After Sunset

Chapter Four

"HEY, MOSES, WHAT was that drink you made me last night?" Dylan asked. 

"White Devil."

"Why is it called the White Devil?" Quinn asked.

He smiled. "Because it looks good, goes down well, gets you drunk fast, and gives you a hell of a hangover the following morning."

"That explains the condition I was in when I woke." 

"What made you want to drink last night?" Quinn asked.

Jake walked through the door, and Dylan distracted Quinn by pointing and saying, "Hey, look who's here." 

As he reached them, she got up and wrapped her arms around him.

"And who is this lovely lady?" he asked.

"This is Quinn Peters. Quinn, meet my best friend, Jackson Howard." 

"I prefer Jake," he said as they shook hands.

"Moses, could you please give us the usual?" Dylan turned to Quinn. "What are you having?"

"I'll have gin and tonic," she said.

"Do you guys want to sit at the counter, or should we get a table?" Dylan asked.

Jake looked around. It was early, so the bar was not yet full, but since it was Friday night, it was just a matter of time. "A table would be nice," he said.

They got a table, and one of the waiters brought over their drinks.

"So, Quinn, I hear you're on the verge of ruining Dylan's carefully cultivated reputation at the park," Jake said.

Quinn gazed at Dylan as she answered. "I was, but she fixed it." 

"She did? How did you do that?"

Dylan shamefully recalled how she'd barked at the young woman's overture earlier that day.

"I was in a bad mood," she said defensively.

"When are you ever not?" Jake and Quinn asked in unison. They looked at each other and laughed.

"I didn't invite you guys here so that you could team up and make fun of me," Dylan complained.

"You must be something special. Dylan never lets me meet any of her lady friends," Jake said.

Dylan didn't know why she'd thought it'd be a good idea to have Jake and Quinn at the same table. She was obviously going to be sorry for her lapse in judgment.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Quinn said.

Dylan ordered another round of drinks. If the current tag team conversation was any precursor, she was going to need it.

"So Quinn, what do you do?" Jake asked.

"I'm still in school, but right now I'm on a break. What about you guys?" 

"I'm a computer engineer, and Dylan here owns this place," Jake said. 

Quinn's eyes cut to Dylan. "You do? You never told me that." 

"You never asked," Dylan said.

"What's it called?" Quinn asked.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "The bar?"

"Yeah, the bar."

Dylan chuckled. "It's called 'The Bar,' just like you said. And that's why I spend so much time here. I live here."