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Jase lays down his fork and holds up his hand. “I swear on Scout’s honor, I will be careful.”
“One, you were never a Scout. Two, I don’t think that’s how it goes. And three, promise you won’t smoke too much weed.”
“I promise I won’t smoke too much weed.” He puts his hand down before he adds, “I will only smoke the correct amount of weed.”
That comment has all three of us laughing. I wish it could always be like this. Us being carefree, having fun like normal people in their late twenties. We missed out on so much when our parents died. We couldn’t be normal teenagers, and for some reason, we could never catch up.
We stay for a little while longer. Ainsley tells us one of her outrageous stories, and Jase complains about working at the garage. I don’t have much to talk or complain about, so I just listen.
“I have to work later today. Do you want me to drive you home, or do you want to stay?”
“I’ll head out now with you if that’s okay?” I’m off today, but some reality TV is calling my name.
We say our goodbyes, and I make Jase promise one more time that he will be careful.
“Stay out of trouble!” Ainsley yells before shutting the front door behind us. “So I totally lied,” she admits as we get into her car.
Color me curious.
“About?”
“I don’t have to work today.” Ainsley starts the engine, twisting her head to look out the back, and reverses the car out of the driveway.
“Why did you lie?”
“Because I didn’t want your brother to know what we’re really doing.”
We?
“And that would be…?”
“We’re going to check out that mysterious hotel.”
My first thought is hell no, but the words don’t actually leave my mouth. The truth is, I’ve been thinking about going there myself. Yes, I just made my brother swear to be careful, and that might make me a bit of a hypocrite. On the other hand, I do have Ainsley with me, and she can talk her way out of literally anything.
“All right, I’m in.” A grin spreads across my face.
“Really?” Ainsley sounds shocked. “I thought it was gonna take much more to convince you.”
I shrug. “I guess I’m just full of surprises today.”
I type the address into my phone’s GPS and turn up the volume so Ainsley can hear over the top 100 playing on the radio.
As we get closer to the hotel, my vigor about going fades slightly, but I swallow my fears down and force the corners of my lips up.
Ainsley parks a block away. It’s the only parking spot we could find. We get out of the car and walk up to the nondescript building.
A small part of me wonders if the hotel is there at all or if I’m going crazy and making everything up. Or maybe it’s like the movies, and the place will have been cleaned out when we get there.
“I think we might be a little underdressed,” Ainsley points out as we get closer to the hotel. “I mean, if this is a fancy hotel, worn-out sneakers and old jeans might be noticeable.” Before I can agree with her, she continues. “On the other hand, vintage is totally hot right now. So as long as we act like we belong there, we should be good.”
“If you say so.” It's too late to turn around since we’ve reached the entrance. Ainsley pushes open the large door, and we walk into the lobby together.
The place is just as I remembered. Good. At least I’m not going crazy after all.
Ainsley walks toward the seating area on the right with nothing but confidence. I follow her closely, but my eyes keep bouncing over to the registration, where the receptionist is staring at us suspiciously. He squints his eyes at me. It’s the same guy from when I was here the other day, and I’m pretty sure he remembers me.
Crap.
Now there’s only one thing left to do. Follow Ainsley’s lead and act like I belong here. I straighten my spine, puff my chest, and put one foot in front of the other.
I let my body sink into the plush leather seat. Crossing my legs, I lean back and try my best to look relaxed. Or at least not as tense as I really am.
“Wow, that picture online didn’t do it justice.” Ainsley looks around like a kid in a candy shop. “Oooh, here comes a server. I bet they have super fancy cocktails here.”
“Yeah, cocktails we can’t afford,” I say under my breath as a woman in a pencil skirt suit walks up to us, her high heels clicking against the tile floor.
“Hello, ladies,” she greets us with a friendly smile. “I’m afraid this establishment is for members only. I have to ask you to leave.”
“Excuse me?” Ainsley flips her hair back like she’s outraged. “It’s not my fault I have never received an invite for the membership. My family is one of the most influential families in the state, and I’ve never been turned down at any establishment before.” She speaks with such confidence, even I believe it.
