt a tingle up and down her spine.
As they drew near the table where the rest of her companions were seated, Mandy suddenly got uncomfortable. She was having second-thoughts about Xander seeing the people she was with.
A group of girls were making their way to the dance floor. One of them smiled at Xander and then winked. Mandy looked at Xander to see how he reacted. But Xander caught Mandy's hand and locked his hand on hers. He then raised it high enough for the girl to see. The girl looked at Mandy from head to foot, raised one eyebrow and then went to join her friends. Mandy's jaw dropped.
"I can't believe you did that!" Mandy said to Xander who was stifling a laugh. "You're crazy!"
They both started laughing. They didn't realize they were already at the couch where Josh and the ladies were seated.
"Hey, guys! Look who I ran into…" Mandy raised her hand to point at Xander but she didn't realize that they were still holding hands so everyone saw it. She immediately let go. Jane was wide-eyed. Nobody dared to say anything, though.
"Hey!" Xander said after he cleared his throat. "Glad to see you all here. I just dropped by to say hi to everyone."
"Do you want to join us?" Carla asked. Josh gave her "the eye".
"Well, I came with some of my friends…" Xander began but Josh interrupted him.
"Oh, that's too bad. We would love to have your company but you should go back to your friends before they think you've taken off without them." Josh said, his tone sarcastic.
"I was going to say I came with my friends but I can stay with you guys for a couple of minutes," Josh said. "And," he said to Josh, "since you say you'll love my company, I think I'll stay longer."
Josh didn't say a word.
"O-kay…" Mandy said, feeling the tension rising. Josh and Xander clearly don't like each other. "How about we sit now?"
Mandy took her seat next to Rae. Xander sat beside Mandy. The edge of the couch was a little tight now with Xander sitting. He had to put his arm behind Mandy's back, over the back of the couch so he could sit comfortably. He was sitting too close to Mandy that she looked like she was leaning on him.
The group started talking again.
"I don't believe we've met. I'm Xander," Xander said to Alynna. "And you are?"
"I'm Alynna," Alynna replied, extending her right hand.
Xander stood a bit so he could reach her hand and shake it.
"Do you also work at EGC?" Xander continued to ask her. Everyone was just listening.
"No. At least not anymore. I used to work there before I…"
"Let me guess… Before you got married?" Xander finished her sentence for her. He shot a glance at Josh to catch his reaction.
"That's enough. We're here to have fun, not to interrogate." Josh was clearly annoyed at Xander.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't know marriage was a sensitive subject for you." Xander took Mandy's hand and stood up.
"Come on! He said we're here to have fun. Now let's go do that! Let's not waste the night by sitting here." He pulled Mandy up and led her to the dance floor.
"I'm with him," Jane said.
"Yeah, me, too. Come on, Rae!" Carla also stood up.
"I'll stay here. You go with them," Alynna told Josh. "I'll be alright."
"I'll keep her company. I don't want to dance anyway," Rae said to Josh.
Josh looked at Alynna. He wanted to follow Mandy but he also felt guilty leaving Alynna.
"It's okay, Josh, really. Just go ahead and enjoy yourself. You, too, Rae. I'll be alright here. It's not like you're all going home!" Alynna slightly pushed Josh's thighs. "Go!"
"Okay. I'll just be a couple of minutes," Josh finally stood. "How about you, Rae? Wanna come?"
"Nah! I'll stay here, really. I already danced earlier," Rae slumped on her seat.
With that, Josh went to follow the group to the dance floor.