Page 91

Jacqueline also relaxed at their voice as she pushed down the protective leather pants that I let her borrow for the drive, revealing a slightly wrinkled skirt that landed just at the top of her thighs. It was the same outfit she wore the first night we met. Her top had a low-cut, square neck, with long sleeves that cropped at her rib cage. I reminded myself that I wouldn’t touch her how I wanted to quite yet, “Hi, Taylor.”

“How are you doing, J?” Taylor came up and wrapped Jacqueline in a side hug before reaching out and giving me one as well.

“I’m good,” Jacqueline gave a concerned look behind Taylor’s shoulder toward the abandoned-looking building that people were starting to walk into, “What is this place?”

Taylor wiggled their eyebrows before reaching into their pocket to grab a vial of something, “Can I glitter you?” I raised my eyebrows at the same time that Jacqueline did. She gave me a nervous look before nodding her consent.

Taylor dipped their finger in the vial of, apparently, glitter, before gently dabbing the horrid substance on the edges of Jacqueline’s cheekbones. After dipping another finger, they even dabbed the top of her collarbones and shoulders.

“You?” Taylor asked, after they were finished with Jacqueline.

“Yeah,” I stepped forward and allowed them to do the same to me, even unbuttoning my shirt a bit more so they could dab glitter on my collarbones and the top of my pecks, “Is this mandatory attire?”

“It is if you hang with me,” Taylor lifted a shoulder before dabbing their own cheekbones, nose, and collarbones with glitter, “Let’s go, it’s going to start soon.”

“What is?” Jacqueline asked. Taylor shoved their hands into the pockets of their loose-hanging jeans, a flannel tied at their waist, and a lime green tank top that showed off the lean muscles in their arms, shoulders, and chest.

I held out a hand toward Jacqueline, who didn’t hesitate to lace her fingers with mine.

It felt like a huge win.

The doors to the building already had a line starting to form, but Taylor confidently walked up to the front where two large bouncers were managing who was allowed in.

“They’re with me,” Taylor nodded toward the two of us, and to my surprise, the bouncers didn’t question them at all before stepping aside and holding the doors open for us.

It was completely dark inside.

“Um.” Jacqueline stepped closer to me as Taylor turned around to face us. I wrapped an arm around her waist, lowering my head to murmur in her ear.

“Do you trust me?” I asked, ignoring Taylor’s knowing smirk as they waited for us to follow them in.

Jacqueline inhaled a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and nodded. Taylor grinned, hopping on their feet once before sauntering inside the dark doors. Jacqueline grabbed my hand and ended up tugging me in after the two of them.

The doors shut behind us, and we were enclosed in darkness.

“What the—” Jacqueline asked before a cracking sound echoed in the room and Taylor’s sharp facial features came into view under a dim purple light.

“Are you bracelets or necklace people?” Taylor asked, cracking more glow sticks. At their feet, there was a huge box of glow sticks that they were grabbing them from. How they managed to see the box upon entry was a mystery to me.

“Both.” Jacqueline nodded. I studied her in the dim light, and when Taylor placed a purple glow stick necklace around her neck, her lips were pulled back into a smile. Taylor then added blue and purple bracelets to both of her wrists.

“I’m both as well.” I stepped forward, donning my own glow stick jewelry while Taylor assisted Jacqueline with hers.

“Is this like a party?” Jacqueline asked in a whisper.

“Yeah,” Taylor’s reply didn’t sound convincing, which made me chuckle as we followed them down the dark hallway again. I could still smell the ocean, and part of me wondered how many walls or chunks of the ceiling were missing in this facility.

The farther we walked though, the temperature became slightly warmer.

Eventually, we entered a large room where everyone seemed to gather. I saw that my theory of missing ceiling pieces was confirmed because we could see the pale moonlight shining in and illuminating just enough of the room to let us know we weren’t alone.

What was surprising to me, though, was how quiet everyone was.

“What is this?” Jacqueline asked, her whisper softer after hearing everyone else keeping their conversations low.

“It’s a place to unwind.” Taylor lifted a shoulder, “It’s a secret.”

“Oh…” Jacqueline glanced around as we awkwardly stood hand in hand. More bodies started to file in. More people in glitter and glow sticks and revealing attire. The three of us were more reserved with our clothing compared to the shirtless men and women with lingerie tops and corsets.