Effie's face bursts with excitement. "Are you being serious? You could really get us up there?"
"I've never asked her before, but I know she's let Nadine a couple of times, so I'm sure she'd say yes." I flick a glance in the direction of the very long line wrapping around the building. "Although, it might take a while with how busy it is tonight."
"You don't seem like you want to," Effie observes. "Maybe we shouldn't."
"No, it's fine. I was just thinking about dipshit emperors one and two. I'm not going to anymore." I wrap my fingers around the vial and shake off my sullen mood. "Let's make this an awesome forgetful night."
Effie's lips spread into a grin. "There's my awesome best friend. I thought she was going to be sad all night."
"I'm fine," I promise her. "I just let them get to me. Now I'm over it."
She eyes me over with a hint of skepticism. "Are you sure?"
I nod. "Positive."
"All right, then." She unscrews the lid off the vial. "I say we take these bad boys, go inside, and dance until we can get upstairs and get the live thing. Then we'll dance until our feet can't remember how."
"It's a good thing we don't have classes tomorrow." Anders pops the lid off his vial. "Not that I don't mind missing a class or two."
Effie grins at him then looks at me. "You in, Rave?"
I nod, though I'm nervous. I mean, I've gotten blood drunk a couple of times, and my body is still humming from the blood buzz from earlier. Now I'm about to drink emperor's blood-powerful blood.
I shiver, not necessary in a bad way, and untwist the cap off the vial.
Effie clears her throat and raises her vial in the air. "I'd like to make a toast to Raven, who's the best BFF I could ever ask for. Before you came along, I spent way too many hours listening to Anders yammer about all the hot ass and perfect tits he saw in a day, and how hard he got every time that stupid bathtub mat commercial came on." She puts her hand to the side of her mouth and leans toward me, stage whispering, "I think he might have a thing for bathmats."
Anders stares at her, unimpressed. "It was the woman in the commercial that was turning me on. Not the bathmat."
"If you say so." She grins when he scowls at her. "What? You did stare awfully hard every time that bathmat showed up on the screen."
Anders just shakes his head.
Effie flashes him a grin then turns serious again. Well, as serious as she ever is.
"Anyway," she says, looking at me. "My point is that while I love Anders, I love that you're part of my life and that you don't have a thing for bathmats."
"Oh, my God, you're insane." Without waiting for her to finish, Anders tips his head back and throws back the blood boost.
"Fine, ruin my toast." Effie playfully glares at Anders, then she clinks her vial with mine and downs the emperor's blood in one long gulp.
They both look at me, waiting.
"Well, here goes nothing." Letting out an anxious breath, I put the vial to my lips and tip my head back. The warm liquid spills down my throat and passed my lungs, settling in my stomach. As I lower the vial from my lips, I hold my breath and wait for something dazzling and magical to happen.
And wait.
And wait.
"Does anyone feel anything yet?" I set the empty vial down on the backseat.
Effie shrugs. "No … But I heard it takes a minute to kick in."
We wait a minute. Still nothing.
Effie begins to frown while Anders mutters something about getting duds.
"Maybe we should go inside while we're waiting for it to kick in," I suggest.
We all agree and hop out of the car, surpassing the long line and walking straight up to the entrance. I nearly do a double-take at the presence of ten bouncers lined up in front of the entrance. Normally, only two are stationed at the front doors.
Hawk, the main bouncer who's in his early twenties and is all muscles and intricate tattoos, greets me with a welcoming, fangy smile as I approach the velvet rope. "Well, well, look who decided to finally come check out her mom's club."
"I've been down here before," I remind him. "Just not at night. I'm not really much of a night person."
"Raven, you're a vampire, which by definition means you're a creature of the night," he teases, wrapping his fingers around the rope. "Or, did you forget?"
I smack the heel of my hand against my forehead. "Man, I completely forgot. Thanks for reminding me. I was really starting to get worried about these fangs that keep slipping out of my gums and my uncontrollable desire for blood."