He Won’t Stop Staring At Her, Regrets It When She ‘Accidentally’ Swaps Drinks With Him

A Suspicious Eye

She kept a suspicious eye on the man as she reached over and sipped on her drink. She had done this before. She was no stranger to taking the wrong glass during the course of an evening out. But he seemed nice enough.

The room was loud and the dizzying lights were bright, but she convinced herself that she was just being paranoid. She looked through the sea of people in the club, trying to spot her friends. But wait… What was he doing?

Lily Powles

Born and raised in Lincolnshire in the UK, Lily Powles was working the first evening shift at Gulliver’s Nite Club. The place rapidly began to fill up as she checked her watch. 

Her friends would be here in just twenty more minutes, she reminded herself. In just twenty more minutes her shift would finally be over! She had reason to celebrate.

A New Job 

It was never easy working as a server during the late shifts, but she desperately needed the money. But finally, after many interviews, she was finally offered a position as a sales representative at an insurance company.

She would start her new job on Monday and she felt like she was on cloud nine! Nothing could get her down that night, that is, until he walked into the club.

Well-Groomed Man 

As soon as he walked into the room, the well-groomed man made his way to the front line of the bar, a wide grin on his face. He was making a beeline for Lily. She had seen him here many times before.

As soon as he reached her, he ordered his usual rum and Coke. Lily was surprised when he skipped the usual chit-chat routine and immediately asked for her phone number. She didn’t know what to say.

He Wouldn’t Stop 

Lily was happy for the first time in a really long, so she gently decided to brush off his aggressive advances. She was no stranger to men in the club approaching her. She had one golden rule that she always made sure to stick to: never mix work with romance. Besides, the club strictly forbids it.

But he wasn’t taking no as an answer. He kept bugging her and asking her what was wrong with him as she served other customers. It didn’t take long before she began feeling uncomfortable.

He Stuck Around 

When he finally finished his drink, he didn’t leave the bar. He stuck around, trying his best to get Lily’s attention while she kept herself busy. Wherever she would turn, he would be right there, a wide grin on his face. Eventually, he asked, “When do you finish your shift?”

Since she was so excited about leaving, she announced to him that she would soon be finishing her very last shift at Gulliver’s Nite Club. His eyes lit up at this. If only she had stayed quiet. 

One Drink

The man now realized that this was his last chance. He decided to sidle up to Lily once she had clocked off, he then insisted on buying her a drink to celebrate that she was finally done. He flashed her a smile as he begged, “Just one.”

She knew she would never see him again, so she thought there was no harm in getting one drink. If only she had known how wrong she was.

Where Were They? 

He asked her what drink she wanted and she responded with, “Suprise me.” She hoped her friends would show up while he was getting her the drink. She sent a text, asking where they were, but they responded with, “Running late.”

Before she knew it, the man was back with a drink in his hand. She didn’t know it was possible, but his grin was even bigger than before. She should have been keeping a closer eye on him.

He Drank Her Drink 

When he first grabbed her drink instead of his, she didn’t think much of it. It must’ve been an accident, she thought. But when it happened a second and a third time, she grew annoyed.

Why was he doing it? Why would he buy her a drink if his intentions were to drink both their drinks by himself? Her drink was barely touched as she decided to message her friends again. But they didn’t respond. She was on her own now.

They Finally Showed Up

She glanced at the door nervously, but she was soon relieved when she watched her friends walk in. She quickly raised her hand so they could spot her in the crowd.

But when she looked back down she noticed that the man had quickly moved her drink again, she was now growing extremely suspicious. What was this man doing? 

Perfect Excuse

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 head off to the bathroom.

Now was her chance. If her gut feelings were correct, the man was about to regret hounding her all night.

Bold Move

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 her friends around her. She really thought she’d seen the last of him.

Dancing On

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?

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

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

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

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

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.

Drink Spiking

In the unlikely case that you haven’t heard of it, drink spiking is when drugs are placed into someone’s drink (usually alcoholic) without their consent or knowledge. 

The intent is to make the person who has been unknowingly drugged more vulnerable or even incapacitated – which usually leads to the assault or robbery of the person whose drink has been spiked.

“Roofies”

Two common pharmaceuticals used for drink spiking are GHB and Rohypnol, also known as “roofies.” These drugs can make a person feel more inebriated than they really are even if they have only had a couple of drinks. 

Both GHB and Rohypnol cause confusion and memory loss, and they can be fatal in large doses. And the frightening part? 

You Won’t Notice

While the symptoms of being dosed with GHB or Rohypnol will vary depending on the person’s size, weight, and level of inebriation, the most frightening part about drink spiking is that the person will not notice a difference in taste, odor, or appearance in their drink. 

The drugs take effect in just 15 minutes – so if you or someone you know starts to feel strange when you’re out partying, get help right away. Another frightening thing is just how prevalent drink spiking is.

Similar Stories

“A similar thing happened to me,” one 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.” And one bartender also had a story to share.

Confessions Of A Bartender

One bartender told his own story on the app Whisper and confessed to witnessing a man tampering with a woman’s drink. The incident took place at the bar he worked while he was on a bartending shift. The woman appeared to be the man’s date.

“Last night, I saw a guy drug a girl’s drink,” he wrote on Whisper. It was then that he decided to  turn the tables on the man.

Turning The Tables

Realizing that he’d seen the man slip some kind of drug into the woman’s drink while she was in the bathroom, the anonymous bartender knew he had to step in and do something. 

So he waited until the man wasn’t looking, and shrewdly swapped his drink for his date’s. “When he wasn’t looking, I switched the drinks. Watched that guy drug himself,” he confessed. And he’s not the only one who has seen spiking take place and put a stop to it. 

Everyday Heroes

Three women from Santa Monica also shared their story. While a man’s date was in the bathroom, they saw him taking out “a little black vial” and dropping something into his date’s drink. 

After witnessing the drink being spiked, the women decided to go to the bathroom and warn the man’s date. Of course, the unsuspecting woman was completely shocked. 

Her Reaction

The woman was “shocked and kind of numb” when she learned what her date had done. The three hero women took their story to facebook, where one of them expressed their surprise.

“I was expecting to hear ‘We just met,’ but I got: ‘He’s one of my best friends’.” It turned out that the woman had known the man for a year and a half, and that they worked together. Then, the four women came up with a plan.

Handling It Like A Pro

The shocked woman returned to her date after she had learned the truth in the bathroom and pretended there was nothing wrong. 

She avoided the spiked drink, ordered a water, and tried to make conversation to keep the man there. Meanwhile, the three heroes were alerting the staff, finding the incident on the security serveilance footage, and calling the cops – which lead to the man’s arrest.

Staying Safe

The lesson Lily’s – and indeed every other woman’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.”

Common Targets

56 percent of women in the U.S. have been victims of drink spiking in nightclubs, house parties, festivals, and bars. More than half of the spiking incidents occured while the women were at college, and most happened while they were on a date. 

But, shockingly, women aren’t the only victims. Among men in the U.S., 44 percent say they have unwittingly consumed spiked food or drinks. 

What To Do

Although the effects of spiking can vary widely, the general symptoms are dizziness, nausea, confusion, visual problems, and unconsciousness. 

If you witness someone spiking someone else’s drink or suspect spiking, the first thing to do is tell the bar manager, bouncer, or other member of staff. If their condition gets worse, call an ambulance and do not let them go home alone or with someone else. If you or someone you know has been spiked, call the police as soon as possible – spiking is illegal.

In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.