“If there isn’t anything else, I’ll let youget comfortable.”
“No, thank you,” I smile and she closes thedoor. I walk over to the railing and look out over the club. Theacrobats are eye level, and I can see the entire dance floor below.People’s hot, sweaty bodies are mashed together as the lights underthe DJ’s booth flicker, the colors of the strobes changing fromorange to yellow to purple to red. I hear some energetic screamingcoming from the balcony next door; I can’t see what’s causing thecommotion, but I can definitely imagine.
A few seconds later, the door busts open andEmily, Jill and the rest of her party come stumbling in. Jillthrows her arms around me as soon as she sees me. “Ryan hooked itup!” she yells, reeking of some kind of fruity alcohol.
“You had a good time at the Male Revue I takeit?”
“Amazing!” she screams excitedly, grabbingthe champagne bottle off the table, taking a huge swing.
Oh, this night is going to beinteresting.
“Not only did I have the hottest dancer inthe club, besides Ryan of course,”of course,“he got allthe girls in my party private dances and a bunch of guys to hangout with us all night.” She downs more champagne. “Do you know therumors that swirl around about Culture’s VIP rooms? Only rock starsand celebrities hang out up here. This is the best bacheloretteparty ever!” she screams in my ear.
“I’m glad,” I say, holding her up as shehangs on me. “How much did she have to drink?” I ask Emily.
“Not as much as you think. Jill washyperventilating earlier about walking down the aisle. We needed tocalm her down, so one of the girls gave her a Xanax.”
“You sure that was a good idea?”
“Probably not,” she shrugs, “but at leastshe’s having fun now.”
“Clearly. The question is for how long.”
I prop Jill up on the couch with her bottleof champagne, her eyes are glazing over and her head is bobbing allover the place. I feel bad for her. She’s going to have one wickedhangover in the morning.
The room quickly fills up with men in thosetiny metallic blue briefs, each choosing a girl to entertain.Everyone is drinking and partying, stirring up a mix oftestosterone and estrogen so potent you can almost smell sex in theair. Emily and I just stand in the corner taking it all in.
I can’t lie, this is all highlyentertaining.
The music changes to Far East Movement’sLike a G6and the energy in the club explodes.
As Emily and I succumb to the let loose beatand start to dance, I feel someone slide their hands down my sidesand push their body up against mine. “Hey beautiful,” a familiarvoice rasps. I smile, dancing another second before I turn aroundand jerk my head back. “Sean?”
He smiles wickedly at me.
“What are you doing here?” I take a stepback.
“I came to see Ryan.”
“Here?”
“Yeah here. I come and hang out all thetime.”
“You do? Why?”
“Um, a room full of hot, horny women. Whywouldn’t I hang out here?”
Okay, he’s got me there.
“How did you get up here?” I ask.
“I snuck up. I saw you from the dance floor.Where’s Ryan?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him yet.” Iglance at my watch; it’s been over an hour.
“Well I can keep you company until he getshere,” Sean says leaning into me. I put my hand on his chest andglare into his eyes. God, he really is the spitting image of Ryan,it’s uncanny. “You can hang out, but keep your distance,” I sayplayfully, yet equally serious. He steps back, taking the hint.He’s wearing an over-sized black t-shirt and baggy jeans. No hat,which is unusual; his hair is much shorter than Ryan’s, but it’sstill wavy like his on top. I’ve only seen Sean a handful of timessince Ryan and I started dating again. That first meeting at thecafé, and then here and there when he would show up unannounced inthe city. Other than that, Ryan pretty much keeps me segregatedfrom his family. Which I don’t hold against him at all. We have amutual understanding; we each have our own plateful of familyproblems. How do we deal? The way we always have. We concentrate oneach other instead of dwelling on the drama. And Sean is mostdefinitely drama. I pour myself another glass of champagne and onefor Sean. I hand him the flute and he grimaces, “You rich folkactually drink this shit?”
“Have you ever had it?”