Page 62 of The Girl with No Name

“Aww, hell naw,” he scoffs. “Come on. We got ten minutes before Turnpike hits their encore, and I sure as hell ain’t missin’ that. Les go.”

We follow him to the line for beer, and a few minutes later, all three of us have a Kona in our hands. And wouldn’t you know it, we make it back before Turnpike’s finished.

“Kona,” Luna says, looking into her almost empty cup. She turns to CC. “Interesting choice. Are you a Hawaiian beer guy?”

“Ah, hell yeah! I love Hawaii. Y’all ever been?”

I crush my cup and grab Dunn’s since he’s done, too. “Never, no.”

“Well, it’s the fucking shit. Where else can you swim with friggin’ dolphins?”

The three of us all laugh. Probably meanly. But there’s something about picturing this guy swimming with dolphins that’s naturally funny.

“Well, don’t worry, you’ll be swimming with dolphins soon enough.” He chuckles and winks.

Dunn and I share a look.This guy is fucking crazy.

“Oh? What do you mean?” Luna asks.

He wraps his arms around us from behind. “Congrats, y’all. You’re trippin’ on acid now. Have a great concert.”

My blood pressure spikes. “Uh, excuse me?” I retort. “What are you talking about?”

He belly laughs and slaps me on the back. “Yeah, I put a little treat in that beer for y’all. Hope you’re ready for the best fuggin’ night of your life! I fuggin’ love you guys! Wanted to make sure y’all never forget this weekend!”

“Ha. Funny joke.” I point at CC, fake laughing. “You almost had me going.”

He looks at his watch. “You’ve got, eh, maybe thirty minutes before it kicks in. This is a slow-acting batch.”

Dunn, Luna, and I all grip each other. There’s not an ounce of humor on the guy’s face.

“You laced our beer with LSD,” Dunn reiterates.

CC shakes his head. “You don’t remember talkin’ about this last night? Y’all said you wanted to try it. Especially you.” He points at me. “You gotta loosen up.”

“Me?!” I search my memory for any conversation where I said, “please lace my beer with LSD.”I got nothin’, but I browned out last night, so it’s entirely possible.

“You feel anything?” Dunn asks me as the Turnpike Troubadours launch into what will probably be their last song.

“No, but I’m freaking out, man!” I yell.

“Aww, chicken legs, you gotta stop whining,” CC booms. “You’re ’bout to have the best night of your life. The Red Lemons and then Zach Bryan are comin’ up! Have fun trippin’, boys!”

Luna takes my arm. “Hey. It’s gonna be fine. Relax. Just ride the wave.”

“You’ve done it before?”

She nods. “In my EDM festival days, yeah. We’ll be fine. I prefer to dose myself, but…it can be fun.”

“Your EDM festival days?”

She smiles. “What’s that look?”

“There’s so much I don’t know about you.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious. You feel anything yet?”

“Nope.”

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