CHASING LIFE (7 page)

‘
Are they generally friendly people?’ Dave asked.

‘Spiritual
and superstitious people, but yes, they are friendly. Don’t believe rumours.’

‘What rumours?’

‘Some say that Hong Kong natives are cold and withdrawn. That’s usually the impression of those who come here for a day or two and think they’ve seen it all while dropping in for shopping.’

‘I haven’t experienced
any of that yet, especially on Lockhart Road.’ Dave rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Sam laughed
. ‘That’s okay. How did you decide on going there?’

‘It was recommended to me.’

‘So, do you feel like it’s rubbing off on you?’

‘Yeah, I
feel like a bit of sex has stuck to my clothes.’

‘
Everyone goes there eventually,’ Sam replied. ‘It’s like a rite of passage for newcomers. Don’t worry about it—you might end up there again, so don’t bag it.’ Sam took a drag and casually reached into his pocket for his phone.

Da
ve noticed the no smoking signs and grinned. Oh well, he thought to himself, when you’re in Hong Kong and you’re the owner, you’re king. And this king has style, he thought. Sam was cool and controlled. Dave could tell he would have been the kind of person that was liked by everybody in school, admired by the popular and loved by the nerds. As Sam took a slow drag of his cigarette, looking like a character in a dimly lit scene from a 1960s detective movie, Dave felt nerve-racked just being around him and hoped he wouldn’t embarrass himself.

‘I’m sorry, Dave,’ Sam apologised. ‘Excuse me for a minute.’ He turned his attention to
his mobile, said a few quick words, then hung up.

‘All good?’ Dave asked.

‘Yep. That was my girlfriend. We’ll meet them at a bar down the road called Serene. She’s with her friends. We’ll take off as soon as my head barman comes to replace me. He should be here soon.’

‘Where’s your girlfriend from?’

‘New York. She’s Vietnamese. We met here.’

‘How interesting. That’s cool.’ Dave immediately felt a bit naïve, like a little boy happy to be playing with the big kids.

Sam’s phone rang again and he spoke to someone Dave guessed was an employee. ‘Okay,’ Sam said. ‘We’re good to go.’

After Sam
handed the barman his keys, they were outside and back in the rain again. Both lit up another cigarette. Dave looked down at his clothes and felt underdressed compared to Sam and the other people along Wyndham Street. Had he been in Melbourne, he wouldn’t get near a nightclub door—and he guessed it would be the same here.

‘You reckon I’ll be right like this
, Sam?’ Dave gestured down at his jeans. ‘I didn’t expect to go clubbing when I took off.’ Sam hardly flinched and kept walking without a thought.

‘You’re good
, mate,’ he said, as if the idea hadn’t even registered. There was something about meeting an Aussie compatriot in an unknown country. It placed Dave at ease. Despite the fact that he’d just met him, Dave felt like he could trust the man like one of his mates. He wondered whether he would do exactly the same and welcome a shabby stranger if the roles were reversed. Somehow it felt like an unwritten rule that you look after your own. It was an obligation, an understanding and no words or explanation was required. But it was a trust Dave felt he had to show he was worthy of. His night had turned around.

Chapter 9

What happened en route to Serene was quite unexpected. Nearly every other person who passed by them greeted Sam. Couples invited him over for a drink; women kissed him on the cheek; and even the Frenchman from the bistro did so in typical European style as they went by again. F
arther down the road, a cluster of girls came out of a venue to say hello. Sam responded genuinely each time. He knew everyone’s name and greeted each person appropriately: American guys with a bear hug; Europeans with a welcoming kiss on the cheek; and conservative Asian girls with a limp handshake. It was like walking down a red carpet with a celebrity.

‘Mate, is there anyone you don’t know?’
Dave asked, trying not to sound too awestruck.

‘It’s a great part of the job,
’ Sam brushed it off and started pointing at bars Dave could visit, giving him a brief history of the owners and a rundown on the type of places they were as if he were a tour guide. They walked into the lounge bar called Serene. The place was packed but mostly with guys. Sam turned around and looked at Dave.

‘It’s a sausage fest here
—girls get free wine and champagne so they can draw a crowd. We’ll go somewhere else soon.’ He led on further inside through the crowd until they reached the bar where two attractive girls sat. They greeted Sam with beaming expressions. Judging by the passionate kiss one of them laid on Sam, Dave realised this was the girlfriend, Carla. She stood confidently, like a woman aware of her own beauty. She wore a sexy black dress that complimented her curves. Her curly shoulder-length hair swayed across her face every time she turned. It reminded Dave of a hair product commercial.

Sam introduced Dave to
the two girls, Carla and Erin. They were both of Asian appearance but Erin was more of a mix. Erin’s eyes were closer to European, brown and alluring. Sam gave the girls a brief story of his encounter with Dave at the French bistro.

‘What brings you to Hong Kong
, Dave?’ Carla asked in an American accent while twirling her fingers in Sam’s hair. Her slightly slurred words and red face betrayed her tipsy state. Carla had a friendly look about her with glowing cheeks, which could possibly be due to the wine, Dave thought. Everything about her was womanly, from her voluptuous figure to her mannerisms. Dave could see why Sam had stuck with Carla out of the many potentials at his disposal.

‘A holiday,’ he replied almost hesitantly. It was a question he struggled increasingly to answer.

‘In one word how do you like it so far?’ her companion Erin asked.

‘I guess I’d have to say “
interesting”,’ answered Dave.

‘That’s boring. Surely you can come up with something else,
’ she tilted her head up and looked directly at him.

‘Take my seat
, Dave,’ Carla said as she got up and wrapped her arms around Sam.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, just sit down,’ Carla insisted. Dave obliged and adjusted himself in the seat next to Erin and for the first time looked her over properly. An electric pulse surge through his body as if he was zapped. Erin sat cross-legged in hipster jeans and an elegant white shirt opened halfway down her chest. The simplicity of her clothing was stunning. Wavy brown hair rested over her shoulders and back, giving her a fresh and carefree look. But it was her eyes. They were unusual. There was so much depth in them he felt lured to them like bait. The situation Dave found himself in was almost alien. It reminded him of the first time he’d met Julia in the café.

‘“S
urprising”, perhaps?’ Dave suggested.

‘That
leaves it open to interpretation. Not fair,’ she toyed and gave him a cheeky smile. Erin took a ladylike sip of her champagne and her pinkie finger went up in the air.

‘It’s your fault,
’ Dave challenged. ‘You said one word.’

‘I want you to choose another one by the end of the night.’

‘I’ll see what I can do. Would you ladies like another drink? My shout,’ he added.

‘We get ours for free, you
poor guys look after yourselves,’ Carla mocked.

‘Fine then, we’ll do that.
’ Dave ordered a couple of beers and clinked glasses with Sam. The two couples distanced themselves slightly, another unspoken gesture that Dave picked up on. Sam and now Carla had vetted him. He was allowed access to her friend, after her approval of course. It was so slight and subtle that he nearly missed it, just a momentary unspoken look between two females that said ‘he’s okay’.

‘Where are you from?’ Dave asked. ‘I detect an American accent.’

‘California,’ confessed Erin.

‘Really? An Orange County princess?’

‘I’m a Valley girl,’ she parodied in a bimbo tone, twirling her hair.

‘Do you know Paris Hilton?’

‘Of course. We shared a prison cell.’

‘You were a jailbird with Paris?’

‘Yeah, I’m a bad girl. I like stealing expensive handbags.’

‘She didn’t make any private videos in there, did she?’

‘If you want that sort of information, it will cost you,’ Erin said. Dave felt warmth run through him. The girl had a sense of humour. Her voice was sweet and she kept turning away from his gaze, but he wasn’t sure if she was losing interest or if she was just shy. It’s hard learning the single’s life again, he thought. No matter how simple and straightforward he wanted to make his bachelor life, there were always rules and games about it. The mannerisms, the gestures, the insinuations, the unspoken words, the spoken words, the first-time phone-call rules, the first kiss, the guessing games, the three month stage, the nine month stage, etcetera, etcetera. He was going to have to go through it all over again and he wondered whether it was worth the effort. But after looking over at Erin, it wasn’t hard to answer that question.

‘How old are you, Dave?’

‘I’m thirty five.’

‘Hmm. Holding up well for your age.’

‘Thanks. How about you?’

‘I’
m twenty-seven,’ Erin replied and took another sip. The number resonated with Dave. It was the same age as Julia when she passed away.

‘
I wouldn’t have said more than twenty one,’ he winked.

‘
How do you like this place?’

‘It’s okay. I don’t go out much these days.’

‘Why not?’

‘I’m a classy girl
,’ she said, flicking him another glimpse of her fascinating eyes before looking away again. ‘I don’t expose myself to this type of environment.’

‘And what type of environment is this?’

‘One that could lead to God knows what depravity.’ Erin’s voice was sweet. She clasped her hands and adjusted herself like a schoolgirl about to have her photograph taken.

‘You liar,’
Dave said. ‘You told me you were a bad girl.’

‘I am. That part is true.’ She winked and turned her head again.

Dave was smitten. He felt as though he could say anything to her and they joked as if they were already friends. There was something he’d noticed while in the company of Sam and the two girls. His companions drew attention to him, from other girls to be more specific—and very good-looking ones, too. He wondered what they thought of this shabby stranger with messy hair, hanging around someone like Sam and his friends.

‘
We’re just going for a short walk, Dave,’ Sam said. ‘Be back in a minute.’

‘Are you
all right?’ Carla asked her friend, receiving a nod of affirmation in return.

As the couple disappeared into the crowd, Dave and
Erin faced away from each other, neither of them speaking. He racked his brain for something to say before the silence dragged on and she lost interest.

‘Crappy weather tonight,’ he began.

‘Don’t think too hard about what to say. Just say what you feel,’ she interrupted and kept looking straight ahead, sipping from her glass with a slight grin.

Dave was taken by surprise
by her brazen remark. ‘Okay. Well, I don’t know what I feel. I guess I’m …’

‘
Nervous?’

‘A little.’

‘So am I. Does that make you feel more comfortable?’

‘You’re very direct, aren’t you?’
Dave said, trying hard to keep his admiration of her from his voice.

‘Maybe we should both relax now.’

‘Okay.’

‘Why waste time on meaningless words?’

‘There’s nothing wrong with meaningless chat, is there?’

‘Not if you’re the kind of person who says, “I hate Mondays” and “Thank God it’s Friday”
. It’s irritating.’

‘So you don’t like light conversations. That excludes you from the majority of the population then.’

‘That’s okay. I don’t mind. I’m more than happy to just sit here and observe the masses.’

‘What’s your background? And I ask that because I feel like it
,’ he said, which made her giggle. Each time Erin smiled her full cheeks pushed upwards and created cute arches underneath her eyes.

‘My father is American and my mother is South Korean.’

‘An interesting mix.’

‘Not really
. Not back in the States, anyway. And you’re Australian with some kind of a European background?’

‘Yep.’

‘I can never tell you apart. You all look the same to me.’

Dave laughed and she winked at him.
‘Erin,’ he blurted out, ‘you must dance with me later.’ His eye twitched when he realised what he’d said. Why the hell did he ask her to dance? He never danced! A panic alarm was sounding in his brain and he wondered what had gotten into him. Dave turned his chair to face her and she responded by turning hers halfway toward him. Had he been entirely sober he would never have spoken with that kind of confidence.

‘Okay, we’ll dance,’
Erin replied rather casually.

Dave
wasn’t expecting her to say yes and now it was too late. She’d agreed and he had to follow through.

Just
then, Sam and Carla returned to the table. ‘Hey Dave,’ Sam said, ‘we’re heading out of here and going to The Memento.’

‘Where’s that?’

‘Just outside and up the stairs.’

‘Let’s do it
.’ He sculled his beer and they all took a walk. The Memento was a building literally next to Serene but a level up with an outdoor escalator. A similar crowd was gathered in the outside section, taking a break from the loud music. The girls walked right in and Sam did his magic with the bouncers at the front. He shook hands with them and had a brief talk before introducing Dave. One of them gave him an entry stamp on his wrist, visible only with an ultraviolet light scanner. They walked in and he immediately realised that the night had just been raised to a new level. The decor of neo-oriental art was mixed tastefully with contemporary furnishings and large lounge sofas surrounded the dance floor.

The music was pumping
dance tracks, adding a wild atmosphere to the dimly lit space. The two of them went straight for the bar, and the girls sat down. Sam insisted on getting the next round of drinks. He glanced across to Erin, trying to meet her gaze, but she seemed indifferent, her expression blasé.

More of Sam’s and
Carla’s friends arrived. One of them was a slim Indian guy with a cautious look about him. Sam showed him special attention. Dave felt like he’d been eyed out by this man from the moment he walked in.

‘
This is my best friend, Dave,’ Sam said and gave the Indian guy hug.

None of
Sam’s friends engaged him in a conversation. Dave was an outsider. Drinks were being poured, and one was handed to him, a slippery-flipping shot that went down tastefully with a slight bite. He mingled and tried to fit in, but he felt like he was skimming the perimeter. Sam introduced him and did his best to include the newcomer to his inner circle, but he knew it was up to him now to make an impression.

He had an idea.
‘Can you come with me to the bar? I want to buy drinks.’

‘What do you want
to get?’ the Indian guy asked.

‘W
hatever you guys are drinking.’

‘H
ow many?’ They went in front of the bar and Sam’s friend was about to order for him.

‘For everyone, how many is that?’

‘Fifteen shots?’ he gave him a quizzical expression.

‘Yeah, for all the
girls and guys here.’

‘Sure!
’ He ordered the drinks for Dave and a tray was put out with a delicious and colourful-looking mixture of shots. It cost a lot of money—more than he’d ever spent on one round of drinks—but he didn’t care. Sam’s friend brought the shots to the middle of the circle and everyone did a cheers. He’d heard Sam talking behind him to a friend, saying ‘I just met the guy tonight.’ Heads turned and he was noticed. Dave had proven he wasn’t just a freeloader tagging along and scamming drinks off them. The gesture was appreciated. From there on he had no problem conversing with any of them. Sam ran out of cigarettes, and Dave threw his pack on the table.