The Night Out

"That's it, God. No more partying for me. I'm through."

As Tabitha crawled into bed for the night, thanking God for taking care of her and getting her home safe. She made Him a promise, her resolution for the new year, to stay out of the clubs and spend her weekends in church, where she belonged. She'd been going clubbing with the girls for at least the past 2 years and enjoyed almost every moment of it. It was a promise she never thought she'd make, but tonight had shown her the dangers of her behavior and it scared her.  It could easily have been her instead of Angie.  

She thought back over the night and allowed it to repay in her mind.  So much had happened, it felt like an eternity had passed. The club, meeting Jacob, the fight, Angie going to the hospital. Seemed so long ago and yet it had only been a few hours. 

Tabitha had been so stoked about tonight. It was a girl's night out with her 3 besties: Angela, Tiffany, and Sophie.  They had headed to their favorite club for the Annual New Years' Eve party and she wanted to find herself a man to ring in the new year with.         

She had hoped that Bradley, the guy from last week, wouldn't be there. He'd been fun at first, but outside the club, he wasn't nearly as hot as he had seemed inside. She had let him walk her to the car and told him thanks for the night. It was fun, but she made no promises that they'd see each other again. It had been a one-time thing. Especially once she had sobered up. Then he had sent her flowers at work.

This night, she had been looking for something better. The girls headed to the dance floor.  After a few dances, they ordered their drinks and headed for their favorite spot. There were definitely some hotties there that night. 

"Oh, crap!" she exclaimed.     

"What?" Angela asked, looking around. Tiffany snorted and almost spit out her vodka drink. 

"Shut up!" 

Sophie finally caught sight of him. 

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "It's your boy toy from last weekend!" 

"Shut up, guys!" 

Then they all started laughing. He hadn't seen her yet, but once he found her, he'd be heading over.

"Crap. What am I going to do?!" 

Tabitha started looking at the guys at the bar; then she saw him. The answer to her problem. And he was beautiful! Dark, black hair. Tanned skin. Muscles that bulged under his tight black shirt. Man, he was gorgeous! She stared at the tattoo on his left arm and smiled. It was a name in big, black scripted letters. Not just any name. Her name! What a freaking awesome coincidence. 

First thing's first. She was going to need a little courage. Angela ordered a round of shots and Tabitha glanced back once more at her soon-to-be "friend". This time he caught her looking and made eye contact. She gave a little smile and flipped her long, blonde hair out of her face. "Alright girls," Angela said as she passed around the tray and everyone took one of the shots. "On three. One, two, ..." Tabitha didn't wait for three. She salted her wrist, downed her shot, and followed it up with a lime. Then she headed towards Mr. Gorgeous. She caught Bradley watching her, and he started her way. Crap! She needed to hurry. She noticed Gorgeous was sitting at the bar chatting with the bartender. She walked up, set her drink on the bar, and touched his shoulder letting her hand slide down his arm and placed hers on his. He turned towards her with a surprised, but interested look on his face. Tabitha grabbed his hand, leaned in close, looked him in the eyes, and said, 

 "Hi. I was wondering if you could do me a favor." 

Gorgeous leaned in ever so slightly and held eye contact with her and said, 

"And what would that be?"

Tabitha looked down a little shyly and said, 

 "I noticed that you happen to have my name tattooed on your arm. She ran her fingers lightly over his tattoo and then rested her hand on his again. 

"That's my ex's name. I've been meaning to cover it up" 

"Really?" Tabitha purred.

"Really. So, Tabitha, what can I do for you?" 

"Well, there's this guy that's been following me around, and he's kind of making me uncomfortable.  I was wondering if you could maybe flex those muscles of yours and intimidate him a little." 

At this, the hot guy chuckled, and gave her a full, beautiful smile, and said. 

"Of course. I will definitely do that for you." 

"Hey Tabs! Let's do some shots and dance!" the girls called out to her. 

"Ooh another shot! I'll be right back."

Gorgeous held onto her, still holding her hand. 

"Hold up." he said. "How many of those have you had tonight?" 

"Seriously? I've only had one shot."      

And what else have you had tonight?" 

"Oh yeah! I had a margarita, but I didn't finish it. Where'd it... Oh! Here it is." 

She retrieved her drink and started to down it when Gorgeous put his hand on top. Tabitha looked up at him quizzically. 

"Don't ever leave your drink and come back to it. Do you know how many guys sneak around slipping drugs into pretty little girls' drinks? You are not finishing this one."

He picked up her glass and stuck it behind the bar on the counter. 

"Hold up, that was my drink..." 

Gorgeous held up his hand. 

"Go dance with your friends and when you get back I'll order you another one, straight from the bar." 

"Hey, shots and dancing?"  yelled Sophia, holding up a couple of shots. Tabitha looked up and then back to Gorgeous.

One-shot, dance, then come back and I'll get you another drink. Then we'll talk about your other admirer. That's the deal."

Who did this guy think he was? Oh, what difference did it make? He was gorgeous and obviously, he was thinking about spending more time with her the way he was acting so in the end, did she really care? Not as long as he was with her. 

Tabitha and Gorgeous stared at each other for a moment. 

"Okay. One shot, one dance, and then I'll come back. Scouts honor." Tabitha said, giving a mock solute. 

"Cute." He relinquished her hand. 

Tabitha made her way to the dance floor. They downed their shots and danced again. She made her way back to Gorgeous, but on the way, she was stopped by Bradley, her old friend from last week. Crap! She had almost made it. He grabbed her hand. 

"Hey, what's going on with you? I've been trying to get to you all night."

Tabitha turned around and tipped up her chin at Gorgeous and tilted her head towards Bradly. That was his cue. 

"Well, um, there's a little problem with that," Tabitha said, still looking at Gorgeous. 

"What's that? And who's that guy you're talking to?" 

" He's my boyfriend."

Gorgeous was right behind her wrapping both arms around her waist making sure he showed off the tat of her name. Bradley put his hands up like he was going to surrender and looked up at Gorgeous.  

"You got a problem with my girlfriend?"

Bradley looked up at him confused, and a bit scared, and took a step back. He at Tabitha and started to say, "You didn't say..." before Gorgeous was in his face. 

"Don't you talk to her! You're dealing with me now." 

Gorgeous was super intimidating. Bradley now had a scowl on his face and was looking up at Gorgeous.  

"Dude, I didn't know she was with anyone. She was with me last weekend." 

Whoops, she probably should have mentioned that before. Gorgeous didn't miss a beat. He continued glaring down at Bradley.

"Well, now you do. So take off." 

Bradley glared once more at Tabitha and took off. Gorgeous watched him storm off and then turned around and looked at her. 

"How was that?" he asked.

"Dude! That was freaking awesome.!" she exclaimed. 

He smiled, took her hand and led her back to the bar and sat down. 

"So that's what you wanted, then?" He asked.

"Yes, I enjoyed it very much." 

"Good." He said. "Glad I could help." 

"Don't you owe me a drink now?" She asked. 

"Yes, I suppose I do. Margarita, right?" He asked. 

She nodded, and he called the bartender over and ordered her drink. 

"So, what is your name, Boyfriend?" 

"You just now thought to ask? He chuckled. "My name is Jacob." 

"Well, I had more pressing matters to…"

"Tabitha! Help!" At the sound of her name being screamed, Tabitha and Jacob, both spun around in alarm. Tiffany was crying and screaming and waving her over. Tabitha and Jacob both took off running. 

"What happened?" 

"It's Angela!" Tiffany cried. "She's going crazy!" 

Tabitha's heart pounded in her ears as she followed Tiffany to the restroom. What had happened to Angela? She turned the corner and stopped short. Angela was standing on top of the counter swaying and looked like she was about to fall. Sophie was trying to grab her wrist. 

"We have to go! They're making us leave. What's wrong with you?"          

"No!" Angela wailed, her eyes wild. "I'm not going home! I said I want to dance!" 

     Angela tried to dance, awkwardly waving her arms around. Tabitha couldn't do anything but stare. 

     "Tabitha, help!" Tiffany cried and ran towards Angela trying to help Sophie coax her down.

     "Man coming in!" One of the bouncers barged in with Jacob on his heels.  Jacob stopped and watched Angela for a minute and then flashed Tabitha an angry glare and said, 

     "See what I mean about leaving your drinks! Now this one's drugged up!" 

     Angela stopped swaying when she saw the bouncer. He moved around Sophie and Tiffany, grabbed Angela's waist, and pulled her down. 

     "No!" Angela wailed and put her hands on the bouncer's chest trying to pull away. He and Jacob pulled Angela out of the bathroom. Tabitha and the other girls followed close behind. 

A crowd had gathered outside the bathroom door. 

"Move back! Now!" The bouncer yelled and started pushing back the crowd. Another bouncer came up to the first one.  

"I called 911, and they're on their way," he said taking over the curious crowd. 

"Thanks," Jacob responded and turned around in time to see Angela start falling, limp, toward the ground. He reached out and caught her by the arms as he and the bouncer gently guided her to the ground. 

"Oh my God! Angela!" Tiffany and Sophie were really crying now. 

"What happened to her?" Tabitha asked. Sophie turned around red-faced and yelled at her. 

"If you hadn't been sucking face with your new little boy toy, you'd know!" and she knelt down beside the now unconscious Angela. She patted her face a couple of times, calling her name to try and get a response. 

Blue and red lights flashed outside the club's wide-open doors as two men entered with a stretcher and a third carrying a medical case. The first two lowered the stretcher to the floor beside Angela. They spoke in low voices to the bouncer who had hauled Angela out of the bathroom. 

"What are they going to do to her? Where are they taking her?" Tiffany asked, quietly. 

Tabitha looked down at Angela, hair wild, red-faced, and drenched in sweat. 

"I don't know. I guess to the hospital." Tabitha responded. 

"They're probably going to try to flush her system," Jacob said. 

"Is she going to die?!" Tiffany sobbed. 

"No, no. I don't think..." Tabitha turned her gaze from Angela and Sophie and looked at Jacob again. 

"Hopefully not." 

     At this, Tiffany dropped to the ground with Sophie and started bawling. Once the medics loaded Angela on the stretcher, pulled it up, and started wheeling her to the waiting ambulance. Sophie and Tiffany ran along beside the stretcher and Tabitha followed, with Jacob holding her hand. She stopped several feet back from the ambulance while the other girls walked on. Tabitha couldn't seem to make herself take another step. She was in shock and wasn't quite sure that what she was seeing was real. Jacob pulled up next to her and asked her quietly if she was ok. She nodded dumbly and continued watching. Sophie seemed to be taking charge of the situation with Tiffany. As the medics loaded Angela into the ambulance, Sophie grabbed Tiffany by the shoulders and spoke sternly, looking her in the face. Tiffany seemed to have stopped sobbing and was whimpering quietly now. 

"They're only going to let one of us ride with her, so you take the car and follow us to the hospital." She said to Tiffany. "Are you okay to drive?" 

     "Yes, I'm okay." 

     With that Sophie handed Tiffany the keys and hopped inside the ambulance with Angela as they started taking off. Tiffany stared at the back of the ambulance where Sophie had just been for a second and then awareness seemed to strike her. She took off running, jumped into Angela's car, and peeled out of the parking lot following the ambulance. Tabitha could only watch until the ambulance was out of sight. 

     "Tabitha, are you Ok?" Jacob asked. Tabitha nodded again, not saying anything. Jacob put his hands on her shoulders and turned her gently towards him. He tipped her chin up and looked into her face, concerned.

     "You, sure?" Tabitha looked up at him and, suddenly, the reality of what had just happened hit her. 

     "Oh my God, Angela!" She screamed and looked around frantically even though she knew the ambulance was already gone. She turned back to Jacob and started crying. She covered her face with her hands. Jacob pulled her in and held her for a minute while she cried. After a few moments, she calmed down a little and looked around, still stunned. He took a step back and looked at her, but didn't let her go. 

     "Need a ride home?" he asked. It only then occurred to her that, in the heat of the moment, the others had left her behind. She was stranded at the club.  

     "Yeah. Um, that would be nice. Thanks. " 

     Jacob wiped away her tears, took her by her hand and led the way to his car. Once inside he asked, 

    "So you want to tell me where you live?" 

     "Oh, yeah. That might be helpful, huh?" 

     "Yeah, it might help a little."

     She chuckled and then turned to look at him, her eyes wide for a moment. He seemed to know what she was thinking. She realized then how much God really must love her. She could easily have been the one who got drugged and taken to the hospital, unconscious. She shuddered a little. 

     "Tabitha?" 

     "Yes." 

     "I've gotta know which way to turn." She gave him her address and he put it in the GPS. 

 As he drove her home, he made small talk. He asked her about where she worked and what she was going to school for, He actually listened and responded. That was pretty cool. Most guys didn't do that. Then again, she really didn't try to talk to most guys. She was just "friendly" with them. 

Tabitha was drained. She just wanted to be home, alone, where it was quiet, and she could let herself really cry. She said a quiet prayer for Angela and asked for forgiveness yet again and for God not to give up on her. She promised she really would get better one day. She looked over at Jacob. He really was an amazing guy. He had watched out for her, cut off her drinking, saved her from facing Bradley, and he'd never tried anything with her. She realized that all of his behavior towards her was protective and not "friendly," like she thought. 

She sighed and put her head against the seat back and closed her eyes. "What's that sigh about?" Jacob asked. Tabitha blew a few strands of hair from her face. 

"I'm just thinking." 

"About?" 

"I don't know. I guess what an idiot I am. I mean, all kinds of things could have happened tonight. I could have been the one drugged tonight." "Yep." Jacob said quietly. "And kidnapped and raped and who knows what else." She looked up and realized that they had stopped in front of her house. 

"I guess | should say thank you." He looked at her. 

"Yeah, that might be nice." 

"Thank you for, for everything. I don't know what I would have done without you."

He took her hand and played with her fingers absentmindedly. After a few moments, he said, 

"You know, it's OK to not play the game.  Partying, drinking, sleeping around. You're young. You've got plenty of time to turn your life around and avoid making mistakes you can't fix. You're too good for that. You can really make something of yourself, you know?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll try."

"Don't take this the wrong way, I really enjoyed your company,  but I'd rather not see you at the club again. Know what I mean?"

He held her gaze until he was sure she knew what he really meant. He wasn't saying he didn't want to see her again. He meant that he didn't want to see her clubbing and partying, getting drunk and acting a fool. 

"I get it." Was her soft reply. 

They sat in silence for a moment and then he leaned towards her and tapped his cheek. She leaned over and kissed it. 

"Bye, Jacob."

"Bye, Tabitha. Remember what I said. 

She nodded, got out, and headed for her door. He watched her until she was inside before he took off, into the night, leaving her alone with her thoughts.