“Appreciate it, man.” I took a sip of bourbon. “Though I’m not seeing anyone that catches my interest.”
“Give it time. Night’s young.” He gestured around. “Plenty of beautiful people here.”
Beautiful, sure. But beauty wasn’t the problem. I’d seen beautiful. Dated beautiful. Scened with beautiful. What I hadn’t found was interesting.
“I need a real drink,” I said. “This bourbon isn’t cutting it.”
Majesty laughed. “Bar’s this way.”
We made our way back up the few steps to the main lounge area. The bar was elegant mahogany, well-stocked, tended by someone who clearly knew their craft. I ordered a gin and tonic, top shelf, and leaned against the bar while waiting.
That’s when I heard it. A laugh that cut through the ambient noise like a bell. Bright and genuine and completely unguarded. I turned toward the sound.
Two women sat at a corner table, leaning close in conversation. One had honey-hued streaks throughout her black hair styled in swooping layers that caught the light. The other had vibrant purple hair cut into a neat, precise bob. Both were stunning in completely different ways—different shades of brown skin, different builds, different energies that somehow complemented each other perfectly.
The one with black hair was animated, her hands moving as she talked. The laugh belonged to her. The purple-haired one listened with a soft smile that seemed to light up her eyes, occasionally interjecting something that made the redhead laugh again.
“Who are they?” I asked Majesty, not taking my eyes off the pair.
The two of them were refreshing, I could tell from over here and it had nothing to do with physical attributes. They interacted like they were yin and yang. Two opposite beings that needed one another. Complimentary souls.
He followed my gaze. “Scarlett and Iris. Good people. Scarlett’s the one with black hair, Iris has purple hair.”
“They together?”
“No. Just really good friends, but nothing romantic or sexual between them.” Majesty accepted his fresh bourbon from the bartender. “Why?”
“Just curious.”
I watched them for the next thirty minutes as I nursed my gin and tonic. They moved from the lounge to the Dungeon floor, not to participate but to observe. And the way they took care of each other was fascinating.
When Scarlett looked overwhelmed by a particularly intense scene, Iris immediately touched her arm and guided her to a quieter corner. When Iris seemed to withdraw into herself, Scarlett made her laugh with some comment I couldn’t hear from across the room.
They were in sync. There was something deeper than romance between these two. Something I couldn’t quite name but found myself drawn to.
“What’s their deal?” I asked Majesty when he rejoined me after checking on something across the Dungeon.
“I told you. Friends.”
“But there’s something else there. The way they move together, take care of each other.”
Majesty studied them for a moment, then nodded. “They’re attached. Have been since they met. They’re not often seen without each other. It’s not sexual or romantic, but it’s... intense. Like they understand something about each other that no one else does.”
That made me even more curious.
“I’m going to go say hello,” I decided.
Majesty raised an eyebrow. “To which one?”
“Both.”
“Good luck with that.” Majesty chuckled. “Those two are trouble together.”
That only prompted me to set down my empty glass and cross the Dungeon floor toward their corner. As I approached, Iris noticed me first. Her eyes went wide, and she immediately started to stand.
“I should go,” she said to Scarlett. “He probably wants to talk to you.”
“Wait, darlin’,” I said, holding up a hand. “I want to talk to both of you.”
