Knox, our other roommate, was suddenly next to Austin. For such a huge man, the bouncer could move silently when he wanted to. He jerked his head in the direction of the unconscious young woman. “She wasted? Why didn’t you give me a code yellow?”
Code yellow was a system we’d made up for women who looked too intoxicated to make their own decisions. Of course, I tried not to let it get to that point, but the fucking management encouraged heavy drinking on the premises. The overpriced drinks consumed by swooning bridal parties were their biggest moneymakers, especially on Fridays, like tonight.
The profits also increased the nights that Austin and Denver stripped. Those nights attracted not just gaggles of screaming young women, but men, too. Some were there to watch the show, but others were there to watch the girls. A fraction of them were creeps who were all too happy to swoop in when a young woman was drunk off her ass. Of course, they usually didn’t factor Knox into the equation until it was too late.
“I didn’t know, okay?” My tone was more abrupt than I’d intended. I didn’t like seeing women in that state. Even if they avoided predators of the human variety, they’d be sick as hell in the morning. I hoped the passed-out young woman didn’t have any big plans for the day.
“Hard to lose track of a blonde like that,” Austin said.
He wasn’t wrong. The young woman had a full head of silky blonde hair with a hint of red in it. Of course, it looked less impressive lying limply against a sticky table. I shook my head, irritated more with myself than with Austin. Still, it had been a long shift and his words rankled. “Most of the time I can’t see over the heads of the women crowding the bar. You’ve got a much better view when you’re up on stage swinging your dick around.”
Austin strode over and touched the young woman’s shoulder. “Miss? You okay?” When there was no response, he peered at what was visible of her sleeping face. “Oh, her.”
“You know her?”
“Only that she’s cute and shy. She didn’t seem into our act at first, but eventually she loosened up and started screaming her head off.”
“Alcohol will do that.” I saw that every evening.
“Not that she went crazy or anything like that. She threw a bill at me from about five feet away. Too scared to get close.”
“Maybe she just has good taste and was waiting until I got to her side of the stage,” Denver said.
Austin didn’t even pretend to be incensed the way he would’ve if I’d said something like that to him. The twins knew each other too well—sometimes they seemed to share a mind even though their personalities were quite different. I guess if you’ve been with someone since the womb, you know them inside and out.
Not wanting to bother with taking the long way around, I hopped over the bar and moved to Austin’s side. Up close, I recognized her as the young woman with the sad eyes from earlier. “Oh, her. One of the brides.”
“Really?” Austin asked. “This was her bachelorette party?” I nodded. “Man, I didn’t get that vibe at all. Don’t we have any extra sashes around here? You should’ve given her one. We would’ve treated her extra special.”
I shrugged. “She didn’t seem to be that kind of bachelorette.”
Austin was still staring at the girl. “I can’t believe she’s getting married. She didn’t even look happy most of the night—at least until her bloodstream reached 80% alcohol.”
Knox glared at me. “Which shouldn’t have happened.”
I held up my hands. “I only served her one damn drink. The other women she was with must’ve bought her some. They all left, and I thought she went with them. When Thing One and Thing Two are on stage, they attract half the women in town. It gets pretty damn busy.”
After that, there was a moment of silence, though not an uncomfortable one. Then Denver said, “Well, let’s find out where she lives so we can get her home.”
He put his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. Since I’d been all but shouting a few seconds ago, it seemed unlikely to work. “Miss? Time to wake up.”
No response, naturally.
Knox stooped down, reached under the table, and then tossed a small black purse onto it. Good. That would help.
Denver was already opening the small bag. He pulled out a driver’s license, but even from here, I could see that it was the wrong color. “She’s from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.”
“Great. Do you guys want to drive or shall I? We should get there by late evening.” I was all for treating a woman like a lady—unless she requested otherwise—but that was carrying chivalry a bit far.
“Huntingdon? That sounds made up. Is it a fake ID?” Austin asked.