Solo Date at The Whiskey Library

|ELENA’s POV|

“Is there anywhere you would like to drop by before going home?” The driver inquires after driving me away from the hotel.

“I don’t want to go home, but at the same time I don’t know anywhere in town so can you keep driving around till we get to a place where we can grab a nice drink?” I inquire.

“Okay ma’am …. I know the best place for you” he says as he ignites the car engine and drives away.

I try to relax in the car, thinking about what is going to happen to me now that my father is dead……. I barely have a life, and being another lock and key is the only thing I have gotten used to over the past fifteen years since my father thought that it was going to be a wonderful idea to hide me away.

I wanted change so badly, but if I had ever taken a peek into a 30-second trailer of my life and found out that getting the freedom that I wanted would make me lose my father, I would have compromised my freedom.

Right now, I feel so numb because I don’t know if I am supposed to cry, blame myself, or be angry.

The last time I lost someone close to me was when I was five years old, and I didn’t have to process my emotions completely because Immediately my mom died, my father had me sent away from Orion so I didn’t go through my grief process when the wound was still fresh, I grew up accepting and living with the fact that my mom and dad were not there to be around anymore so I was forced to accept my new normal, but for this I doubt if I will ever get used to the fact that I am now an orphan.

“It feels really strange that I can’t get used to my father’s absence even though he has always been absent in my life, but this feels like a different type of absence, and although I am supposed to have gotten used to this magnitude of loneliness and accepted my fate, I still long for a redemption.” I quiver in silence, with my knees shivering, my feet trembling and my head spinning.

I hope that this can be a really bad dream that I will Wake up from, and if I do I will try my best to stick around my dad to keep him safe so that I don’t end up losing the closest thing that I have to a family member in this world.

“We are here ma’am,” the driver says and then I notice that the car has stopped already so I look around to check where we are because I didn’t tell him where to drop me off.

“Riri’s iconic lounge?” I pronounce it as soon as my eyes land on the neon sign in front of us, with ‘parking space’ below the big neon sign.

“Who names a lounge after a nickname?” I scoff.

“This is one of the best lounges in town, and your father used to come here a lot,” he informs and I pause to take another glance at the lounge.

“If I am not mistaken, your father should be one of the investors of this lounge,” he adds and I suddenly become interested in checking out the lounge, so I step out of the car.

“You can just go home from here,” I instruct the driver as I step down from the car.

“Let’s check the lounge out,” I mutter as I make my way to the front of the building the lounge looks more like a glitzy nightclub and at the same time gives the vibe of an eccentric person’s home from the exterior of the building.

“Welcome to RIL,” the security man in front of the building's main door welcomes me, opening the door for me and I step into the building.

On getting to the lobby of the building, the light and ambiance of the building gave that of a low-key chilling spot and that made me confused as to where to go from here, so I looked around and my eyes landed on a male attendant holding a placard with ask me boldly written on the plague, so I make my way to him.

“Hello,” I greet the attendant as soon as I get to him.

“Welcome to Riri’s iconic lounge ma’am,” the attendant welcomes me, dropping the hand holding the ask me plague almost immediately.

“Is this your first time in this iconic lounge or you are a new member who just got her membership card?” He inquires.

“Membership card for a club?” I question him.

“This isn’t just a club ma’am…..it is one of the biggest chilling spots in town,” he corrects.

“My bad….” I accept.

“I am guessing that you are new in town for you do not know anything about us,” he guessed and I nodded in approval.

“Would you like me to walk you through the services provided by this iconic lounge?” He inquires politely and shake my head because I feel rather guilty enjoying the beauty of the lounge instead of processing my father’s death at the moment.

“I appreciate the customer service but I guess I will pass,” I suddenly didn’t feel like drinking to distract myself from my grief and right now I just want to go home and bawl my eyes out.

“Are you dissatisfied with anything about the lounge?” He inquires in a worried tone.

“The lounge is really beautiful, and if the circumstances were different, I know that I would have wanted to explore a very tiny bit of this lounge to find out the things that make it iconic, but right now I think I would prefer to be alone,” I explained to him.

“If you need a place to be alone with a good drink and your thoughts, I would suggest that you sign up for membership in our lounge to have access to perks like the cocktail territory, the whiskey library, our private lounge…..” he trails off.

“Fine….. a solo date at the whiskey library will do,” I decide to stay back so that it won’t look like I left because the service he offered was not good enough, more-so the last thing that I would want right now is for him to be scolded by his boss over something he can’t control.

I follow the attendant and after going through different hallways, we Finally stop in front of a private lounge that looks like a hidden gem tucked away from the bustling world. The entrance is discreet, marked only by an unassuming door that opens into a world of exclusivity.

As the attendant opens the door, I am greeted by plush velvet bar stools, inviting me to sink into their comfort.

Soft lighting casts a warm glow, creating an intimate ambiance, and The walls are adorned with artwork, adding a touch of sophistication to the space.

Four shelves of fully stocked bars stand in the four corners of the room, offering an array of what looks like top-shelf spirits and craft cocktails.

The whiskey library is designed for privacy, and in case you don't want to mingle you can make yourself comfortable in the secluded seating areas and curtains that can be drawn for added seclusion.

“Hm….this place is giving the vibe of where someone can unwind, indulge in conversation, savor the finer things in life or just be alone without being left 100 percent alone,” I remark, shaking my head with a satisfied look on my face

“Is it up to the standard of what you were expecting?” the attendant inquires

“This is perfect…..far better than what I was expecting” I answer him.

“So is there anything you need me to get for you?” he inquired with genuine concern lacing his voice.

“I need one of the most expensive drinks in this place,” I ask him, giving him the limitless card that my father gave me, and no matter how much I spent I have never maxed the card out.

“Can you just come over there to make payment for the membership so that other things can flow in smoothly?” he inquires.

“Sure….” I agree as I follow him.

As soon as we get to the counter, he says a few things to his colleague that I don't pay attention to before he returns to me.

“Do you have your ID or any means of identification here?” he inquired.

“Why will I need that?” I ask him because my patient is starting to wear out fast.

“You need a means of identification to start your registration” he answers

“Can I just pay for the registration and finish up with the formalities later?” I ask him because I like this place but my patience can't stand all the things that he is about to make me go through and he nods as he points a POS machine in my direction.

“Can you enter your pin here,” he asks politely and I do as I am told.

“I will be sitting in one of the secluded areas, Please send one of the best drinks you have over to my table as soon as you can so that we can get this solo date started,” I instruct the attendant with that I am familiar with, and he nods before I depart from him to find a suitable seat away from the rest of the world