“I’m Evan,” an attractive blonde with a sculpted face said. He was seated at a bar with a glass amber bottle in hand.
“Laura,” the girl next to him said. Her gray eyes glowed almost as brightly as the candles scattered about the room.
The entire group called out their names. Robby nodded or waved. I felt overwhelmed, knowing I wasn’t going to remember a single one of them.
“Have a seat at the bar or just listen to the music. This is our place to unwind,” Dirk said. “Stay as long as you like.”
“Thanks,” Robby said.
Dirk twirled a finger in the air like a band conductor and the music started up. Everyone started talking again. Finally, all the eyes were off us.
I exhaled and jumped slightly when a woman with her breasts popped out of her low-cut tank top approached. She was holding only three bottles of beer.
“Like something to drink?” she asked. “Not a lot of choices but what we have is good.”
“Thanks,” Robby said taking one of the bottles. He twisted off the top and took a long drink. “Nice.”
Caleb reached out for a bottle and she tilted her head as she offered me the last one. “Take it,” she said. “I’m not much of a drinker either but one of these every now and again helps me sleep through the night.”
“Thanks,” I said taking the bottle from her. “Sorry I forgot your name.”
“Krista,” she said smiling. “You were assaulted with a lot of names tonight, weren’t y’all?”
“We definitely were,” I said with wide eyes.
I twisted off the top and took a quick drink. The warm liquid felt like foam in the back of my throat. I almost choked on the thickness.
Krista crossed her arms as a man with thick gray hair approached. “Doug,” he said stretching his hand out to each of us in turn. “You guys are famous around here. Tell me, what was it like out there?”
“Don’t mind him,” Krista said slapping his arm. “Doug, that’s rude to ask.”
“It’s okay,” Robby said. “Not much to say really. Everything to the east, at least as far as we know, has been completely flooded.”
Doug shook his head. “All of it gone, huh?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Robby said.
“Lucky we’re all here then,” Doug said holding his bottle up, waiting for Robby to clink it. “I lived here my whole life. My house is on the outside of town. I live in the hotel to be closer to everyone, though.”
“Doug sees the doctor frequently,” Krista said with a wink. “Liver issues.”
Doug grimaced. “Nothing has been confirmed.”
“I’m not a doctor,” Krista said raising a brow. “But I’ll bet that it’s an accurate diagnosis, nonetheless.”
“I helped find it, I can help drink it,” Doug said with a laugh. He bowed his head and wobbled back toward the bar.
“Sorry about him,” Krista said. “He leans close because his balance is off. Doug’s completely harmless, though, unless you’re made out of booze.”
Someone called out and Krista waved. Her shoulders dropped and her chest bounced with her heavy exhale.
“My work is never done,” she said. “Please, enjoy yourself.”
The crowd hooted as the guy playing guitar strummed a familiar tune. His voice was actually magnificent, although he seemed a bit shy.
“Want to dance?” Caleb asked holding his hand out to Jenna.
“I’d love to,” She said smiling as she took his hand.
“Shall we join them?” Robby asked.
My grip tightened on the bottle of beer. “Sure.”
“Hey,” Robby said into my ear. “It’s okay. You can let yourself relax once in a while. Let’s have some fun.”
“Are you saying we don’t have fun in the room alone?” I asked.
Robby chuckled. “Oh, no. We definitely have fun alone too.”
“That isn’t what I meant,” I said giving him a playful scowl.
I took another drink as I followed Robby through the crowd to an open spot inside the dancing crowd. Robby spun me in a slow circle before he started to sing along.
Once I let myself relax… after finishing my first drink, the hours flew by. The crowd had gotten smaller and Caleb was making sure to talk to everyone in the room. He’d had a bit too much to drink and Jenna rolled her eyes with nearly every slurred word. She was ready to go.
“All right!” Dirk shouted. “I’m going to have to call it. Finish up your last drink and then head on home.”
“Aww,” Robby said frowning as his hands slid down my back, stopping just above my bottom.
I laughed as I shook my head. “You’re going to sleep good tonight, aren’t you?”
“Sleep? Who said anything about sleep?” Robby said winking excessively.
Dirk made his way back over to us. “Seems like you all fit in just fine. Hope you had a good time.”
“Yeah,” Robby said. “It was great.”
“We’re open two or three times a week,” Dirk said. “You guys are welcome back any time.”
“Awesome,” Robby said.
Dirk stroked his beard. “There’s just one requirement.”
“What’s that?” Robby asked still smiling.
“You have to keep this place a secret,” Dirk said.
Robby’s buzz instantly dissipated. “You didn’t mention that earlier.”
“Yeah, I should have,” Dirk said. “It’s just that Rex likes to make sure all of us are well-rested. He wants us all ready in case something happens, which I can understand. But we all need to have fun sometimes too, right?”
“Yeah!” Caleb said stepping up behind Dirk. He placed his arm around his shoulder as if they were longtime friends. “Who doesn’t like fun? I bet it’s Joss. She’s always a party pooper.”
I scowled, although I didn’t disagree.
“Make sure your friend here understands the requirement in the morning, okay?” Dirk asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “We will.”
“Rules?
