“Really?” I asked. “You guys think we're the same age as you?”
“No older than 22, I'm certain of that,” replied Paul, his perfect white teeth glowing in the UV light.
“Alright, yeah, we're 22,” said Angie, throwing a wink my way.
“Ha! I knew it!” exclaimed Nick. “Come on, trying to pull that 'cougar' crap on us! Lame joke, ladies, lame joke. Now, let's get downstairs and have some fun on the dance floor.”
“But first,” interjected Paul. “We have to buy you ladies drinks. What are you having?”
“I don't know if I can handle anymore,” I said, leaning over to Angie and whispering in her ear.
She waved a dismissive hand my way.
“Oh come on, it's Friday night! You don't have anywhere to be tomorrow. And do I need to remind you about the jerk who stood you up earlier tonight? Come on, Viv, if you give up and call it quits now, he wins! You'll just go home and end up feeling miserable about the whole thing. I say, let's let these hot young things buy us another drink, and then we'll get down with them on the dance floor.”
“I dunno, Angie, I'm just... I don't like drinking that much, you know, and I'm already tipsy...”
“Yeah, and you're probably feeling like you're some unattractive bag after jerk-face stood you up earlier. There's nothing that'll give your self-esteem a boost like a hot, younger guy drooling all over you and making you feel like you're a goddess. Trust me on this.”
I sighed. She was right, in a way; I was feeling terrible about the fact that Everett had stood me up earlier, and yes, despite how good I knew I looked all dolled up, some reassurance from an attractive guy certainly wouldn't hurt matters.
“Alright,” I said. “Let's do this.”
Angie beamed a broad grin at me.
“Perfect. You're gonna have such a great time, Viv, you really are.”
She then turned to Nick and Paul.
“I'll have another Long Island Iced Tea, please,” she said. “And so will my friend.”
“Coming right up,” Nick said. “Paul will go get the drinks. Now, would you two like to follow me down to the dance floor?”
He took Angie's hand in his and led her downstairs, with me following along behind them.
“The night is only just beginning, ladies!” he said, and with that, we made our way to the dance floor.
The music was loud, and the bass was so deep I could feel it pulsing through my insides. This wasn't the sort of environment I liked being in, to be honest, but it was good to have a distraction like this after what had happened with Everett earlier.
Nick and Angie started dancing together, and it was obvious that Nick had pretty good rhythm and a set of pretty fancy moves in him. He and Angie started moving closer and closer together, and I could see that she was into him.
Suddenly, someone tapped on my shoulder, and I turned around and saw Paul standing there with a couple of drinks. He handed me one of the Long Island Iced Teas and then gave the other to Angie.
“Thanks!” I said with a smile, sipping on it immediately. This one felt particularly strong, and to be honest, I wasn't entirely sure whether I'd actually be able to finish it.
“How is it?” Paul asked as he started to move with the beat of the music across from me.
“Very strong,” I replied with a laugh.
“Just how it should be then,” he replied, grinning suggestively. “And that's not the only strong thing around here,” he continued. He flexed his muscles, which looked as if they were going to rip through his shirt.
“Whoa, don't do that too much,” I commented with a chuckle. “You don't wanna rip that shirt to shreds.”
He grinned lasciviously.
“Or maybe I do. Girls always prefer me without a shirt,” he joked.
“Uh, let's keep your shirt on in here, I think,” I replied. He was very obviously hitting on me, and maybe it shouldn’t have, but it made me a little uncomfortable.