Page 206 of The First Taste

Ahead of me, I see a doorway open, showering us in pale pink light.

"What the heck is this place?" I mutter to myself.

It only takes a few moments for me to find out. I move forward through the doorway and into the Raven’s Head.

With Olivia practically yanking me along, I stumble forward as I look around the room. It's luxurious to the point of being ostentatious. Black booths line the whole room, with matching brown wooden tables clustered against the walls. There are ostrich feather displays on each table, the feathers gold and black.

In the middle of the room, a low-lit black bar dominates the space. But that's not the part that intimidates me.

No, that would be the people. The bar patrons look exactly like the girls that we came into the room with. Young, white, wealthy, and having a good time. Almost everybody clutches a tumbler or wineglass. At the table to my left, champagne is being poured, and the young man in charge of the bottle is grinning as he fills the glasses of several giggling girls. There are people openly making out in every corner of the room.

In the far back, I see a blonde standing on a table, her black dress unzipped in the middle to show her bare chest, her breasts perky and looking quite rosy. A circle of admirers surround her and she laughs, sounding more than a little tipsy. A dark haired girl in a tight red dress sprays whipped cream on her tits.

The blonde gasps as the woman moves to lick the whipped cream from the tip of her breast. When a dark haired young man vaults himself onto the table and quickly licks the other nipple clean, the blonde leans down and French kisses him with a lot of deep tongue.

I guess I’m not in Kansas anymore.

"Whoa," I breathe out, my eyes widening. I turn to point the girl out to Olivia but Olivia is already five steps ahead of me.

All around me is complete chaos. The barely controlled party is mayhem. This is the complete opposite of my usual Friday nights at Hope House, the local emergency shelter for children. I can’t even imagine what the kids would think of me in a bar like the Raven’s Head Club. They would probably ask me why.

It’s a fair question. Why am I here, exactly?

I hurry along beside Olivia, my eyes taking in every raucous laugh and good natured scream. I have a suspicion that most of the entertainment here is powered by champagne.

My stomach churns at this. Is this what my town's wealthy elite have been doing all this time? I have been so busy with work and volunteering at Hope House that I have barely had time to sleep. But these people seem comfortable in this space, as if it's a regular haunt for them.

My mouth twists with a sour expression.

Olivia drags me forward a few steps to a large group of people. I can see the young woman with the red heels greeting a suited young man. He offers her a glass of wine, a knowing smirk on his face. I am rather tempted to step forward and smack the wineglass out of her hands. But in the next second, Olivia pulls me forward again and we become officially part of the group.

Several men are seated on the bench seats against the wall. All around them are groups of smiling, giggling girls. Every one of them is dressed to kill, pulling off dark coats to reveal short dresses in dark hues. I feel severely underdressed and am loath to take my coat off when Olivia does. But she gives me a look, arching an eyebrow.

So I slide my coat off, exposing my body. I'm wearing one of Olivia's dresses that she got from a thrift store. It is pink and sparkly, and at least it covers my arms and chest. But it is very short, with the hem hitting mid-thigh. Olivia approaches me, gently squeezing my arm.

"Just relax. I promise you a good time. You promised me that you would let me plan a night out. Give it a chance."

My cheeks flushed a little. "I will. I swear."

"Seriously, it's just one night. After this, you can go back to your regularly scheduled volunteering at Hope House. No one is trying to tear you away from it. I'm just showing you how the other half lives." She gestures around us, her hands sweeping wide. My gaze follows her hand, taking in the bar. I swallow.

I can't believe that this place is real. It seems so over-the-top.

In the next moment, my thoughts are interrupted by a waiter who comes around with a tray full of drinks. He hands out the glasses of wine without asking if I want any or not. I accept it because that's what everybody else seems to be doing. I look at the purplish liquid in my wine glass, flushing it around a little. A note of coconut rises to my nose, and I sniff the wine.

"What is this?" I ask. I'm guessing this is wine.

A tall, good-looking man turns around and looks at me and Olivia. There is a little smirk on his face.

"I'm Burn", he says. "Are you here with Hannah?"

Olivia smiles at him and nods emphatically. "We are. It's our first time here. We were talking about the drinks we've been handed."

I examine Burn silently as they talk. Aside from his height, his slicked back dark hair and blue green eyes sparkle like a lake on a sunny day. His eyes are only bolstered by his gorgeous smile. I'm not sure why he's even talking to the two of us, although I suspect that Olivia is more of a draw than I am. She tosses her hair and gives him a flirty look.

Burn purses his lips.

"It's called elixir. Try it; you'll see why."