The music vibrated around us. The floor beneath my feet bounced with each beat, and my stomach swirled with excitement. The black theme continued inside, a circular bar with blue lights surrounding the dance floor. Overhead there was a second floor, and people were hanging by the railing, looking down at the dance floor and its mass of writhing people. Wall to wall was filled with people dancing, no room for much else. Beaming lights sailed overhead, while the DJ stood in a cage elevated over the dance floor.
“Wow. This is fantastic!” I couldn't stop grinning, and Cherry squeezed my hand at the delight in my voice.
“Told you.” She drew me deeper into the crowds. Bodies squished up against me as we walked, and my feet were trampled on a couple of times. It was to be expected in a place this packed.
“We need drinks,” I called out, trying to be loud enough to get past the noise, and Cherry glanced back, nodding.
By the time we reached the bar, we found a small open space to breath. “This place is sick.” I glanced around, marveling again at the fact that the place was filled to the brim with what seemed like a million people. I couldn’t wait to get out on the dance floor.
Cherry said something, but I didn’t hear her because my gaze had settled on three men sitting at the end of the bar, one of them sizing me up. All high cheekbones, he wore a mischievous grin. Except, I’d seen him before. I wracked my brain, thinking for a few moments before it finally hit me. I’d seen him on a billboard in the streets.
I gasped and rocked on my heels, grasping Cherry’s arm. Panic dug its claws into my chest. “Did you know, there’re Vepar here!”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “Of course. It’s a Vepar nightclub.”