One of them, the one with a pixie cut and a gazillion silver hoops in her right ear-Emmy-must’ve noticed I was listening, because she asked, “Want to come with us, Ness?”
I almost dropped the glass I was drying. Emmy and the other server-Skylar-were at least a decade older than I was and had never spoken to me before. I’d assumed it was because I was so much younger than them andrelated to their boss.
“I’m only seventeen.”
“You don’t look seventeen,” Emmy said. “Besides you’re too pretty to be turned away from the door. Plus, DJ Wolverine’s spinning. She’s awesome.”
DJ Wolverine…It took my mind a second to connect the dots. DJ Wolverine was Julian’s niece, Sarah. She could help me get in touch with Julian.
“Okay. I’m in.”
I’D NEVER GONE CLUBBING, so I didn’t know how people dressed. Although sporting the black dress I’d worn when I’d visited Heath made my skin itch, it was the only nice thing I owned. Well, that and the red dress, but there was a small tear in the side seam-probably from when I’d ripped it off my shifting body.
The black sequins sewn over the material caught every flick of light, casting tinsels over the dashboard of Emmy’s little car that rumbled with club beats.
“You okay, hun?” Skylar asked. She’d swept her bleached hair into a high bun that sat atop her head like frosting on a cupcake. “You seem real down.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “I’m okay.”
Emmy turned down the music. “Is it your momma?”
“My mom?”
Just two mornings ago, in that slim moment between sleep and wakefulness, I’d reached for my phone to call her for advice. Only when I couldn’t find her contact did I remember she was gone. I’d lain in my bed a long while, watching the dove-gray light of dawn turn pale gold.
Emmy glanced toward Skylar. “We heard you lost her a couple months before coming out here.”
Skylar spun around in her seat, her manga-sized blue eyes roving over my face. “I lost mine last year, and although I ain’t gonna say our pains are the same”-she didn’t sound like she was from around here-“if you ever need to talk, well, you can talk to me, hun. We can bitch and lament together. I’m real good at bitchin’ about life.”
“It’s one of her many talents.”
Emmy grinned, while Skylar chortled.
Intent on shifting the spotlight off the woman I missed so much, I asked, “How long have you two known each other?”
“We met two years ago.” Skylar placed her hand over Emmy’s and brushed her knuckles. “We started working at the inn at the same time.”
Emmy loosed a light sigh. “It was love at first sight.”
My lids fluttered. “Oh…you two…you’re together?”
“For a year and a half already! Time flies,” Emmy said. “What about you, Ness? Are you seeing anybody?”
I stared out my window at the moon that was growing fatter and fuller every day. “No.”
“No one’s caught your eye?”
“Not really.”
“Maybe you’ll meet someone tonight,” Skylar said. “The Den’s full of hotness.”
“Maybe.”
Soon, we were parking across from a brick building illuminated by a huge blue flickering neon sign. A beefy bouncer stood by the closed metal doors, turning away three gangly boys, before letting in a gaggle of chattering girls who wore too much makeup and too little clothes. I’d never felt overdressed before, but in this moment, as I trailed Emmy and Skylar, I felt extraordinarily self-conscious. It didn’t help that people from the long line awaiting to get into the club were staring.
I started walking toward the end of the line when Skylar looped her arm through mine and tugged me to the front. Grumbling erupted behind us, but neither Emmy nor Skylar seemed to care.
“Hey, Bobby!” Skylar chirped.
The bouncer turned toward us. “Skysky.” He tipped his head down toward me, hiking up an eyebrow. “Who’s your little friend?”
Little friend. Skylar had a couple inches on me, but I was far from little. Unless he meant age-wise. That was probably what he’d meant. My palms slickened. Don’t ask to see my ID. Don’t ask to see my ID.
“Ness’s my little sister. She’s visiting from LA.” The lie rolled off Skylar’s tongue so naturally that Bobby pulled the heavy metal door open.
Music whooshed out and battered against the dark street.
“Be good,” he said.
“Aren’t we always?”
“Em is.” He smirked at Skylar. “You, not so much.” He winked at us as we passed by him and then closed the door.
Swirling neon lights illuminated the cavernous building, which must’ve housed an old power plant once upon a time. Exposed metal tubing and air vents crisscrossed the high ceiling like a rat maze, reflecting the swinging strobes. In the middle of the dancefloor stood a wide square bar manned by several bartenders. Partygoers spilled around the bar, moving their bodies to the deafening beat. On a metal mezzanine, people sat at tables, pouring long drinks from liquor and juice bottles. Some were leaning against the railing, gazing down at the crowd below.
“Where’s the DJ booth?” I yelled into Emmy’s ear, my mouth coming in contact with some of her silver hoops.
My lips instantly blistered, and I jerked away. I licked the tiny sores, then squashed my mouth shut when I caught her staring at it.
Nostrils working, she pointed to the top of the stairs that led to the mezzanine floor. There, in an open booth, pink headphones nestled in a mane of wild curls, stood Sarah aka DJ Wolverine.
Emmy tapped my shoulder. “Is it me, or is your mouth smoking?”
I licked my lips. “Must be you.”
She frowned.
“I’m going to go say hi to someone,” I said.
“Okay. We’ll be right here.”
I nodded, then strode across the room, slaloming between the bodies.
Another burly bouncer stood at the bottom of the stairs. He stuck out his hand when I approached.
“The DJ’s my friend,” I said.
He gave me a grumpy, meaningful look. He wasn’t buying it.