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Another night at the club, I thought with a sigh.

The familiar scent of alcohol and laughter permeated in the air. The lights danced and zipped around in a frenzy as the strong bass filled every corner of the room. I stood behind the bar, tending to the patrons and prepared with practised efficiency, my hands moving on autopilot. I observed the crowd dancing and drinking to their hearts' content, smocking and making out like it was their last under the red and blue neon lights, their cheers and chants drowning out my thoughts.

My gaze found itself wandering towards the stage where Lisa was, dancing gracefully, swaying her body and twirling around the pole to the rhythm of the music. The flickering lights traced the contours of her silhouette and highlighted the glistening sweat on her body, casting a shadow that danced in harmony with her movements.

She's a mesmerising sight, I mused, my eyes drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

Memories of our previous encounter flooded my mind, each moment etched into the core of my memory. The sweet taste of her lips, the sounds of her moans, the lust and desire that burned in her dark eyes. Everything was perfect until I had to leave.

Her plea for me to stay and the feeling of her disappointed eyes on my back as I got dressed until I left haunted my thoughts. I clenched my jaw tight with the weight of guilt and my conflicting emotions.

I did the right thing, I always told myself since that night. I had to put a boundary and not escalate anything. It was the responsible thing to do. So why did I feel shitty about it?

"You good?" Chris's voice pulled me out of my daze.

I offered him a weak smile," Yeah, I'm all good." 

He didn't seem convinced by my response but he decided not to probe further, which I was grateful for. I wore, a mask of composure throughout the rest of the evening, engaging in conversations with both the patrons and other bartenders as I always did, but my thoughts always lingered back to Lisa.

"You look like you're miles away," Chaeyoung's voice pulled me out of my thoughts and brought me back to the present. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," I cleared my thoughts, wiping the counter with my cloth. "Just have stuff going on."

I felt her studious gaze on me. "You sure? You can talk to me about anything, you know?" the concern in her tone was evident.

I hesitated momentarily, halting my action and clenched my jaw as I weighed my options. I've never disclosed any of my personal problems with anyone from work. Not that I needed to because it had no bearing on my work ethic since I always separated work and personal issues and kept it pushing. However, this predicament I was in was a unique problem since both my work and personal problems were intertwined.

This is why I avoid hooking up with co-workers.

"There's this girl I've been seeing," I began.

"Oh..." was her response. "Is this the same girl you talked about before?"

I nodded. "We had an... intimate encounter recently," I continued, trailing off unsure of how much I wanted to share. Still, I felt comfortable enough to talk about it with Chaeyoung without having to give away too much. "Things got complicated."

Chaeyoung tilted her head, her expression mixed with curiosity. "How so?"

"I have rules. They're kind of a contingency to avoid things from spiralling out of control. I want to live by those rules but..." I slumped my shoulders. "She just makes it impossible."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I dunno Chae," I shrugged helplessly, meeting her gaze. "I dunno what and how to feel about it."

"Why not talk about it with her?" she suggested.

"I don't think it's that easy, Chae. I've been avoiding her since that encounter. Even if I wanted to, I don't know how to approach the situation."

Chaeyoung pursed her lips and sighed. "You won't get anywhere if you keep avoiding her, Ollie," she told him honestly. "Just tell her how you feel and see how it goes. Be open to whatever she throws at you, both literally and metaphorically."

I laughed, feeling the burden lighten a little. "Well let's hope the former doesn't happen. But thanks for the advice."

Chaeyoung smiled squeezing my shoulder affectionately. "Happy to help, Ollie," she said before leaving to tend to the patrons. 

As the night continued on, I decided to let Chaeyoung handle the bar while I attended to the patrons on the floor. The atmosphere in the club was still lively and loud. The bass of the music reverbed across every inch of the room while the patrons continued dancing, drinking and getting merry. I moved between tables, collecting empty cups, glasses and bottles while also checking in on the customers if they needed something. That was until something caught my eye. It was Lisa leaving the stage.

Without thinking, I followed after her, passing the crate with all the cups, bottles and glasses to Felix, ignoring the confused look on his face. I weaved through the swarm of people until I reached the exit of the club that led to the washroom. My eyes scanned around the passage that had very few people around either taking a smoke or making out.

"No!" Lisa's scream in distress caught my attention. My head snapped to the direction of the source of the sound and followed it down the passage. By the time I made it, I froze and my eyes widened as I watched Lisa fight off a man who was forcing himself onto her, grabbing her wrists and pushing his weight on her so she couldn't escape.

My body moved on its own, taking long strides over to their direction, feeling a protective instinct surge through me and a mix of emotions I couldn't fully comprehend in that moment. Next thing I knew, I grabbed the man by the collar and swiftly pulled him off of her, pinning him against the wall.

"You!" I growled, immediately recognising the piece of shit who was with Lisa in the VIP room from a month ago. The fucker who came by the pub asking me if he could get a hold of her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, huh?!" my eyes were hard and narrowed as I felt anger boiling in my veins.

Lisa, startled but relieved, moved away from him and stood behind me, hugging herself. She was still a bit shaken up but she was safe. I could feel the eyes of the people in the passage watch us in hushed anticipation despite the music playing in the background.

"Let go of me!" he stammered, trying to wriggle out of my grip.

"Not a chance," I retorted, my tone was as firm as my grip. "You do not harass or touch women or anyone without their consent. You hear me?"

"Well, if that slut doesn't want to be dealing with that, then she shouldn't be selling her body like a whore from the Avenues."

With one swift motion, my fist connected with his jaw, making him stagger to the ground groaning in pain as he clutched his jaw. The commotion caught the attention of more patrons and staff, including Chaeyoung and Chris who approached our direction with agency. The situation hung in the air, tense and charged as I stared down at the man with all the malice I could muster.

"Call security," I instructed Chris before he could ask what was going on and immediately grabbed Lisa's wrist and took her out of there, ignoring the looks we received from everyone, including Chaeyoung.

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