Page 57 of Exposé

"Oh, lighten up. It's not the end of the world. Here." She stooped and fiddled with the light. "Help me find the next clue."

"How do you even know it's over here and he's not messing with us?"

She glanced up at me as I stood over her. "Because the last answer was strobe light,duh.That means the next clue is around here somewhere." Her hands moved around the light as she looked back down. "Haven't you ever done a scavenger hunt before?"

"No."

"Oh gosh. I rule these things. Henry likes to challenge his mind, so we go into the extreme escape rooms. We finish those things in record time." Her hands moved towards the back and froze. "Ah-ha."

"What? Did you find something?"

"A button."

A small drawer shot out on the black casing with a small palm-sized keyboard.

"What the hell are we supposed to do with that?"

"I create a bond that transcends time…"

I jumped and squealed as the doorman spoke.

"I bring strangers together, yet I'm not physical. I am the heart of the party, though I have no pulse. What am I?"

"Oh my God. How the f—"

"Shhh.Let me think." Aria's lips moved as she repeated the riddle. "Yet I'm not physical. Oh, I know." Her eyes lit up, and she typed L-O-V-E into the keyboard.

Love?

"Now what?" A shiver raced up my spine as I glanced around the warehouse devoid of people. A lone high-pitched laugh echoed down the road.

How is this possible when a bunch of people are trying to get in?

Is this for the stragglers who are late?

From the corner of my eye, a black blur moved across the alleyway, causing my stomach to drop as I spun toward the motion.

"Did you see that?" I tilted my head and took a step toward the street.

"See what?"

"I saw something."

"No. Hang on." She stood and turned towards the doorman. "That must be it. What now?"

"Answer the question correctly."

My feet stopped moving, and I tossed my head back and groaned.

A woman and two men stumbled around the corner, their shadows stretching up the walls from the street lamp behind them, and stepped up to the door. Her sequined dress shimmered much like mine, yet she was three sizes smaller, and her legs were as long as hockey sticks.

Was it their shadows?

She stood between the two men, her arms wrapped around their shoulders as she laughed. They walked her to the doorman and showed him an ID.

The doorman nodded, and the door swung open, allowing the crazy music to flow out into the surrounding space.

"This is fucking awesome." The throuple walked inside, and the door closed automatically behind them.

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