Page 6 of Find Me in the Rain
I roll my eyes at her, wondering where this is going. “Yes.”
She asked like I would have forgotten that smile. Every single person in Nikki’s noticed him.
After another quick text, she focuses on me again. “So, Cam set me up with this guy on his team. His name is Reed. He has the biggest smile in his selfies and this way about him that makes you want to rip your clothes off but also want to take him to family dinner to show off.” She closes her mouth when she realizes how crazy she sounds, and I laugh. “Anywaaay, Cam gave him my number, and we are going to meet up tonight. I don’t know, Lu. We really just clicked, you know?”
“That’s great, Char. I can’t wait to meet him.”
I suppress all the words I want to say, like,Charlotte,the oneisn’t going to be some guy from some sports team who is here to promote his game. True love doesn’t exist. Better you start accepting that now.
I’ve given that speech to her one too many times. But she refuses to think that soul mates aren’t real. She will always believe in true love and fairy tales. I guess maybe it isn’t so bad for one of us to be an optimist in that department.
The line moves forward again, and now, we are only a handful of people from the entrance. Char’s Prince Charming says they’re already inside.
I stow my phone in my clutch. Trying to have some fun involves not checking my phone every five seconds, which is damn near impossible when I’m away from Jack.
“Next,” the deep, booming voice of the bouncer calls to the last two people ahead of us.
He checks their IDs, and the other bouncer stamps their hands and pulls the door open. Music pours out, filling our ears. And they take off inside, eager to melt into the crowd.
We step up to the wall of a man and hand him our IDs. Which I don’t think even matters. Because he looks at them for all of half a second before handing them back to us.
He waves us through, and the other bouncer stamps our hands and opens the door for us. Charlotte nudges me with her shoulder, and her eyes widen with a mischievous look. Music envelops us, and we welcome it, stepping into the chaos.
The first step inside feels like walking into a different world. The floor is digital. It reacts to your step, lighting up from the slightest pressure. It creates quite a light show throughout the whole club. On top of that, everyone is decked out in their best outfits, elevating the whole experience.
A waiter cuts us off, heading for a table. Straight blonde hair cascades over broad shoulders. Poking out of the impeccable locks are pointed ears. The theme for the staff tonight must be something related to fae.
Flashes of work pop into my mind, getting soaked from dropping a coffee cup, as I start to regret not applying here. This has to be the most fun place to work.
We try to make our way to the center of the floor, where the bar is, to get our first drink. Char must be texting Reed with how locked into her phone she is.
A guy bumps me with his shoulder, and I stumble back, almost losing Char. I reach out and hook my arm around hers to keep us together. This crowd is intense.
The circular bar sits in the center of the room, creating a circle of people around it. It’s fun as long as you’re not trying to cut through.
After a thousand, “Excuse me,” and, “Please move,” we finally manage to reach the barstools lining the counter.
The bartenders are working crazy fast, mixing, pouring, and serving. I have no idea how they keep up with all the orders.
A petite blonde girl hands a beer to the guy to my right and then focuses her attention on us.
She shouts over the music, but it barely reaches my ears, so I rely on reading her lips, “What can I get for you guys?”
Charlotte slides her card across the bar. “We’ll start a tab with this, please. And check our bags. Can I just get a Long Island iced tea?” She turns to me. “And for you?”
I look back to the bartender, glancing down at her name tag—Stacy. “Can I get a Wonder Woman? The drink.”
She abruptly nods, and with no hesitation, she is off to get our drinks. Char and I set our bags on the countertop, and when Stacy returns with our drinks, she checks our bags in and matches it with our phone numbers for pickup.
Char’s phone lights up on the counter, and I see the nameReedwith a little pink heart next to it.
Wow, that was fast. I can’t help but chuckle to myself.
She reads it and leans as close to my ear as she can physically get. “He said he’s at the bar. Oh God. Do I look okay?” She pulls away, patting the skirt of her dress and combing her fingers through her hair.
“Perfect!” I shout to her, giving her a thumbs-up. “You look like the most expensive stripper.”
She giggles and smacks my shoulder.
