“Hey! How ya doin’?” Alice says in her usual perky manner handing the massive bouncer her ID.

The bouncer looks up and glares at Alice.

“Great, have a nice night.” Alice says taking her ID back, now in a hurry to get away from the disgruntled employee.

Once inside Alice makes a quick sweep of the small establishment hoping to find Shane tucked into some dark corner with her nightly conquest. Her search yields nothing and she is left with herself as company. She makes herself comfortable on a barstool. As she sits something jabs her leg. She removes the offending object, placing her cellphone on the bar. She decides this makes her appear as if she is expecting a call from the phantom person she is waiting for at the bar.

“What’ll it be?” The aging butch behind the bar asks her.

“Oh… um, I’ll have a Corona.” Alice says making a hasty decision.

The bartender backs away to fetch her drink of choice while Alice pulls money from her back pocket.

The wrinkled bartender puts the bottle in front of Alice, “Five bucks.”

Alice hands her money and takes a long pull from the beer.

Meanwhile a few stools away Harper watches as the dirty blonde wraps her lips around the mouth of her beer bottle. A warm tingle creeps up her spine as the blonde licks her lips after her sip. Harper smiles to herself, glad to be having that familiar feeling. She sits in quiet observation, watching the girl scan the crowded room. Trying to figure out what her story is. ‘Is she waiting for a date? Is that why her phone is perched next to her beer? Is she looking for a quick hook up? Maybe she is meeting a group of friends.’ It seems to Harper that when the blonde stops searching the crowd that her eyes look a little sad.

Harper jumps when she feels the vibrating in her pocket. She pulls her phone out and sees she has a text message from Christine. It says “You better not be at home watching TV right now!!!!!” Harper laughs out loud when she reads it. Her laugh resonates to those nearby. It catches Alice’s keen senses and sends her eyes to Harper.