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“Who’s Holly? Are you serious? She’s giving Ben her kidney! And she’s so cool. You’ve gotta meet her.”
“Meet her? I mean, sure. I’ll meet her at some point.”
“Nah, we can do it tonight. And check it out!” Jasper slides his car into an empty space. The bar is right around the corner. “Can’t waste a primo spot like this. We’ll just pop in with Ben, say hi, maybe grab a quick drink, and then head out.”
Before Sammy can take the moment he needs to catch up, Jasper jumps out of the car and jogs toward Both Ways. Sammy stares back at me, as if I might explain what is happening, but I just grin and open the door to chase after my friend.
I wonder if Sammy will stay behind in the car in protest. My question is answered when I hear a car door slam and am soon joined by my confused roommate.
Jasper gets in the back of the line by the door, but I wave for him to follow me to the front. When I reach the bouncer, I smile at him in what I hope is not a douchey I expect to be let in immediately kind of way. The guy is huge, muscles bulging in his tight black T-shirt, and he has that classic security-guy frown.
“Hi. I’m a friend of Holly’s. She said I should give her name at the front door.”
A silence extends between us as the guy runs his eyes over me, then Jasper, and then Sammy. I start to worry she never got around to letting him know we were stopping by. After an uncomfortable amount of time, he gives a slight nod.
“IDs.”
We all pull out our licenses, which he scans with a handheld device before stamping each of our hands.
“Check the second-floor bar.”
I thank him and move through the door before he can change his mind and throw us back out. The first floor has a decent crowd of people all centering around a square-shaped bar. I don’t see Holly passing out drinks, so I take the bouncer’s advice and look for a set of stairs.
“Back left.” Jasper points, and past his finger, I spy our route to the next floor.
“You been here before?”
“Maybe.” That and a shrug are all I get.
“Come on. Let’s get your keys and head out.” Somehow, Sammy is now in the lead, heading for the stairs.
Jasper and I grin at each other and follow along. Poor guy still thinks this is just a side trip.
As we move upward, the background music swells until it fills the air around us. Apparently, the second floor is for dancing. A DJ booth sits back against the wall, leaving a large, clear area for the mass of writhing bodies.
I don’t spot the bar right away, and again, Jasper hands out directions. Across the dance floor is an archway leading into another room. That’s where we head, weaving through the crowd of sweaty dancers in our own individual ways. Jasper just cuts a straight path. I maneuver and dodge, rather smoothly might I add. When I check to make sure Sammy is still following me, I find my previously surly roommate bopping his head and swaying his hips. He uses his dance moves to jump from partner to partner on his way across the floor.
Through the archway, we find the second-floor bar. I expect the seating up here to be just as crowded, but it looks like most people grab their drinks and head back out to dance. The first bartender I see has thick black hair falling over her shoulders, some dusting the top of her generous cleavage, which is practically resting on the bar as she leans forward to hand two women their drinks. She’s the type of person to draw stares with her stunning curves and dark eyes. But she’s not the one I’m looking for tonight.
Walking farther into the room, I finally find Holly at the other end of the bar, shaking a tumbler as she grins at two guys, laughing at whatever they’re saying. I’ve never been the macho, alpha type, but I have a strong urge to elbow them out of the way and steal Holly’s smile for myself. Instead, I move up behind them and wait until they’re done getting their drinks.
She’s quick, smoothly pouring the liquid into martini glasses and garnishing them with a flourish. “You boys have a good night. Come back and see me when these are empty.”
“You know we will!” They clink their glasses together and then saunter away, leaving an empty stool for me to swing myself onto.
“Ben! You made it!” Holly reaches across the counter and gives my forearm a squeeze while smiling at me. Then, she glances behind me to where I assume my roommates are standing. “Hey, Jasper. How’s it going?”
“It’s good now. Have you met our other roommate?”
“I don’t think so.” She lets go of my arm and holds out her hand for him to shake.
“This is Sammy.”
“Nice to meet you.” He grips her hand, but I’m glad to see the shake doesn’t linger. Not that I have any reason to expect it would.
At the start of the night, I was excited for the three of us to be hanging out, but now, selfish bastard that I am, I kind of just want to talk to Holly on my own. I’m not rude enough to say that out loud though.
“You’ll be wanting your keys, I’m guessing?”
