Page 1 of The Encounter
1
“Damn girl,” Kayla said. “Look at you!”
Maddie Carter adjusted her costume, pulling it higher to cover her chest, which nearly spilled out the top. “You don’t think it’s too much?”
The risqué sailor costume hugged her curves in all the right spots. She would fit in perfectly at the club she and her best friend Kayla were heading to for the Halloween event. Her red curls framed her face, and she meticulously pinned a sailor hat on top of her head. The red high heels over her knee-high white socks added the perfect accent to the mostly white and blue costume.
“Definitely not. You look hot!” Kayla turned to a mirror hanging on the wall, and Maddie watched as she dabbed on her light pink lip gloss. She had gone classic Britney Spears school girl, complete with pigtails, knee-high stockings, and black heels.
When Kayla finished, she spun on her heel. “You need red lips to complete this gorgeous look.” She rummaged through the lipstick lining the counter and grabbed a tube before handing it to Maddie.
Maddie turned toward the mirror and dutifully put it on before slipping it into her black clutch. She knew better than to argue with Kayla, the queen of clubbing.
Kayla gave Maddie one more look over. “You’re totally going to get laid.”
“I’m not trying to get laid.” Maddie glanced at herself in the mirror again before they made their way down the stairs and to the front door.
“Come on. You need to relax and have some fun tonight. Please, just at least attempt to have fun.”
Maddie rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “I will. I will.”
“And if you need someone to block the bathroom door so you can bump uglies with a sexy Thor, I’m your gal!”
Maddie laughed. “I’ll remember that.”
They drove over to a local hotspot; a bar known for its dancing and drinking. All the 20-somethings congregated here for special events. With Maddie and Kayla being in their mid-20s, they would fit right in.
It will be fun, Maddie assured herself. Ever since she moved back to Modesto after her grandmother’s passing, she hadn’t gotten out much. Aside from going to work and spending time with Kayla, she mainly stayed inside and read.
To Maddie, that was a perfectly fine thing to do. But to Kayla? It meant Maddie was depressed and needed to be hounded incessantly to get out and have some fun while she was still young. Going to this club was Maddie’s way of appeasing Kayla, but she wished her purse was large enough to fit a book. A reading app on her cell phone would have to do—if she could get away from Kayla long enough to open it.
The line to the club wrapped around the building with people dressed in an array of costumes. Kayla took Maddie’s hand and hurried to the front door, bypassing the line.
“Hi Robert,” Kayla said with her sultry voice and the batting eyelashes that men had a hard time resisting. The security guard appreciatively looked her up and down.
“Kayla, you look incredible!”
She gave him a smile. As if that was all it took, he opened the door for them after strapping bands around their wrists. “Have a great time!”
“We will! Come find us after your shift.” Kayla gave him a wink before pulling Maddie inside behind her.
“Do I even want to know why he just let us in like that?” Maddie shouted over the deafening music.
“Probably not.”
Kayla led Maddie up the stairs and over to a bar that wasn’t crowded. In fact, the entire area appeared empty despite the amount of people crammed on the lower level.
Kayla ordered for them and then handed Maddie a drink before she led her to an area with seats. Maddie looked around them. It was posh, and the bar was packed below them, yet the bar in the area where they sat was almost deserted along with the dance floor off to the side of the seating.
“What in the hell is going on?” Maddie asked.
“We are VIP, bitches.” She pointed at Maddie’s wrist showing the band that said VIP across it. Then she motioned around them. “This is a special area that only VIPs can enter.”
“How’d you manage that?”
“I’m just that good. Now girl, you need to let loose and go dance. I expect you to have a man hooked around your waist before the night is over.”
Maddie laughed and shook her head before downing the rest of her drink and following Kayla down the stairs. Resisting would have been futile. Kayla dragged her to the packed dance floor. Maddie stood awkwardly off to the side watching everyone around them. Dancing wasn’t really her scene, but being roommates with Kayla brought her out of her comfort zone. Kayla pulled her onto the floor and danced around her. Maddie laughed and eventually joined in.
