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WE ARRIVED AT Rumors, a club in Iowa City about twenty minutes later. The music was loud and the dance-floor, which was the size of a football field, was packed. By the time we found our friends, Monica, Tiffany, and Amber, they were already tipsy.
“Where’ve you been?” asked Monica, who was a year older than us. “We were getting worried.”
“We stopped off at Griffin’s,” said Krystal, sliding in next to her. “Tank had to give me his birthday gift.”
“What was that? A frosted cock?” said Tiffany, who was a nympho, like Krystal. “Did you blow out his candle?”
“No, I waxed it pretty good, though,” she said, giggling.
Tiffany laughed. “You go, girl!”
“And lucky me. I got to hear the whole thing,” I said dryly. “The walls in that dump are pretty thin.”
“At least you were able to spend some time with Raptor,” she said. “You have to admit, he’s hot.”
“Yeah. He’s also a biker, and not the kind who’s into triathlons. I don’t care how hot a guy like that is, he’s trouble.”
Krystal leaned forward. “He’s worth the trouble, if you ask me. Speaking of which, I overheard some stuff about the Devil’s Rangers. Remind me to tell you about it.”
“Like I care about those freaks,” I said, thinking back to Breaker. The nerve of that jerk ordering me around. It left a bad taste in my mouth. As far as I was concerned, I was never going back to Griffin’s.
A waitress stopped at our table carrying a tray of shot glasses. “Hi. The guys over there just bought you a round of raspberry-flavored Kamikazes.”
We turned to look at the table she was talking about. There were four guys smiling at us, all of them looked like they’d just stepped out of GQ Magazine.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” said Tiffany, blowing them a kiss.
Krystal raised her shot. “Thank you!” she hollered.
I waved my hand and so did Amber.
“Aren’t they yummy?” said Tiffany, after we made a toast to Krystal’s birthday and sucked down the delicious concoction. “The guys, I mean.”
“They’re cute,” I agreed, noticing one of them staring at me. When he saw me looking, he smiled widely, and took a drink of his beer.
“I’ll bet they’re frat boys,” said Tiffany. “We should go over and talk to them.”
“No. Let them come to us,” said Krystal.
My eyebrows rose. “Listen to you. What about Tank?”
She sighed. “You know, to be honest, I’m kind of bored with him.”
“You didn’t sound too bored earlier,” I said.
“I know but... oh look, they’re coming over,” she answered, smiling.
I turned to find myself staring up at the guy who’d been eyeballing me. He certainly was cute, but for some reason, I wasn’t half as attracted to him as I had been to Raptor, which was kind of weird. Normally, I preferred clean-cut and safe. Raptor was neither.
“Hi,” he said. “I’m Jason and that’s Gary, Lucas, and Brian.”
“Thanks for the shots. They were yummy,” said Krystal, staring at Lucas with interest. She introduced us to them.
Lucas, who was blonde and had dimples, smiled. “No problem. Would you like more?” he asked, reaching for his wallet.
“That depends – are you trying to get us drunk?” asked Tiffany, smiling slyly.
Lucas gave her a horrified look. “No. Not at all. I hope you don’t think that.”
She laughed. “Chill out. I’m just teasing you.”
He relaxed. “Would you like a soda?”
“Hell no. I’m here to get drunk!” she shouted, slapping her hand on the table.
He laughed. “Alrighty, then.”
I could tell by his expression that he didn’t know what to make of Krystal but was certainly enjoying her cleavage.
“Where are you girls from?” asked Jason, staring at me intently.
“Jensen,” I said.
“All of you?” asked Brian, who was the shortest out of the group, even shorter than me and I was five-seven. He was built like a wrestler, though. All muscle. Even his neck.
“Yes,” said Krystal. “We all went to high school together.”
“They sure know how to grow them in Jensen,” said Gary, who looked a little drunk. He was tall, lanky, with big brown eyes and a boyish smile. “Must be the fertilizer.”
Jason patted Gary on the back. “Excuse our friend, it’s his birthday and we’ve been buying him shots. Quite a few of them.”
“It’s my birthday, too,” said Krystal, beaming a smile at Gary. “From the look of things, I think I need to try catching up to you!”
“Hey, happy birthday... what wuss your name again?” asked Gary, trying to focus.
“Krystal.”
“Krystal? What a beautiful name. I’ll bet you even smell like a flower.” His eyes dropped to her chest. “Like a ‘Krystal Of The Valley’.”
“That’s Lily Of The Valley,” said Jason, shaking his head.
“Oh, she knows what I mean,” he said, still staring at her chest. “I love them valleys.”
She laughed. “Looks like you love hills, too.”
Gary burst out laughing. “That’s right.”
“Okay, Romeo,” said Brian. “Try to roll your tongue back into your mouth before someone trips over it on the dance floor.”
Gary ignored him. “Hey. Krystal, the Birthday Girl. Lemme buy you a drink. Waitress!” he hollered, swaying. “Waitress?”
“Maybe you should let us order it,” said Jason, squeezing his shoulder. “They’ll cut you off if they notice how drunk you are.”
Gary shrugged him off. “I’m not drunk. Jus’ feeling real good. Come on, man.”
“Settle down, Gary,” said Lucas, who’d been pretty quiet up until then.
“You settle down,” slurred Gary. “You’re embarrassing yourselves.”
Lucas grunted.
“So, where are you guys from?” asked Tiffany, trying to divert the conversation.
“We go to school at I.U.,” said Jason.
“Iowa University?” asked Monica.
“Yep,” said Gary, standing up straighter. “We’re frat brothers.”
“Which fraternity?” I asked. I was currently working on my Associate’s Degree in Accounting, and also attended I.U. I knew how crazy some of those guys could get.
Gary was about to answer when Brian interrupted. “Aren’t you with Delta Epsilon?” he asked Krystal. “I swear I’ve seen you at one of their rallies.”
“No,” she answered, smiling brightly. “I’ve already finished school.”
“She’s a Cosmetologist,” said Monica. “We graduated Waverly Beauty School together.”
Brian ran a hand over his short, spiky hair. “I might have to come and visit you soon then. Which salon do you work at?”
“Shear Images, over in Jensen,” she replied. “I’d love to do your hair.”
“I’d love you to ‘do’ my hair,” he said, his smile flirtatious.
“Why don’t you two just do each other?” said Gary, smiling drunkenly.
Brian sighed. “Sorry. He’s not usually like this.”
“Don’t worry,” she answered. “We all have one of those kinds of friends, right, Tiffany?”
Tiffany, who had gotten so drunk on my birthday that she’d flashed all of the bartenders at a different club, before puking in the bathroom, smiled and flipped her off.
“She did get us some free shots, though,” I said, laughing.
“Exactly,” replied Tiffany. “And I didn’t flash them because I was drunk. I flashed them because one of you dared me.”
“Yeah, never dare Tiffany anything,” said Monica. “Unless you’re prepared to see it actually happen.”
“I like brave women. So, what do we get, since we’ve already bought you shots?” asked Gary, now leering at Tiffany’s chest. “A little peek of those peaks?”
Tiffany looked at me and rolled her eyes.
I just shook my head and laughed.
“You sure know how to win over the ladies,” said Jason dryly, taking another drink of his beer.
“Oh, I’m just having some fun,” he replied. “You know that, right, Terry?”
“It’s Tiffany,” she corrected.
“That’s right, Tiffany. Hey, waitress!” he said, waving his arms. “Over here!”
The server made her way over and the guys bought us another round of drinks.
“I’ll have a rum and Coke, please,” I told the waitress and then looked at Krystal. “Then I’m done. I’m driving, remember.”
“We could take a cab,” she said. “Then you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Or, one of us could drive you home,” said Jason.
I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I’m not much of a drinker, anyway.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you look like that actress, what’s her name...” said Gary, snapping his fingers at me. “Oh, yeah – Eva Longoria?”
“I tell Adriana that all the time,” said Krystal. “But she doesn’t believe me.”
“You do look like her,” agreed Jason. He smiled. “Maybe her younger, prettier sister.”
Gary laughed. “Now if that doesn’t sound like a line, I don’t know what does! Eva Longoria is a fucking babe, although so are you,” he said, leaning toward me. “Seriously, you have the same kind of eyes, too. Are your parents Mexican or Latino?”
“My mother is Portuguese,” I said.
“Oh, that explains your exotic look,” he replied.
“My exotic look?” I replied, raising my eyebrows.
He nodded. “Yeah. You know – you’ve got that honey colored skin and, those green eyes of yours... they’re like a cat’s. You must get asked out all the time.”
“Not really,” I said.
“I don’t believe that for a second,” said Jason.
“She just got hit on at Griffin’s,” said Krystal. “We barely made it out of there alive.”
“You two were at Griffin’s? The strip joint?” said Lucas, waking up.
“Yes,” I said. “Unfortunately.”
“What were you doing there?” asked Gary. “Stripping?”
I laughed. “No, we were –”
“Looking for a free lap dance,” interrupted Krystal. “I heard they give them to you on your birthday. I thought it would be fun.”
“Whoa, you chicks are into other girls?” hollered Gary, looking like he was about to have an orgasm right there on the spot. “Lipstick lesbians. Holy shit that’s hot!”
“We are not lesbians,” I replied, amazed that I’d said it twice in one night.
“She’s right. We’re not. It was another dare,” said Krystal, putting her arm around me. “Right, babe?”
I smiled, knowing what she was going to do. She loved messing around with guys. “Right.”
Krystal leaned over and kissed my lips. It was quick, but Gary reacted like we’d just had an hour-long make-out session. “Fuck me! Did you guys see that? Do it again, only this time, grab each other’s tits.”
Tiffany laughed. “Can I get some of that?” she asked, leaning over the table.
“Of course, babe,” said Krystal, pressing her lips against Tiffany’s.
“Oh, mama... Can I get some of that?” joked Brian.
Krystal winked. “If you buy me another shot, I might just forget that you don’t have tits and let you.”
Brian pulled out his wallet. “What would you like?” he asked, grinning.
She laughed and then said, “Does anyone have to go to the bathroom?”
“I’m going to call Paul,” said Amber, holding up her cell phone. She’d been quietly texting. “He’s been sending me messages.”
“Tell him you’re having fun and to leave you alone,” said Tiffany.
“Easier said than done,” said Amber, scowling. “I’ll be back.”
“Who’s Paul?” asked Gary.
“Her fiancé,” I answered, watching as Amber walked away.
“Tiffany? Monica? Adriana? Do any of you need to go to the bathroom?” asked Krystal again.
“Sure. I’ll come with you,” I replied, grabbing my purse.
“I’m good,” said Tiffany.
“Me, too,” said Monica. “We’ll save our table. It’s getting really crowded.”
“You need a chaperone?” asked Gary, smiling like a goon again.
“Nope, but good try,” said Krystal, grabbing my arm. “We’ll be back.”