She seemed to consider his offer very carefully, but Louis stood firm and waited. When she finally shrugged and put her hand in his, he knew this was his chance to really get her to loosen up and to have some fun, for once.

"Don't make me regret this." She said with caution clear in her voice.

"Please. If we do this right, you'll be begging me for more." He said with a devilish smile. A smile that caused something to stir within her. Maybe it was just the alcohol, maybe it was the anticipation of what the rest of her night held with Louis at the helm. Whatever it was, it was the grain of rice that tipped the scale and caused her to reach out and take his hand.

Before she knew it, they were outside again. Joy tugged her coat more tightly to her body, fending off the bite of the cold air as they walked rather briskly. As her heels clicked along the cement of the sidewalk, she was beginning to wish she hadn't worn high heels. Then again, she would never have anticipated her relaxing night to suddenly pick up the pace like this.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

Louis looked back at her, his hand still wrapped around hers, pulling her along.

"You'll see, just wait. It's one of my favorite places."

Her stomach reeled slightly from the unknown. Though a part of her felt slightly exhilarated at following along with Louis, not knowing what could be around the corner.

They approached an alley between some shops that were closed for the night. Windows, black to any onlookers. A small blue light hung at the start of the alley. Before she could question anything, Louis made a sharp turn down the alley. They continued until he stopped them in front of a large metal door. No sign signaling what lay beyond. Louis just looked back at her and smiled as he let go of her hand to grab the handle.

"Ready for some fun?" He asked with a glint in his eyes. The blue light from the end of the alley casting a soft glow on the side of his angular face.

Joy took a deep breath and let the cool air into her lungs, then nodded. He pulled open the door and held it for her to pass. Once inside, they were faced with one thing, a line of black stairs leading down into darkness. Joy gasped as Louis closed the door behind them with a loud clang, making her jump and dousing them in complete darkness. Her eyes went wide at the blackness before her, her heart rate speeding up. Suddenly she felt Louis move his body close to hers, one arm around her lower back, hand resting on her hip. His other hand found hers as he began to guide her forward.

"This way love." Came his voice close to her right ear.

As they made their way carefully down the stairs, thumping music slowly became audible. At the bottom of the stairs, another door. Once Louis pulled open the second door, Joy had to squint as her eyes worked to adjust from the darkness to a sudden array of color. Neon lights of every color lit up the large room. The whole space seemed to be blanketed in a haze of smoke, though she didn't smell any cigaretts. Instead, the air had a sort of sweet scent to it. She could almost taste it in the air around them.

Joy took in the sights around her. She noticed a bar to the left, a DJ spun tables sending out a thumping beat near a wide dance floor that was lit from beneath. And in every other open space there were soft cusioned couches where people were seated sucking on long tubes and blowing out trails of smoke.

"What is this place?" She nearly had to shout over the music.

"It's part dance club, part Shisha lounge." 

"Shisha?"

A further explaination never came as Louis took hold of Joy's hand once again and lead her to an open love seat. He spoke some words she couldn't hear to a waiter before he sat down beside her. The waiter disappeared after nodding his understanding. As they waited, Louis's knee bounced to the beat of the loud music. Joy continued to stare around the club with facination. She'd never been to any place like this before. Her observations were cut short as the waiter reappeared holding a tall metal-looking object with two long, thin tubes attached to it. He placed the contraption on a low table that sat in front of them. As the waiter walked away, Louis leaned forward and took one of the tubes. He inspected the tip of it with a tap of his finger then raised it to his mouth to inhale deeply. He lowered the tube and slowly exhaled a steady stream of white smoke through his lips. He nodded in satisfaction.

"It's good. Ready to try?"

Joy's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, no. I don't smoke."

"I figured as much. That's why this one is tobacco-less. It's just flavored." He sensed her hesitation as she sat there staring. "Okay, let's start slow with a contact hit. Kind of like a taste test."

Louis adjused himself on the sofa so that he was facing Joy and instructed her to do the same.

"I'm going to take a straight hit, then when I blow out, you breathe in. It will be like a sample. You won't be getting the full force of the flavor."

She hesitantly agreed, then waited as he drew in a breath through the mouth piece. After lowering it, he moved his face a little closer to her so they were about a foot apart. As he exhaled, the white smoke swirled around her face. She took slow careful breaths, testing the action. The faint taste of cherries began to tickle at her taste buds. It was as if she had walked into the kitchen while a cherry pie was baking in the oven.

As the smoke dissipated, she smiled at the surprisingly pleasant taste.

"Cherries." She sighed. Louis nodded in approval.

"Let's do it again, but I'll get closer this time."

As Louis took another hit, Joy tried to convince herself her heart didn't just speed up at the thought of him getting closer. Before she knew it, his face was right in front of hers. They were nearly nose to nose. Louis raised his eyebrows by way of asking if she was ready, she nodded. He kept his eyes locked on hers as he let the white smoke trail past his lips. She breathed him in slowly. It felt like such an intimate moment with him never letting his eyes wander off hers. Joy let her eyes drift down and linger on his lips, just for a moment, watching the smoke slip between them from his mouth to hers, before she looked back to his eyes. She had the strange urge to kiss him, just to see what his lips felt like. But then the smoke thinned and drifted away, and he sat back. 

Maybe it was a good thing he was now out of her reach. Kissing him could have been a huge mistake. She wanted to have fun, but did she want to have that kind of fun? 

She wasn't sure.

A/N: I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I may be partial, but I'm kind of loving Joy and Louis. I've been trying to bounce back and forth between this and my Harry story. I've been stealing moments during work to write, it's not a lot of time, but I try. Anyways, if you like it so far, please hit the star and don't be afraid to comment your thoughts! :) 

DCMurphy