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Just as they approached, a reporter pounced on the chance to get a few words with Lauren, who gave her five minutes. Finally, they reached the faux-gem-encrusted velvet rope, and the slender man greeted them.
“Miss Stone. We’re delighted you could join us tonight,” he said, checking something on the tablet screen. “Please, come in and enjoy your time at Blue Ruby. Just show this card at the bar—you’re comped for the evening. If you need anything, I’m Sergio.”
Lauren was sure to pass both men a generous tip.
Inside, the décor included shades of blue with brushed steel accents. The massive dance floor was packed, and a DJ on a raised platform churned out a mix of dance, rap, and techno music. They threaded their way through the crowd and managed to slip into a spot at the bar. Lauren eyed the glass shelves of high-end liquor. She tried to be cautious when she drank, given her history. But she never had the same issues with alcohol that she did with cocaine.
“First round’s on me!” Carolyn laughed as she snatched the comp card from Lauren’s fingers. She leaned across the bar and spoke to the bartender, but Lauren couldn’t make out what she said over the music. A minute later, her sister handed her a glass with a translucent pink drink in it.
“What the hell’s that?” Lauren eyed the rosy liquid.
“It’s a White Gummy Bear.”
Lauren tilted her head back and downed the drink, which wasn’t much more than a shot, in a swallow. It tasted like a fruity dessert.
Carolyn looked proud of herself. “Good, aren’t they? They go down easy but they’ll knock you on your ass if you’re not careful!”
The sisters traded their spot at the bar for the dance floor and threw themselves into the music with abandon. Lauren relished losing herself in the beat. It gave her the chance to not think, to be in the moment. Four songs later, they took a break to have another drink. Watching the milling crowd, Carolyn entertained them both with her running commentary on the so-called fashions being flaunted.
Carolyn pointed at one woman whose dress had such a deep vee in the front you could almost see her navel. “I mean, come on,” Carolyn said. “You may as well just go naked. Seriously, is the cloth stuck on her with industrial tape? Imagine how much that hurts coming off! Like getting a Brazilian for your boobs.”
Lauren’s sides ached from laughing, and when she caught her breath, she excused herself to go to the restroom. It was bigger and more lavish than the first apartment she had shared with the band, and it even smelled better. She’d take cloying lavender over rotten food any day.
On her way back to Carolyn, she tried to navigate a cluster of people blocking the aisle. As she threaded through the crowd, she caught sight of a woman with straight, jet-black hair as she inhaled a line of white powder from the back of a man’s hand.
The glimmering remembered sensation of how a hit of coke felt stopped Lauren in her tracks. The ghost of the euphoria, the feeling she was bigger than—faster than—any of the problems dogging her coursed through her. She’d been clean for ten years, but sometimes the memories were so visceral they terrified her.
Her hear raced as she stared, hypnotized, while the woman inhaled another line and rubbed her finger on her gum. That sly little voice in her head whispered,They’ll share with you. You know they will.Lauren blinked and forced herself to step away. That voice was the last thing she needed in her life. She started to push past them.
A hand grabbed her arm. It was the man with the coke. She glanced down at his hand, at the hint of residual snow, and hated herself for it.
“Hey! You’re that singer—Lauren Stone!” he said. “I saw you looking. You want a taste, baby?” He held up a little glass vial and waved it. “I’ll give you a bump. I know you like it.”
Sudden sweat made her skin cold, clammy. Lauren pressed her lips together and shook her head. Pulling her arm out of his grasp, she headed back to where Carolyn was waiting. But her new “friend” wouldn’t give up. He followed her through the throng.
“Where you, going? C’mon, you can party with us. I know you like snow.”
“Back off.” Lauren pointed a warning finger at him as she tried to slow her breathing.
“Why you gotta get all bitchy? I’m just looking for a good time.” He grabbed at her arm again. Lauren jerked it away as she recoiled from the chaotic look in his eye. She knew that look far too well.
Carolyn appeared at her elbow. “Everything okay?”
The stranger leered. “Hey, gorgeous. Just want to party with you ladies…”
“I saidno!” This time, Lauren’s voice was louder, more forceful. She felt Carolyn tense, reacting to her agitation.
“You don’t mean that.” His smile was silky, cunning. “We can have a great time together, all three of us.” His tongue skimmed over his lower lip as he looked at Carolyn from head to toe and back again, his gaze lingering in all the wrong places.
“We absolutely do mean it. And stop looking at my sister like she’s a piece of meat.” Lauren put a protective arm out in front of Carolyn, trying to move her sister back. A few people around them started to tune in to the drama.
Their suitor took an aggressive step forward, and Lauren balled her hands into fists. If he put his hands on her, they were going to have a problem. The bouncer who’d been working the door earlier seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Quite a feat for a man his size.
“The lady said no. Time for you to leave.” He grabbed the smarmy man’s elbow in a crushing grip. Squawking protests erupted as he was escorted to the door. The crowd around them returned to their own business as if nothing unusual had happened.
“Jerk. Good riddance,” Carolyn said. “You okay, Lauren? What did he want?”
“Overly starstruck. That’s all.” Lauren didn’t mention that he’d offered her coke, or that the proposition had practically made her mouth water.
