“Name’s Ashton, we’re meeting Jackson,” I told her.
“Yes, they’re already here. Let me take you,” she replied.
This was the kind of place I would take my friends when they came to Nashville, if I could get on the list.I might be a hockey player, but it didn’t exactly grant me the ability to get into all the exclusive places.
There was a large dance floor with booths around the edges. While the dance floor was empty the booths had people in them. The bar, which took up one of the walls, was also busy. Music played.
A staircase in the corner led up to the VIP area. There was a rope across it and someone standing next to it.
The country singer, Jackson, who was a friend of my teammate Rhett, sat in a corner booth with the very pretty blonde. The same one that we saw on Monday night in the bar at the Grand Magnolia Hotel. The two of them were laughing.
The blonde stood and hugged Kai. “You made it.”
“Thanks so much for inviting us. This place is really nice.” Kai looked around.
“They don’t have clubs like this in Hawai’i?” the blonde asked.
“They probably do, but I’m not going to them. I’m just a student,” Kai laughed. “Hi, Jackson. Hi, Claire. Oh, Steven, Ashton, this is Jackson and Claire. Jackson and Claire, this is Steven and Ashton.”
Jackson dipped his hat. “Thanks for coming.” He looked at the two of us. “Congrats on making the finals. That’s huge.”
He wore a cowboy hat and boots. Claire had on a dress and heels.
“Are you coming to the game?” Ashton asked.
“Claire and I both are. I’m looking forward to it. Are you coming? You can sit in our box if you want,” Jackson offered to Kai.
“The guys got me and my aunties tickets. It’s the first hockey game for all of us. We’re pretty excited.” Kai bounced a little. “Is your matchmaking auntie coming? We can have an auntie party.”
Claire laughed. “I could only imagine. Oh, we should get a picture of all five of us. Something special for Kai’s revenge posting spree. I’ve been liking everything.”
“I saw that,” Kai replied.
She gestured for a server to come over. Claire handed them her phone. “Can you please take a picture of all five of us.”
“Of course.”
The server took a photo and gave it back to Claire.
“Take one for me?” I handed her my phone.
She took another picture, then we sat down.
Claire was on her phone, probably posting the photo. She looked like someone who posted everything and tagged everyone. Her feed was probably aesthetically curated and perfect.
I liked Kai’s socials, because it was random and full of life. There were pictures of things, like those frogs she calledcoquis, chickens, plants, food, and other random things. The photos of her ex were slowly disappearing. She was probably taking him down a few at a time, after all they’ve been together for years, so that was a lot of pictures.
“Kai, I sent it to you and tagged you in the post.” Claire smiled.
“Thank you,” Kai replied.
A server came over and asked for our drinks.
Four of us ordered beer and Claire got some sort of fruity cocktail.
“Did you have a good time with your friends? Everyone was accessorized so perfectly.” Kai took her beer from the server.
“We had a great time and yes, they are very good at that.” She took her cocktail.
