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“Sure.” Disinterested he turns back to the guy and continues a conversation about guitars.
Eager to leave, I weave through the impressive number of bodies back to the door.
“Tegan!” Somebody with a Portuguese accent calls my name from behind and I look around.
Two of the advertising agency guys, from the group I spent time with at the club last night, stand near the bar. Most of the younger, casually dressed people have left for the party upstairs, so they stand out amongst the suits around. The guys beckon me over
The taller, dark-haired guy who I chatted with the most last night kisses my cheek as I reach them. “Great to see you again, Tegan.”
“Hey, Tomas. You scored an invite, then?” I ask.
“We’re sneaky.” He winks at me. “The agency directors were invited but weren’t available, so we stepped in. Not bad, huh?”
“Nice. Helena and Isabel not with you?” I ask, looking around for the rest of the group from yesterday.
“Nah. Haven’t seen them since last night. Don’t really know them that well.” The other guy whose name I’ve forgotten chuckles and says something in Portuguese. “Listen, me and Paul are clubbing again later. You want to come?” Tomas waves a hand. “We’d stay here, but I expected this party to be a bit more…more.”
“That’s why I’m leaving. There’s a real party going on upstairs, come if you want.”
“You sure?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s an ‘open to everybody who’s here’ type of party.”
Tomas nods and indicates a nearby group chatting over glasses of wine. “We have strict orders to hand agency cards out to some of the local companies and introduce ourselves.” He mocks a yawn. “Where’s the party? We’ll catch up.”
“Sixteenth floor. I’ll leave you to your fun.”
Tomas pulls a face and takes cards from his pocket; I head off to see if Jax has kept his word.
* * *
The normally peaceful sixteenth floor of the hotel is busier than the club last night, and makes the official bash downstairs look like a village tea party. I raise a brow as a skinny girl runs down the hallway, pursued by a shirtless guy, who catches his giggling prey around the waist. The girl turns and they proceed to kiss unashamedly, his hands up her shirt, hers at his crotch.
Wow.
Okay.
I met him earlier when he was hauling speakers around the stage; if that’s what groupies do with roadies, the Ruby Riot guys are in for a fun ride, in more ways than one.
The suite I walk into barely resembles mine although it should be identical. The furniture has been rearranged, the two sofas pushed together and a coffee table shoved to one side, now littered with empty bottles and glasses. A smoky haze and familiar sickly scent fills the air, giving the scene a dreamlike ambience. More than a dozen people fill the space, the laughter and voices more exuberant than the muted conversations downstairs.
Will and Nate hold court on the biggest sofa, surrounded by girls, one with platinum blonde hair who’s managed to lose her top. Possibly this is what the girl left the house wearing tonight, but the lacey, barely-there material looks like lingerie to me. Lucky Nate has the best view in the house as she’s on his lap, arms around his neck with her ample breasts close to his face. Will stares at the ceiling giggling at something, and a girl seated next to him looks perturbed at Will’s lack of attention, despite the fact she’s running her fingers across his chest.
Jax sits alone in an adjacent armchair, focused on his phone again. Does he do that as a sign to tell people to ‘stay away’? Girls hover on his periphery, including the girl from earlier who, although she’s chatting to a different guy, keeps glancing at Jax.
I sit on the sofa arm and when Jax looks up, his frown at the interruption turns to a smile. “Hey, stranger.”
“Drugs?” I ask Jax incredulously, indicating the people around.
“Just a bit of weed.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“You telling me you’ve never hung out with people who smoke pot?”
“I have, yeah, but not in an obvious place with a flashing neon sign saying ‘Rock stars in training, arrest us for drug use’.”
Jax laughs. “You’re funny, Tegan.”
