“Endless free drinks all around,” Audrey agreed.
“Only because I’m with you babes,” I said modestly but truthfully.
“You look really nice,” Diane said with a grin, raising her drink in a toast.
The three of them looked incredible. They were all a little older than me—no fake IDs necessary—and had an air of worldliness that I admired. Everyone was dressed to the nines: Lila in a body-hugging floral dress that flattered her warm skin, Diane in dark jeans and a low-cut tank top, sporting fire engine red lips, and Audrey with her signature heavy eye makeup, in a tight black skirt and matching top that showed off just a hint of midriff.
It was quite a change from their usual look, being a bunch of exhausted college students in jeans and t-shirts. This was the first time I’d seen them all dolled up and ready to party.
“You guys look amazing,” I told them as a shot of tequila was pushed toward me.
“We might be all business during the day,” Lila said. “But when it’s nighttime…”
“We go all out!” Audrey said, raising her shot. “To a good time!”
“A good time,” we all echoed before clinking our shot glasses together and tossing them back.
The tequila burned my throat and my lips began to tingle almost immediately. I didn’t drink much straight booze—most of my experience with alcohol had been tastes of champagne or wine, or those fruity cocktails I’d gotten sick off of in Vienna—but I wasn’t going to be the one person in the group drinking chardonnay while the others were tossing back shots. I was one of them tonight. Time to cut loose.
“So,” Lila said, leaning forward conspiratorially. “We decided to mix it up tonight.”
“Mix it up?” I echoed.
Diane nodded, tucking one of her long braids behind her ear. “We usually bar hop for a few hours and then find our way to one of our favorite clubs to dance.”
“But…” Audrey glanced around at the others before turning to me with a big smile. “In honor of you joining us tonight, we thought we should do something a little different.”
I didn’t know whether I should be excited or nervous and I told them as much.
“Oh, excited for sure,” Lila said with a huge grin.
“Finish up your drinks, ladies,” Audrey said, checking her watch. “We’re going to be late if we don’t leave soon.”
There were two more shots for each of us at the table and I gamely followed suit and tossed them back. I was definitely feeling the effects as we headed out of the bar and into the cold November air.
I hadn’t even thought to bring a jacket, something I regretted as I realized we were walking to our next destination.
“Here, take my scarf,” Diane said sweetly, wrapping the huge, hand knitted thing around me. It smelled like patchouli and incense, but it helped a lot.
“Where are we going?” I asked, trying to keep up with my new friends, who were all walking at a pretty brisk pace.
“It’s not far at all,” Lila said. She slowed her pace and put her arm around me as we walked, warming me up a little. “And trust me, when we get there, you’re gonna be so hot you’ll be glad you didn’t bring a jacket.”
It must be one of those trendy, themed night clubs with a hundred people packed onto the floor. The thought of it both scared and excited me. I didn’t know much about dancing outside of the ballroom, but I figured it’d be easier to blend in if I was surrounded by bodies.
Suddenly, Audrey let out a crow of delight.
“We’re he-ere!” she said with obvious excitement.
My mouth dropped open when I looked up at the building and saw where we were.
It was a strip club.
A male strip club.
“Now, we know that none of the guys here are half as hot as the man you have at home,” Lila said, giving my arm a squeeze.
“But we’re all single ladies and we need some man meat tonight!” Audrey said with a lecherous grin. “And don’t worry about tipping,” she added, pulling a fat stack of ones and fives out of her purse. “We are totally prepared.”
