Mason looked at my face and burst out laughing. “Hey, I’m just messing with you. You look like you’re about ready to take off running.”
I forced a smile. “No. I’m fine. I knew you were joking.”
He tilted his head. “You still look a little nervous. Come on,” he said, stepping back so that we could enter the lounge. “I’ll introduce you to Venom. I have a feeling they’re going to be happy when you two walk through the door.”
“Really?” asked Susan.
He licked his lips. “Hell yeah. They love meeting their fans.”
“We’re kind of new fans,” I said, hoping that nobody would ask me about the music or which song was my favorite. I couldn’t even recall what songs were popular.
“That’s even better,” said Mason, walking us down the hallway. “The band just loves fresh meat.”
I smiled weakly. “Great.”
Chapter Ten
Chelsey
When we stepped into the lounge, I had to admit, it was very impressive.
“Wow, now this is what I call ‘First Class’, baby,” said Susan, beaming.
“Only the best for Faye. She wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Mason, shoving his hands into his black slacks.
I thought the club below had rocked but it was dull compared to the décor in this room.
Obviously, I thought, looking around, if this where they catered to the rich and famous, then it would have to be pretty extravagant.
“Awesome, huh?” asked Susan, elbowing me.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” I replied, raising my voice as another song began to play in the club.
“It’s definitely ‘the bomb’,” said Susan.
I actually thought she was being modest. The lounge was extravagant and obviously catered to a higher-class customer. The room itself was dimly lit with a purplish hue. Curved leather sofas and black marbled tables lined the sides of the room, most of them already filled with hipsters, drinking and talking loudly over the music. In the back was a large crystal bar with two bartenders serving top-shelf liquor while scantily dressed servers, dressed in purple and black uniforms, walked around with plates of appetizers and drinks.
“This way,” said Mason, leading us towards an area that overlooked the dance floor below. As we drew closer I recognized the group playing cards around a table that looked like it had been sculpted out of amethyst. As we approached the band members looked up from their game, eyeing us curiously.
Where was Slade? I wondered.
“Mason, what’s up?” asked a guy, who I recognized as the drummer. He had shoulder length blond hair and twinkling blue eyes.
“Ethan sent them up. Fans of yours,” replied Mason. He turned to us. “I’m going to hand you off to these fellows now. Have fun, ladies.”
“Uh, thanks,” I replied, feeling totally sober and awkward now that we were standing in front of these guys.
“Sounds good to me,” replied another guy at the table. He had brown eyes and dimples so deep that I couldn’t help but return his smile.
“I’m Liam,” said the blonde guy who reminded me a lot of Thor, which I knew that Susan must have found exciting. “So… you girls into poker?”
“I’ve played before,” replied Susan, grinning stupidly at him. Obviously, she’d noticed too.
Liam, who towered over both of us, stood up and pulled over a couple of purple leather club chairs. “Here, sit down and we’ll deal you in. We aren’t playing for money or anything.”
“That’s because you still owe me from last weekend,” said the guy with the dimples. “Cheap-ass.”
“I don’t owe you shit,” replied Liam. “You’re dreaming.”
“If I was dreaming, you’d have paid me,” he replied.
“Keep dreaming and maybe you’ll get your money,” chuckled Liam, taking a swig of his beer. “
Dimples laughed. “You’re such a dickhead.”
Liam ignored him and turned back towards us. “So, don’t be shy. What’s your names?”
“I’m Susan and that’s Chelsey,” she said, smiling nervously. Obviously she was a little star struck. I myself was pleasantly surprised that these guys were so easy going.
“What about you?” I asked, clasping my hands under my chin.
“Where the guys your momma warned you about,” said Liam.
We all laughed.
“Seriously, though,” I said. “What are your names?”
“Thought you were fans,” said Liam, shuffling the cards. He grinned. “Or are you just ‘Slade’ fans?”
“No. Actually, although we do enjoy your music, we came up here for something totally different,” I replied.