I gestured at Jake and then to the door. “Yeah, I’m coming. You’re at Sids?”
“We’re in the back left corner by the big booths. I got her back there since she was yelling. I figured she could go nuts there. It’s more private, you know.” He let out a sigh. “I have to head back. I went into a closet, so I could call you.”
“Okay.” I grabbed my bag and keys.
Jake had already gone out the door and was waiting for me.
“We’re on our way.”
Right before I hung up, Wanker said, “We?”
Hanging up, I shut the door and locked it. I said to Jake, “Susan did something to screw Erica over. We have to go and calm her down.”
“I’ll drop you off. If she sees me, she might get all vengeful. We both know she’s not a big fan of mine.”
I didn’t think Erica cared about Jake much anymore, but I didn’t say anything.
When we got there, the line was around the corner again. I wasn’t a regular. They’d let me in that one time because of Erica. I didn’t think I’d have the same luck.
When Jake was going to drop me off, I asked, “You come here a lot, don’t you?”
“Uh…” His eyebrows bunched together. “A fair amount. Tara and Susan know people who work here.”
“You’re going to have to come with me. I need you to get me in.”
He did, nodding to the bouncers, and we were allowed to walk past them.
He hunched closer to me as we went through the door. “This is not going to help the situation. Erica really won’t want to see me.”
“Come on.” I scanned the nightclub.
It was just like the last time—dark with techno music playing and neon lights flashing everywhere while crowds of people were packed inside.
I spotted the big black booths in the back and grabbed Jake’s hand, tugging him behind me.
He turned his hand upside down to lace our fingers together. He pulled me to a stop and stood close as he peered down at me. “You know she’s not going to approve of me.”
I murmured, “One dilemma at a time.” The first one to deal with, my roommate and when I spotted Erica, her hands were flying in the air as she was talking. She was trying to punch a hole in the table with her finger when we got to the booth and was glaring at Wanker, who sat across from her. “That’s what she thinks, but she’s wrong.” Her lip curved up into a menacing glare. She punched the table again with that one single finger. “She’s wrong, Wanker. Wrong.”
I moved within eyesight of her, but I was still cautious. Was she mad and hiding it?
Her eyes grew bright and then went out of focus. Squinting, she shook her head and tried to focus again on me. As she did, the recognition lit up her face. A smile stretched from ear to ear. “My roommate!” She held her arms out wide but fell backward against her seat and started to pitch to the side.
Wanker shot over the table and grabbed her right arm. I jerked forward and grabbed her left arm. We steadied her, and then I slipped in next to her. Jake sat next to Wanker.
Erica gazed at Jake. Her lips stuck out in a pout. “You.”
Jake sighed. A server went past, and he lifted his hand in the air. “Drink, please.”
“You.” She started to get up, rising to stand where she sat in the booth. Her finger pointed across the table. “It’s your fault.”
Jake lowered his hand and shot me a look. “Told you my presence would be a bad idea.”
I waved that off and pulled Erica’s hand down. “Stop. Whatever’s going on has nothing to do with Jake.”
“Yes, it does!” She closed her eyes, lifted her head, and shouted, “I’m drunk, Jo! I’m drunk. Drunk. And you…you had a panic attack, and I didn’t know.” She patted my arm, still with her eyes closed. “I’m so sorry you had a panic attack. I didn’t know. Did I know?”
I caught her hand and held it. “You didn’t know.”
“Okay.” Her eyes opened, and when she saw Jake, they lit back up. “You!”
Her hand started to go up once again, but I caught it and snapped my fingers in front of her face.
I said, “Right here. Over here. I’m here.”
“You’re here. Oh, Jo! You’re here. Are you feeling better? I was worried, but I couldn’t leave, and you had a panic attack. Where did you go? I sent Dickhead to look for you.”
“Uh…” I remembered Bob had been in the lounge. “Oh, yes. We must’ve missed each other. I went home, or I was going home. I started to feel better, and then I went to Jake’s house. I thought he could…” What was I going to say here?