Chapter 2

The three friends got out of the cab in front of a club where people already stood in line to get in. 

 “I can’t believe you talked me into coming here,” Addy said, looking at everyone in line. 

 “What?” Shea asked, turning back to look at her friend. “It’s not that bad. It has… an atmosphere about it.”

 “Yeah, a ‘I’m gonna get killed if I’m not careful’ atmosphere about it,” Addy muttered to Brooklyn, who giggled.

 “Besides, the guys said they could get us into this club ahead of the line,” Shea continued, ignoring the other two as she searched the crowd.

 Spotting three men standing near the bouncer, she grinned and waved at them, standing on her tiptoes so they could see her better. The guy in the middle spotted her and grinned back. Waving his arm at the other two to follow him, the trio made their way over to the three friends.

 Shea rushed over to the guy in the lead and flung herself into his arms, giving him a huge kiss. Brooklyn and Addy looked at each other with wide eyes, and the other two guys behind the couple shifted uncomfortably.

 After a few moments, they broke apart. Shea snuggled next to him and faced her friends as he put his arm around her shoulders to hold her close. 

 “Guys, this is Adam,” she said, smiling at them. “Adam, this is Brooklyn and Addy, my two best friends and roommates.”

 Adam lifted his chin at them and said, “Hey.”

 Brooklyn and Addy looked at one another, then looked back at Shea and Adam.

 “Hey,” Brooklyn said back in the same tone he’d used. 

 Addy nodded at him with a wary look in her eyes, but remained silent. 

 They stood near the doorway, staring at each other for an awkward moment, before Brooklyn asked, “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friends, Adam?”

 Adam looked startled, then glanced back at the two standing behind him as if he’d forgotten they were there. 

 “Oh, yeah,” he said. “This here is Ben, and this is Jeremy.”

 Ben, who had longish dark hair and wore a brown suede jacket, waved at them. Jeremy, who had short blonde hair, looked bored and sighed. 

 “Oh, this is going to be a fun night,” Brooklyn muttered to Addy, who nodded. 

 The six of them stood around awkwardly again as Adam and Shea snuggled some more, then Jeremy spoke up, asking, “So, are we going to stand in the parking lot all night, or are we going in to the club?”

 Adam and Shea jumped as if they’d forgotten where they were. Adam looked back at Jeremy and nodded. 

 “Yeah, let’s get in so we can get something to drink,” he said. Looking down at Shea, he added, “I’m really thirsty.”

 She giggled up at him while Brooklyn and Addy rolled their eyes. 

 Adam and Shea led the way to the door. He stopped to talk to the bouncer, waving his arm back at the four people behind them. The bouncer looked over Adam’s shoulder at them, looked them over, then nodded, moving out of the way so they could enter the club.

 Adam and Shea led them inside. 

 Shea looked back at her friends and yelled over the pounding music, “Wait until you see this club! It’s so cool!”

 They went through a dark hallway until they came to a door. When Adam opened the door, the music, which made it hard to speak, became even louder. Brooklyn flinched at the noise, and Addy grabbed her arm as they walked through the door. 

Pounding music blared through the room, shaking the floor. 

 “I can feel the beat coming up through my boots,” Brooklyn said to Addy, leaning close enough to be heard.

 Addy nodded and pointed to her sandals, saying, “Same.”

 Shea and Adam led the way around the edge of the large room. They headed toward a group of tables at the back. The tables were standing room only, and there was only one open table. The six of them gathered around it. 

 Addy looked around in dismay and yelled out, “There’s not much room to put our purses.”

 Shea laughed and said, “The table is plenty big enough to hold everything.”

 Addy looked down at the small table they’d crowded around and looked doubtful as she put her purse on it.

 Another song came on, and a look of excitement came over Shea’s face. 

 “I love this song!” she told the others. “Let’s dance!”

 Adam shook his head and bent to talk into her ear. She looked disappointed but then looked at her friends and smiled. 

 Holding her hands out to them, she yelled, “Come on, you two! Let’s dance!”

  “What about my purse?” Addy asked.

 Waving her hand, Shea said, “Don’t worry! Adam and the guys will look after it.”

 Brooklyn and Addy looked at Ben and Jeremy, but they watched the people out on the dance floor. Turning to Shea, they nodded, and each took one of her hands. 

 She led them out onto the dance floor and found a spot open enough for the three of them to dance without bumping into the other people. Raising her arms over her head, she started to dance. She grinned at the other girls, who looked around at everyone else on the dance floor before joining their friend in dancing. 

 After a few songs, Shea fanned herself with her hand and leaned toward her friends.

 “I sure could use a break,” she said. “I’m getting thirsty.” 

 Brooklyn and Addy nodded and followed Shea back to their table, where she hurried over to Adam and snuggled into his arms. She looked up at him, and he bent down to kiss her. 

 “Did you miss me?” she asked in a loud voice so he could hear her over the music.

 “More than you know,” he said, grinning at her. 

 Brooklyn and Addy rolled their eyes at one another, then Brooklyn looked at the dark-haired guy who stood next to her. He had his back to her as he leaned against the table and stared out at the dance floor. Tapping him on the shoulder, she waited until he turned his head to look at her. 

 “Hi,” she said, smiling and leaning close to be heard. “You’re Ben, right?”

 He nodded but said nothing. 

 Her smile dimmed, but she brought it back. 

 “Did you want to dance?”

 He turned to look at her a little more, his gaze traveling from her face to her feet, then back again. She was glad she wore her cute halter top and miniskirt with her boots. 

 Shaking his head, he said, “I’m not much of a dancer.”

 Her smile fading again, she nodded and said, “Oh. Okay.”

 He turned back around to stare at the dance floor. 

 After a moment, she tapped him on the shoulder again.

 When he turned around, she asked, “What do you do for a living?”

 He chuckled and said, “I’m in the entertainment business.”

 When he didn’t add to that statement, she asked, “Like how? Are you an actor? A singer? What?”

 He smiled at her in a smarmy way and said, “I look for the, uh, talent in movies.”

 She nodded, blinking in confusion. 

 He turned around and looked her over once again before saying, “You know, you might make it in the movie business. You’ve got the looks for it.”

 “Thanks?” 

 She gave him a half-smile and glanced at Shea, who was too busy with Adam to notice anything around her. 

 “Would you like a drink?” Ben asked, leaning closer to ask in her ear while putting his hand on her arm.