Into the Light

43

We walked through the trellis, into the outside area of the club. I saw Sam and the rest, so we walked over to them. Jake and Tara were right behind us. Once we were all together, I took a few minutes to look around. We were still outside, in an enclosed area surrounded by trees and fairy lights. There were tv screens hanging around, showing a close up of the live band that was playing on the stage. To our left, there was a bar, with another neon purple sign hanging over it, and bar stools in front of it. The bartender was passing out drinks at an impressive speed. There were white couches and chairs in one sectioned off corner. In another, the furniture was purple. In all, it looked like there were about 4 areas sectioned off with a couple couches and chairs. They were all purple or white. There were screens hanging in each corner, either playing the band, or psychedelic lights. Towards the front, was the actual live band, playing something that I didn't recognize. It was a fast paced pop rock song though, and it had a good beat. Most of the people on the floor were just jumping around, and yelling. "I'm gonna go get some drinks," Sam yelled over the music, tapping my arm. "Wanna help out?" I nodded. "Yeah. Shots or drinks?" "Both," Kat replied, with a smirk. "Let's get this party started." I grinned and looked at Anna. "Do you want a drink?" She bit her lip and looked down. "Umm, I guess. I've only ever drank once in my life. It was some kind of beer and it was gross, so I poured it out. Is there something that actually taste good?" "Do you like flavored seltzer?" Tara asked. Anna shook her head, and curled her lip up. "Ew, no," she responded. "I've never understood how people can drink that crap." "So, no WhiteClaw,' I said, smiling at her. "I don't know if this is gonna work out, if you don't like WhiteClaw." She rolled her eyes, and slapped my arm. "Whatever. Just get me something that actually taste good. Please." The light of the fairy lights caught her eyes, when she looked up at me. I was transfixed for a moment, amazed at how the emerald color seemed to almost glow. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, and pulled her body close to mine, just for a moment. She melted against me automatically, and wrapped her arms around my neck. I pulled back and smiled at her dazed expression. "I'll make sure it tastes good. I promise," I said. "mkay," she breathed out. "Let's go see if one of the couches are free," Kat said, pulling at Anna's arm. "Find us," she said, looking at Sam. "Always," he replied. Brennen stuck around with us, after the rest walked away. We all went to the bar, and waited for our chance to order. "Your girl has only drank once? In her life? Damn, Colby. You got an innocent one," Brennen said, leaning his arms against the bar, when we reached the front of the line. "Yeah, you have no idea," I muttered, holding my hand up to get the bartender's attention. I really had no idea what to get Anna. A mixed drink probably wasn't a good idea, because the liquor was going to be strong to her. I looked over the chalkboard that was hanging behind the bar, with most of the things they offered written on it. "Smirnoff. Maybe that'll work," I said to myself. "Hey, they got Pink Lemonade flavor. I've never heard of that one. Does Anna like Pink Lemonade?" Sam asked. I shrugged. "I actually have no idea. I guess we'll find out." I ordered that for her, then added a few shots of Circ. Sam ordered a few WhiteClaws, and a couple of mixed drinks. Brennen ordered a Jack and Coke. "Hey, I'll take one of those too," I said, adding that to my order. Since we had so many drinks, one of the bartenders helped us take the shots and a couple of the drinks to where the girls and Jake were sitting. They had managed to find a free spot in the back corner of the area. The bartender set the circle tray down on the table that was in front of the couch, and unloaded the drinks. She shot me a quick, flirty smile and walked away, with more swing in her hips than was necessary. She was pretty, don't get me wrong. Blonde hair in a high pony tail, tight little body, partly covered in extremely short shorts, and a tiny bralette. Her tan legs were toned and even sexier in those heels. But when I looked at Anna, every other girl became irrelevant. They didn't matter. They didn't exist to me. I sat on the arm of the couch, next to her. "Uh, which one is mine?" she asked, looking at all of the alcohol on the table. "This one," I said, picking up the bottle and passing it to her. "Hey, wait! Shots first!" Tara yelled, picking up the tiny glasses and passing them around to everyone. Anna took hers and looked at it like it was going to attack her or something. She brought it to her nose and sniffed it, then scrunched up her nose. "Eew," she said. "You've never had a shot?" I asked. She shook her head. "No. I told you. I wasn't really into all of this. I didn't party. I mean, I went to a few parties, but drinking just wasn't for me. Everyone acting stupid was an eye opener. I didn't want to be out of control like that." "I understand. You don't have to do the shot, if you don't want too. But," I said, holding her gaze. "If you want to try it out, and you do end up drinking more than you should, then I'll take care of you. I'll make sure nothing happens to you." She held my gaze and swallowed hard. "Okay," she whispered. "Great!" Tara exclaimed, listening to us. "Everybody got your shots?" We all held our glasses up. Anna was a little late, but copied us. "To new friendships," Tara said, smiling at Anna. "And to one bad ass night!" I cheered with them, then turned my shot up. It burned my chest a little, going down. Anna started coughing, and holding her chest. I passed her the water bottle that I had added to my order at the last minute. "Just take a few sips," I said. She did, and brought the bottle down, looking at me. "That burned," she replied, with her eyes red and watery.