Looked Alright
She looked back at the man as he reached over her to take another sip from her drink. He had done this more than once during the course of the evening. But he looked alright, maybe he was a nice guy?
The music vibrated her chest and the bright lights made her feel dizzy. She just figured she was being paranoid. She still wanted her friends to arrive as soon as they could. And as soon as she turned to look at the door, he did something.
Celebration
Facebook / Lily Powles
Lily Powles was working her first night shift at Gulliver’s Nite Club in the U.K. She was excited about her last shift and looked at her watch as people starting piling into the club.
Only twenty more minutes and her first shift would be over and her friends should be arriving. Then the celebration could begin.
Late Shifts
Yelp
Lily knew that working late shifts wouldn’t be easy, but she really needed money. After searching far and wide for a job and after countless interviews, she had finally been offered a position at an insurance firm as a sales representative.
Her new job would start on Monday and she felt like nothing could ruin her weekend. But then a shiver went down her spine when he walked into the club.
Wide Smile
CBS
The well-kempt man had lurked around the back for a while and now decided to head straight towards the bar. He flashed a wide grin as he approached Lily, not breaking eye-contact.
When he got to her he asked for a rum and Coke. That was nothing unusual but he surprised Lily when he skipped over any kind of chit-chat and asked for her phone number. Lily didn’t know what to say.
No Thanks
CBS
Lily felt like nothing could ruin her happiness right now, so she politely declined the advances the man was making. This wasn’t the first time a man had approached her in a nightclub before. And there was a rule she lived by: no romance in the workplace. The nightclub forbids it anyway.
The man kept coming back though. He asked her “what was wrong with him” over the shoulders of customers ordering their drinks. The way he kept staring at her made her skin crawl.
Kept At It
Yelp
He finished his rum and Coke but refused to leave the bar. He still kept at it, trying to get Lily’s attention while she worked. Whenever she looked towards the bar he was sitting there with his wide grin. “When do you finish your shift?” he blurted out.
Since this was her last ever shift she excitedly told him that she would be done with this place for good in a few minutes. His eyes flashed back at her and she immediately regretted telling him anything.
His Last Chance
YouTube / Dave Perrota
He understood that this was his last chance. He slid right next to her as she started walking from the bar and insisted that he just buy her one to celebrate her leaving the club. “Please, just one…” he begged with that smile of his.
She knew she’d never have to go back to the club and therefore never see him again, what was one drink going to do? She’d been ignoring him all night, there couldn’t be any harm if she had one drink. She would regret this decision soon after.
Untimely Friends
ABC News
The man wanted to know what drink she wanted. She just said “Surprise me,” she hoped that by the time he came back with the drink her friends would have arrived. After asking them where they were they replied with a text saying “Running late.”
The man came back in a flash with their drinks. His grin felt even bigger like he was going to swallow her with his enormous mouth. She should have payed better attention to what he was doing.
Grabbing Her Drink
CBS
He grabbed her drink accidentally. Lily didn’t mind too much since she thought it was a mistake. But then he did it two more times, now something was up. She was nervous.
He must be doing it on purpose, why would he buy her a drink only to have it to himself. She hadn’t touched her drink as she messaged her friends, but there was no reply now. Lily knew she didn’t have any backup if things went wrong.
Arrival
Facebook / Lily Powles
Just as she thought she was truly alone she looked at the door and was so thankful to see her friends’ arrival. She got up quickly and waved so they could find her in the crowd.
But as she sat down once again the man had touched her drink. This was too suspicious even for him. What was his plan?
Perfect Excuse
Facebook / Lily Powles
Lily now had the perfect excuse to walk away from the awkward situation. As all her girlfriends swarmed around her, exchanging hugs and congratulating her on her new job, the man was left awkwardly at the bar with no way to get her attention again. She saw him slope off to the bathroom.
Now was her chance. If her gut feelings were correct, the man was about to reget hounding her all night.
Bold Move
ABC News
In one swift movement, without even her friends noticing, Lily swapped drinks with the man before moving to a bigger table at the back of the club.
She kept an eye on the man when he returned to the bar. He seemed miffed that Lily and her friends had just up and left, but was clearly too nervous to approach her again with all the girls around her. She really thought she’d seen the last of him.
Dancing On
Huddington Examiner
Whenever she got up to dance, she could feel his eyes on her, making her skin crawl. But, determined not to let the situation unsettle her and ruin her last night at the club, Lily kept dancing.
She avoided his gaze as best she could and he was soon lost behind the crowd on the dance floor. But she wouldn’t be able to avoid him forever.
Gone?
Facebook / Lily Powles
Glancing back to the bar in the corner, she suddenly realized that she couldn’t see the man anymore. Finally she could relax! Lily and her friends danced and celebrated into the small hours of the morning.
It had been a night to remember! The girls stumbled bleary-eyed out of the dark club and into the steely city sunrise. But when Lily saw who was in the street, the nervous feeling from earlier that evening came rushing back.
Karma
Credits
The creepy man from the bar was there, passed out in a puddle. Lily just stared at him, very aware that if she hadn’t had the instinct to act quickly, she could have been in serious trouble right now.
It was obvious that she had been the man’s target for the night, and she was determined not to let him do that to anyone ever again.
Twitter Warning
Reddit / YoYo and Peanut
Rattled, Lily immediately posted about her experience on Twitter. “The same lad robbed my drink twice last night, and put something in my glass when he bought me one back,” she wrote.
“I swapped our glasses when he went to the toilet and later found him laid flat out in a wet puddle.” She added, “Thanks for taking one for the team whoever you are – rather you than me, hun.” It wasn’t long before her post exploded.
Going Viral
Twitter / Lily Powles
In a matter of hours, Lily Powles’ story had accumulated over 11,000 retweets, 175,000 likes, and hundreds of replies.
Most people who saw Lily’s tweet were horrified that a man had tried to spike her drink, expressing their shock and outrage. But surprisingly, there were a lot of naysayers who commented as well.
Accusations
Tarninga!
One Twitter user wrote, “Nice story. Didn’t happen though,” while others accused Lily of sharing false information of her ordeal to get attention. These comments, however, were quickly refuted by Lily’s hoard of female supporters.
“So many men here who don’t believe this because they’re lucky enough not to live this as reality on a regular basis,” one commented, angrily. Many shared similar stories.
Similar Stories
Reddit / CelebrityHands
“A similar thing happened to me,” another woman wrote. “A guy “accidentally” knocked over my wine a few years back and offered to buy me another.
“I accepted as I thought he was being courteous, but then something felt off so I left it. In the next bar, I caught him standing in the corner and staring at me.”
Staying Safe
Credits
The lesson Lily’s story brings to light is that it’s always important to be careful, especially at bars, parties, and nightclubs. Unfortunately, some people don’t always have good intentions.
Don’t become a victim, always watch your drinks! But “spiking” doesn’t only happen to women, as another user pointed out, “To all the men saying ‘never happened’, my MALE partner has had his drink roofied at a nightclub before.”