“Shut up.” The retort was weak, but it was all I had at the moment. We moved to sit down and I all but ran to the other end of the table to avoid ending up anywhere near Max and his Victoria’s Secret model. Shane and Amanda sat next to one another, and I sat to her left. Next to me were Steph and Danielle, and across the table sat Matt, Mark and Luke. Ben sat beside his brother, with Max next to him and Mary across from Max. That left Kyle and Kate to sit directly opposite Shane and Amanda. Comfortable as I was going to get with the seating arrangements, I relaxed slightly.
“Good evening, my name is Melody and I’m going to be your server for this evening.”
I tuned Melody out as she ran through the specials, especially since she had chosen to stand at the opposite end of the table, but my ears perked up when she asked if she could get us anything to drink. “I’ll take a Stoli Vanilla and Coke,” I nearly yelled. When everyone turned to glare at me, I shrugged. “May as well get this party started, right.” Then I slunk back in my chair and hoped to disappear.
“No red-headed sluts for you tonight, Lil?”
I knew who said it without even having to look. Though I did anyway. He wore that cocky smirk that had irritated me over a year ago when I met him, and it was causing the same reaction now. I knew he was joking, trying to lighten the mood, but I wasn’t up for it. He was crashing the party that I had worked hard to organize. And on top of that, he brought some chick with him for us to entertain all night. Same selfish Max. “No, I learned my lesson with those. They only attract a bad element.”
His jaw ticked slightly, but his smile never wavered. Though it didn’t matter. I knew I’d gotten to him. I just wished I had felt better about it.
Melody took everyone’s drink order and then took off to get them. A weird silence descended on the table. I never knew thirteen people were capable of being that quiet.
“So what are you girls doing tonight?” You could always count on Shane to break an awkward silence. I suddenly regretted putting him through carbohydrate hell. Well, almost.
I wasted no time in responding. “Well I hired a few male escorts. They should be arriving at the room in about an hour and a half. Then I thought we would head to the center of town and buy some meth. Smoke that for a while, and then, see where the night takes us.”
“Amanda prefers heroin, Lily. Don’t you know her at all?” Shane said, beating me at my own game. Sly devil. He really was perfect for Amanda.
Our drinks arrived as we all discussed our plans for the evening. Ours involved a new club called Swanky that had opened two blocks away from Bally’s, and the guys’ involved an upscale nightclub called The Last Out. Melody said she’d give us more time to look over the menus, and then be back to take our order.
“Max got us VIP access in the club,” Shane gushed.
What a girl.
“That’s nice, sweetie,” Amanda said to Shane before smiling sweetly at Max’s date. “So Mary, you ready to run with the big dogs? We’ve been known to get pretty wild.”
“I think I’ll be able to keep up,” Mary answered, matching Amanda’s smile.
“I hope so. Amanda is a total nutcase. Remember when you jumped into the Delaware River from the back deck of that bar?” Kyle was starting to look a little tipsy, and was definitely a talker when he drank. He was probably gearing up to tell a whole bunch of wild Amanda stories. I couldn’t wait.
“Do I remember it? You weren’t even there.” Amanda’s tone was accusatory, but her face held only confidence. And maybe pride.
“No, but those three were.” Kyle pointed at me, Steph, and Danielle. “Just ask them if you don’t believe me.”
Shane looked over Amanda at me.
“Hey, what happens in the Delaware, stays in the Delaware,” I replied, taking a long sip of my drink.
“That’s right,” Danielle added. “Besides, it wasn’t her fault. The cops were chasing her.”
Amanda’s and my eyes flew to Danielle, shocked by a betrayal from someone in our own ranks. Danielle put her hand over her mouth. “Shit, sorry.”
“Snitches wind up as drug dealers’ bitches, Danielle,” Amanda warned before directing her attention back to Mary. “Don’t listen to her. She’s a lush. She has no idea what she’s talking about.”
“How come I never heard this story?” Shane asked, amused.
“Because there’s no way to spin it so that I don’t look like a complete asshole.”
“How’d you hear it?” Shane asked Kyle.
“Oh, she tells me everything. Lily may seem like her best friend, but she’s got nothing on me and Amanda. Right, princess?”
“Kyle, maybe you should quit while you’re ahead,” Amanda warned.
Kyle held up his hands in a defensive gesture.
“Ah, so maybe Kyle should’ve been your maid of honor,” Shane teased.
“Nah, it’s against the rules to choose a maid of honor you’ve slept with,” Kyle blurted out.
Once the words were out, there was no taking them back, even though Kyle looked like he would’ve moved mountains to do exactly that. Everyone at the table stilled.