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It wasn’t long before they’d made it to the middle. There were no doors or inner walls in Cal’s. Just an unspoken knowledge of where each area ended and the other began. Tonight, though, there were a few, kind of subtle, clues. The twelve-footLOVEFESTbanner hanging from the ceiling being the biggest of them all.
Jen forced a gulp. This suddenly felt way too real.
The lights were low, but Jen could see a sea of nervous faces studying them as they entered. She felt out of place, her hands forgetting what the hell they were meant to be doing and becoming instantly clammy. She dropped Chloe’s grip and stuffed them in her pockets.
Annie was right to want to balance the numbers. It looked decidedly hetero. Not that she could ever judge who was gay or not, but it just wasn’t the right vibe for a gay event. There was far too much awkward mingling already. Too many blokes in ill-fitting shirts.
Chloe shot her a smile. ‘You ready?’
‘As ever.’
Both headed for the bar without discussion. Chloe wiggled her way in and took on the task of ordering. Jen scanned the crowd. A few pretty girls who would be her type, had she been looking, which she definitely wasn’t. They were already talking to guys, though, so were unlikely to be one of her three supposed teammates.
A hand on the small of her back made her jump.
Annie.
‘You made it! I was so worried you would be too busy.’
Jen mustered her best no-worries smile. ‘Of course; happy to help. How long do you need us to stay?’
‘Not raring to leave already, I hope?’ Annie replied with a laugh. ‘So, I need to officially start the evening with my little speech, then we have some ice-breaker games.’
‘Games? You didn’t say there would be games.’
‘Relax – it’s okay. They’re ways to get conversation flowing so no one is left standing on their own. Speaking of which, if you see anyone looking lost, can you go be their pal? Just for a bit, to get things started for them?’
Jen couldn’t help but sigh. ‘Okay.’
‘An angel as always. Right, I better go kick things off.’
Chloe appeared by Jen’s side, already sipping on her wine. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Just getting the low-down from Annie. We’re to befriend any stragglers.’
‘She’s obviously heard about your flair for witty conversation and fondness for talking to strangers.’
‘Har fucking har.’
‘So, she still wants me to gay it up?’
‘You’re looking forward to it, aren’t you?’ Jen said, a smile masked by her wine glass. She was looking forward to seeing Chloe’s attempt. Maybe it would be a little payback for getting them into this mess in the first place.
‘Do you know, I am. I think I’ll be brilliant at fake romance,’ she said, placing a hand on Jen’s hip and pulling her close.
‘Do that again and you’re dead,’ Jen said with a laugh as she stepped free.
Chloe sputtered into her wine. ‘That felt so wrong. You’re like my sister.’
Feedback from the mic screeched through the venue, making everyone recoil.
‘Whoa, sorry about that.’ Annie’s voice boomed as the dance floor fell silent. ‘Welcome to Lovefest!’ A few whoops and claps peppered the room, but mostly a feeling of dread filtered through like a tidal wave. Annie ignored it and lumbered on. ‘I’m so excited to welcome you to our first ever Lovefest event in the wonderful Cal’s.’ That got a few more hurrahs. ‘And don’t worry, I know you’re all dying to get started. I’ll keep this short and sweet. You’ll have all received your badges on the way in.’
Chloe and Jen shot each other anoopslook.
‘The colour denotes the type of partner you’re looking for, but feel free to mix it up if the mood so takes you,’ Annie said with a wee wiggle of her head. ‘Yellow is seeking a woman, green is seeking a man, orange is seeking either.’
Strangely, that got the biggest shout of excitement from a particular few in the crowd.
