It’s my twenty first, so naturally my friends and I went out in the town to get a few drinks of some sort of wine.

Outside it’s cold, wet, windy, and gloomy. As I always say, the weather sets the mood for the tone of your day.

We enter a bar that’s packed to the brim. The lights flash bold, obnoxious colors on a whim.

My friends drag me to the dance floor. We party as if there’s no school work due in the morn’.

A man stalks over and grabs me. His boney fingers digging daggers in my arms. He proposes “Hey sweetheart, care for a dance?” He whispers “Let’s have some fun” I glance at my friends who are cheering me on.

I tell him “sure” I’d love to strange man.

We dance till I’m breathless and then we dance some more.

He twirls me. He spins me. He dips me. He lifts me all the way back into my friend’s outstretched arms.

Later that night, we’re sitting at the bar. Downing drinks, whose names I don’t recall.

Then that same man comes up to me again, and takes the seat of my friend who just ran, up to a guy she thought looked nice. “Hey sweetheart.” He says once again. “Care for a drink, it’ll be on me?”

“Why not?” I reply with hesitation in my mind, though I give it no care. Since what could really happen with my friends all so near.

He orders two shots and then spins me around, since the chairs do turn round and round. He leans me back into the arm that’s wrapped around my shoulders, scooting us closer.

When the drinks arrive, he grabs them, talking all the while. Out of the corner of my eye I see something drop from his calloused hand into my crystal clear drink. What could it be?

“Did you put something in it?” I ask sheepishly

“Of course not sweetheart, what gave you that idea?” He replies with tease in his tone to me. Then he downs his in one gulp with ease.

I swish mine around one last time, in my hand. It does have a new murky tint to its clear.

“My eyes must be playing tricks on me.” I say to him because what really could of happened? I’m probably just overreacting.

I hold it to my lips, finishing it in two sips.

The room starts to spin. I see him grin.

“I’m sorry, I lied, but I wanted you to be mine.”He says the words twisting and stretching, soon becoming inaudible over my own fleeting breath. Suddenly my head rolls back as the world goes black.