Everyone cheered, and Dex put in an order for fries, sliders, wings, chips, dips, and more booze. Dex ordered a drink called the Lion Tamer. Seb laughed.
"Man, I wish Ash were here to hear you order that."
Dex waggled his eyebrows. The food came, carried by three waitstaff. It barely all fit on the table. For the drinks, they had to use one of those foldable food tr
ays they used in restaurants.
"What's the occasion?" one of the waitresses asked, giving Dex a wink. She had red hair, faint freckles across her fair complexion, and friendly blue-green eyes.
Hudson gasped. "You're from Australia!"
The waitress laughed. "Yes."
"I'm from England!" Hudson peered at her name tag. "Manuela." He thrust a hand out, and Dex shook his head in amusement. "Lovely to meet you, Manuela. I'm Hudson."
Manuela took his hand with a big smile. She was either charmed by Hudson or wondering what the heck he was on to make him so excitable. "It's lovely to meet you, Hudson."
Hudson released her hand and pointed two fingers at Dex. "The occasion is that he's getting married."
Dex whooped and grabbed his drink. Skewered through several cherries was a toothpick with a growly lion head attached at the end. Dex was so keeping it. He could think of a dozen ways to annoy Ash with it.
"Congratulations!" Manuela turned and announced to the bar, "Hot stuff here is getting hitched!"
Everyone in the bar cheered and whistled, and some of them brought him drinks. Cael and Ash showed up, and Ash rolled his eyes at Dex's lion toothpick tucked into his watch wristband so he wouldn't forget it.
"Oh my God, that looks so good!" Cael was practically drooling on Dex as he leaned over to sniff Dex's slider.
"Dude, you're breathing all over the tasty goodness."
"Dex, I'm hungry," Cael whimpered.
"Then tell your sugar daddy to get you some food."
Cael snickered, and Ash smacked Dex upside the head.
"Ow! Hey, you're not allowed to hit me. It's my party."
"Whatever." Ash called Manuela over, and next thing Dex knew, all his friends were squeezing in around them, a mountain of food piled on the two tables that had been pushed together. Letty raised her drink, shouting over the noise of the bar.
"To Dex and Sloane!"
Everyone raised their drinks and toasted them, while Dex did his best not to get all mushy. The booze was getting to him, that was all.
It was after midnight when they all stumbled out of the bar, Dex's arm around Hudson's shoulders.
"Let's go dance!" Hudson said, pulling Dex back toward the club. Everyone agreed, and they were heading back inside when Dex spotted something big, orange, and furry. He let out a huge gasp.
"Hudson, look!"
For some reason, Hudson looked up. With a snort, Dex took hold of his chin and moved his head down so he'd look straight ahead. Either Dex was so drunk he was seeing things, or what he was seeing was really there.
"Dude, is that...?"
Hudson's eyes went huge. "Oh, no. Dexter, no."
"Oh yes, Dexter, yes." Dex clapped his hands gleefully before walking over to whoever it was dressed in a giant orange gummy bear suit and handing out flyers. "Can I try on your bear?"
The bear turned to face him and shook its head.