Incredulously, she watched as the man took another long sip of her drink. Throughout the evening, he had taken the wrong glass at least twice. In spite of that, he appeared to be a nice person.
In the midst of the pounding music and the dizzying lights, she began to believe she was being paranoid. Searching for her friends, she glanced around the club. Why was the man doing that?
Celebration
Lincolnshire resident Lily Powles was busy working the first night shift at Gulliver’s Nite Club. She anxiously looked at her phone as more and more people streamed in.
In twenty minutes, her friends will be joining her, and her shift will be over. She could wait for twenty minutes. She had a big celebration planned, and for a good reason.
A Change In Career
Lily had been struggling to make ends meet working as a server and taking the late shifts, but she needed money desperately. In the end, she secured a position as a sales representative at a large insurance company after numerous interviews.
She felt like nothing could bring her down that night because her new work would begin in earnest on Monday until he entered the establishment.
Out Of The Ordinary
The well-groomed man moved forward in the bar and made a beeline for Lily while grinning widely. She was familiar with his bar-hopping behavior.
Lily was surprised when he bypassed the normal small talk and asked for her phone number instead of ordering his regular rum and Coke. Lily struggled to speak.
Not Taking No For An Answer
Since Lily was in a good mood, she politely rejected his intrusive approach. Although she was used to men at the club contacting her, she lived by one guiding principle: never mix romance and business. Plus, it was expressly forbidden by club rules.
The man, though, wouldn't go away. In between serving other clients, he continued asking her what was wrong with him. She was starting to feel uneasy around him.
Staying Back
Despite finishing his drink, the man stayed inside the bar. While Lily occupied herself, he lingered, attempting to catch her attention. He could be seen walking about with that big grin on his face. He looked her in the eye and said, "When do you finish your shift?"
Lily announced that she would soon be leaving Gulliver's Nite Club for good, delighted for the end of her last-ever shift. His gaze glowed. It was probably best for her to keep quiet.
A Big Mistake
When Lily got off work, the man approached her and insisted on giving her a drink because he knew it was his final chance. He begged her, showing her that grin, "Just one."
She reasoned that there was no harm in getting a drink out of putting up with him all night long since she knew she wouldn't have to see him again once she was gone. But she was totally wrong.
Delays
Inquiring about Lily's drink preference, the man asked what she liked. Her response was, "Surprise me," hoping that getting her the drink would distract him for long enough that her friends could get to her. She emailed them. Their response was, "We're running late.".
The man was next to her again in an instant, holding beverages. Now, the grin seemed to be much bigger. She really ought to have been watching him more closely.
Acting Strangely
She didn't pay any attention when he accidentally took her drink instead of his the first time. But after the second and third occurrences, she started to become irritated.
Was he purposefully doing it? If he was going to keep both for himself, what use was it to buy her a drink? She messaged her buddies once again with her drink barely touched, but this time they didn't even respond. Lily was all by herself.
Finally
Lily nervously peered at the entrance and was delighted to see her friends enter at last. To make herself more visible among the crowd, she got up and waved her hands.
But when she turned her head back to the ground and saw that the man had rapidly moved her drink once more, she was much warier of him. What was he playing?
Perfect Excuse
Lily now had the perfect excuse to walk away from the awkward situation. As all her girlfriends swarmed around her, exchanging hugs and congratulating her on her new job, the man was left awkwardly at the bar with no way to get her attention again. She saw him head off to the bathroom.
Now was her chance. If her gut feelings were correct, the man was about to regret hounding her all night.
Bold Move
In one swift movement, without even her friends noticing, Lily swapped drinks with the man before moving to a bigger table at the back of the club.
She kept an eye on the man when he returned to the bar. He seemed miffed that Lily and her friends had just up and left but were clearly too nervous about approaching her again with all her friends around her. She really thought she’d seen the last of him.
Dancing On
Whenever she got up to dance, she could feel his eyes on her, making her skin crawl. But, determined not to let the situation unsettle her and ruin her last night at the club, Lily kept dancing.
She avoided his gaze as best she could, and he was soon lost behind the crowd on the dance floor. But she wouldn’t be able to avoid him forever.
Gone?
Glancing back to the bar in the corner, she suddenly realized that she couldn’t see the man anymore. Finally, she could relax! Lily and her friends danced and celebrated into the small hours of the morning.
It had been a night to remember! The girls stumbled bleary-eyed out of the dark club and into the steely city sunrise. But when Lily saw who was in the street, the nervous feeling from earlier that evening came rushing back.
Karma
The creepy man from the bar was there, passed out in a puddle. Lily just stared at him, very aware that if she hadn’t had the instinct to act quickly, she could have been in serious trouble right now.
It was obvious that she had been the man’s target for the night, and she was determined not to let him do that to anyone ever again.