Sophie arrived, turning heads in her wake. Even in a room full of beautiful people, she stood out. Finn stood and smiled, greeting her with a kiss. He felt a flush of pride being seen with her in public — much like how he’d used to feel when going on a shopping spree in his trader days. Like a master of the universe.
‘Harmony?’ he asked, once they’d settled down.
‘Sure,’ she replied with a casual smile, taking the pill he’d offered and washing it down. She gazed at Finn pensively. ‘You know, I get a bit nostalgic when I see really old movies where people offer each other cigarettes… it seems so classy and cool. Sometimes I feel like we’re missing out. But I guess with the Harmony it’s like the same kind of thing, huh?’ she asked Finn.
That kicked off hours at the bar drinking, laughing, flirting, progressing to more drinking, more flirting and kissing at the bar. Finn would cringe if he saw another bloke behaving this way in a public space. But tonight it was like there was no one else around, just Finn and Sophie.
Neither of them wanted the night to end, so when the bar shut they hopped into Finn’s Jeep and requested it take them to Kings Cross. It pulled up out the front of Resonate, one of the newest clubs in Sydney. Sophie walked up to the front of the queue, taking Finn along behind her by the hand. She approached one of the bouncers.
‘Hey, Greg, how’ve you been?’
‘Not bad, Soph. Looking good!’ he replied, opening the door for them. They walked in and entered a long dark hall. The deep vibrations from the club rumbled. The walls along the hallway were like speakers. As the name suggested, they properly resonated. It created a strange feeling of disorientation — the sound so powerful it was more of a feeling in the whole body.
‘Hey, want a patch?’ asked Sophie.
Finn stopped. ‘You got some?’ he asked, surprised.
‘Yeah, have you had one before?’
‘No, I’ve heard too many stories about people being paralysed and shit.’
‘That’s all rubbish, come on, turn around.’
Finn turned and Sophie took the small patch from her clutch. It was a rectangular sticker the size of a 50-cent coin, which contained a sophisticated multi-layered optoelectronic circuit board.
Finn felt Sophie’s hands on his neck, feeling for the C1 vertebra on his spine. She rubbed the area softly, increasing the blood flow. He felt her stick the patch on just above the vertebra. There was a momentary sting — and then a surge through his whole body. It took his breath away as his body convulsed once involuntarily. It passed quickly and he felt like never before. It was as if he had shed his old skin like a snake or cicada. His new skin felt everything — the air, the noise, the temperature. Then Sophie touched his hand gently. It sent a pulse all the way up his arm. It was incredible.
‘Oh my fucking god, what… what’s happening?’
‘It’ll settle in a second. Pretty incredible huh?’
‘Everything is new, everything feels like, a million times more!’ He stared at her, eyes wide.
Sophie smiled. ‘Told you not to worry. Now you do me.’ She handed him the patch.
Finn took it, again feeling a pulse up his arm and into his chest.
‘Just make sure you get it above the last vertebra or else it won’t get the neuro connection.’
Sophie turned around and lifted her hair. Finn touched her neck. The skin was soft and the hairs tickled his fingers. He slowly rubbed her neck the same way she had done to him. Putting the patch just above the vertebra he saw it glow light blue as soon as it was on the skin.
‘Oh fuck,’ groaned Sophie as she convulsed forward, steadying herself with one arm on the wall.
‘You okay?’ asked Finn, concerned.
‘Never better,’ she replied, turning, breathing heavily and smiling. ‘Are you ready for the most amazing experience of your life?’ she asked, taking Finn’s hand and leading him to the door at the end of the hall.
Opening the door to the club, the music washed over them as physically as a wave on the shore break. Finn was swimming in the white wash of sound, the current pulling at his body. At first he thought he was choking, unable to breathe, then the sensation settled and he relaxed, letting the sounds flow over, around and through his body.
They brushed past people, each contact sending tingles and pulses through his body. Finding some space, they danced, moving their bodies together, touching, swaying, enveloping themselves in the music, the strobing lights and the sensation of their bodies. It was almost spiritual, Finn felt, as if he was transcending his body, feeling everything more cleanly and deeply than ever before.
They danced for hours, just the two of them, transfixed on one another, greedily consuming every heightened sensation.
Finn was losing himself. He was now swimming on his own, deep in an empty ocean. Darkness and water all around, he didn’t feel scared. He felt at peace. His body was numb and warm and comfortable, he was alone, floating in the dark watching the stars, bright and vibrant. He was aware of the music, of Sophie, of the world, but they were all beneath him, under the water, deep down, so that only slight vibrations disturbed the otherwise slick and tranquil water.
He felt a hand on his neck, stroking him gently. And then it was over. Abruptly he came back to reality… the dark loud club, the pounding bass, the crowded dance floor and Sophie in front of him looking into his eyes. It all looked dirty and seedy now, the people in the club were swaying and dancing, but alone and in their own world.
‘Come on, let’s go!’ she yelled above the music.
Once outside Finn’s senses slowly re-calibrated to the real world.
‘Sorry, I had to pull your patch off so quickly in there.’
‘That’s okay. That was incredible.’
‘It is, but it’s easy to lose yourself with a patch. You can see them in there,’ she gestured towards the club with her thumb, ‘it gives a whole new meaning to the term “losers”. They just go too deep with the patch. It’s not until closing time that the bouncers come around and tear them off. Talk about a crash.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘Well, you were on your way, back in there.’
‘Sorry about that.’
‘Don’t worry about it, takes a bit of practise to get the hang of them. It’s like you need to let yourself go to the point where you are still aware of what’s happening, but as soon as you realise you’re the only person in your space then you need to come back. Hard to control though.’
‘Ever tried one with sex?’
‘Yeah, it starts out incredible, but it’s not that good. You just end up going into your own place — kind of makes it boring.’
‘Sounds average.’
‘Completely. It takes the beauty out of it.’ She suddenly looked shy, tucking her hair behind her ear and looking up at him.
‘So, do you want to come back to mine?’ he asked, entwining his fingers with hers. Finns heart thumping as the question hung in the air momentarily.
‘Only if you have water. I’m so thirsty,’ replied Sophie, smiling.
‘Whoa, it’s 4 am,’ Finn commented as he glanced at MiLA’s screen before summoning his car through the device. They waited on the corner for the Jeep to arrive, happy to be leaving together. Back in Bondi they fell out of the Jeep in front of Finn’s place. Walking arm-in-arm into the apartment building they were laughing, making far too much noise. In the lift going up Finn warned, ‘You’ll have to excuse my place, it’s in a state’.