"This Place is Dead"

This weekend I was invited by my friend Rachel to a birthday party for a male friend of hers at a lounge in Tribeca.

By midnight a crowd was streaming in, the DJ was spinning and people were dancing. After apple martinis compliments of a photographer I had been dancing and chatting with, I excused myself so I could track Rachel down.

I saw her sitting on the other side of the bar laughing with the birthday boy as he held a bottle of champagne.

I walked up as Rachel said "C'mon, lets dance".

"Okay" he said as someone waved him over "actually, game a sec, I'll be right back..." he trailed off as he made his way across the dance floor.

We stood there talking for a while when Rachel grabbed my hand. "C'mon lets see who's here" she said.

We pushed our way through the crowded dance floor and bumped into my photographer, he had another guy with him.

"Do you girls wanna dance?" the photographer asked as his friend eyed Rachel approvingly. I turned to Rachel who eyeballed the photographers friend, said "No, thanks" and yanked me past them. I turned to give my photographer an apologetic shrug.

We weaved through the clusters of people near the bar, a few guys tried to get Rachel’s attention by touching her arm, but she just kept walking.

As we made our way back towards the dance floor, I turned to ask her a question but she was focused on something. I followed her gaze to one of the plush couches where the birthday boy sat with two girls, one of them was chugging from the champagne bottle.

"Do you want a drink?" I asked.

"No," she replied. "Lets go, this place is dead"