1. VVIP

Music thrums from within the bar as well. It’s not as loud as the beats coming from the nightclub, but racy enough for many of the patrons to gyrate against one another in the small dancing space. The bar is nearly filled up with people, mostly young ones ranging from twenty-one to maybe forty, sitting on stools. and sipping various colored drinks. The bar is long, and there are about three bartenders manning at portion of it. Their moments are quick and efficient. One of them performs an elaborate routine with at cocktail shaker, spinning it in the air, shaking it according to a rhythm, occasionally opening it, and adding ingredients. The other slashes a charming grin to a gaggle of ladies at one end of the bar. This bartender is model handsome, and the pearly teethed smile makes the ladies swoon. On the other end of the bar, there is a group of frat boys taking shots, and the bartender fills small shot glasses with an amber-colored liquid.

The bartenders are all dressed entirely in black. They all look about my age.

Coraline grins at the whole display, and tugs on my arm, “come on, let’s find a seat”

We manage to squeeze onto a couple of seats in front of the bartender handy with the tumbler acrobatics.

“Oh, it has been too long,” Coraline smiles.

“Do you go to bars often?” I ask her after realizing that I don’t know much about her after-work activities when she was not spending time with me.

Coraline inclines her head in contemplation, “Well, I won’t say often. But once in a while when I want to let loose, I do. But after the shooting, I’ve been afraid you know. The last thing I wanted was to die because I had a few and couldn’t run away fast enough.”

I feel a pang of sadness for her situation and feel guilty for protesting coming here too much.

“If

me a call. I can have your back, and dunno, take you home afterward. I’m not too into drinking, so I will

her expression grateful although she says,

pretty cool car. Love at first sight and all that jazz.” She sighs exasperatedly, but I could say that she was pleased. It

alarming shade of red, and

welcome to the Lowdown Bar. Haven’t seen you guys around here, so you must be new. My name’s

mentally slap myself because obviously, it’s not. Nicknames exist for a

‘Lemon’ on

a pretty name,” Caroline, much less reserved than I am when confronted

the bar, “and obviously not my real name, but I like the intrigue it causes in

giggles and I watch the two with a touch of amusement and something else that makes me want to bolt away

here for a conference,” I reply, feeling like I should provide something for the conversation.

thing down

“Yeah.”

so he faces me, “I didn’t know they let interns attend such

Jace here is not an intern,” Coraline chirps before I can say ‘yeah, but my boss was feeling lenient,” he’s a

double damn. You must be

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