Timing

The Drinks and the Dancing

The pulse of the bass thudded through Cece's fingers as she leant against the railing of the top section of the club. She looked over across the bottom floor and dance floor where she could pick out different members of the crew along with several of Brian's buddies from TESD and all four of the Tenderloins. Sal had rented out the top section of a club somewhere in Staten Island; she hadn't paid much attention to the details since she was in charge of the game. Even if she hadn't paid attention, she knew it was one of the places Sal usually dragged her to. She could see some familiar faces among the staff, and the doorman had definitely recognized her. Her gaze locked on to Brian who was leaning against the bar, laughing wildly at something that someone in the group surrounding him had said.

He had changed his clothes from the ones that he had filmed all day in, for the ones that Cece had brought with her in the duffle bag. His scruffy filming look of light jeans, t-shirt, and his favorite zip-up jacket had transformed into dark jeans, black V-neck t-shirt, and a bright red sports jacket that matched the Devils' colors that he had exchanged from the hat that Cece had shoved on his head when they were at the game. Cece smiled as Brian began miming something wildly and she sipped at whatever drink Bessy had shoved into her hand when she first arrived after the four Jokers had. Bessy appeared moments later, sliding next to her and nudging her with her shoulder.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" the brunette followed her friend's gaze. Cece blinked and shook her head.

"Thinking about what my next drink's gonna be," Cece turned to Bessy and made a face. "This shit is disgusting."

"It's Sex on the Beach! What's not to love?"

"Sand in places you don't want it?" Bessy glared at Cece's sarcasm. "Sorry. It's not my cup of tea."

"Just finish it and then we'll go get shots."

"So if I chug this now, we get shots?"

"You should not chug-Cece!!" Bessy's mouth fell as Cece snagged the straw out of the drink and gulped it down.

"That a girl!" Joe's voice echoed over to the pair as Cece grimaced at the cold hitting her brain and the alcohol taste sliding down her throat.

"Going for broke tonight, huh?" Murray giggled, obviously affected by the few drinks that he'd had so far.

"Bes promised me shots if I finished this," Cece wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She squinted at the quarter full drink and shook the impending brain freeze from her head. "Ugh. This is too sweet Bes. How can you drink this shit?"

"I think it's fantastic," Bessy stuck her tongue out at her as Joe's arm wrapped around her waist.

"It looks toxic," Joe teased, causing Bessy to turn to her husband in mock anger. Cece could hear them play fighting at her side as her eyes swept over the dance floor. Her gaze finally landed on the fourth Joker who was thriving in his natural habitat of the dance floor. Sal's eyes locked with her, moving up from the girl he was dancing with as if he could feel Cece's stare. He nodded up at her, sensing the incoming question from her; Cece held her fingers apart to the approximate size of a shot glass and then gestured to the four of them and then to the bar. Sal nodded in agreement and began to extract himself from the girl who was currently grinding on him. Cece turned to the three.

"Sal and I are getting shots. Who's in?"

"We're all in," Bessy said with a wicked grin.

"Could you grab me another coke while you're down there?" Joe asked, swirling his glass of mostly ice at her. "If I'm gonna have to lug you all home later, I want to be well hydrated for it."