I closed my eyes for a breath, then turned to Mimi. “Okay. I’m game.”
She smirked and popped a gum bubble. “Hell yeah. Trust me, you’ll love the shit out of it. Partying on Molly is the best way to do it.”
She extracted a baggy filled with yellowish powder out of her purse. It looked like crushed brown sugar. “Lick your finger and stick it inside.”
“Really?” I asked skeptically. “Seems a bit…unsanitary.”
“It’s a new bag,” she assured me. “You’re the first one to dip. Three pinkies should get you good.”
I followed her instructions, wincing the first time the powder hit my tongue. “Ugh, ew.” It was terribly bitter.
She laughed. “I know, it’s nasty. Two more, hurry up, the car is right around the corner.”
I dipped my finger inside and was sucking off my third pinkie when the car pulled up to us.
We piled into the silver Prius, and Mimi slapped her hand down on my thigh. She squeezed and winked at me before pulling her hand away. “I’m going to do some too as soon as we get in. Mikey hates when I do it without him.”
“The doorman? He’s getting high while working the door?”
“He’s off tonight, but he’ll be there to ask the guy on shift to get us inside. Then he’ll be partying with us.”
I didn’t feel anything strange while we drove, besides a heightening sense of anxiety. Did I really just take drugs? Who was I?
We were driving through downtown LA, past flashing lights and columns of people lining up to get inside the clubs. A homeless woman jumped out in front of our Uber, forcing the driver to grind to a halt while the seatbelt dug a diagonal line across my chest.
“Jesus,” Mimi said under her breath. “What the fuck is she doing?”
Her words bounced around my skull as we pulled to a stop and climbed out onto the curb in front of a large purple neon sign that screamed “Flare” in all caps. There were about thirty people lined up behind a red, velvet rope in various stages of undress, a few of which gave us dark looks as we walked to the front of the line.
The bouncer was a tall and round man who looked me over with an impartial gaze before directing a closed lip smile at Mimi. “Mikey went inside. He was here waiting for twenty minutes.”
“We’re fashionably late,” Mimi said, spitting her gum onto the sidewalk. “This is my friend Ivy. She’s cool.”
The bouncer’s gaze flickered to my face for a microsecond before he lifted the rope and waved us inside. “Have fun.”
The whole thing happened so fast, I didn’t even have time to get nervous about getting inside. Mimi hadn’t been kidding about having a hookup.
We walked down a long dark hallway before emerging onto a balcony overlooking the main area. I swiveled my head around, taking it all in.
The main dance floor unfolded below us, a dozen or so steps down. It was shaped like an oval, bordered on one side by a long bar and an elevated DJ booth on the other. A man with huge headphones was bopping to the beat while he adjusted various toggles on his control board. A good-sized crowd was already dancing to the music.
To the left of me were two steps leading up to a smaller mezzanine dance floor, a bar shining inside of it with fluorescent lights. It was less crowded up there.
Mimi grasped my forearm and tugged. “Let’s get a drink below. First round’s on me.”
I followed her downstairs, telling myself to play it cool. My stomach was starting to feel funny. There was a dull pain spreading in my lower abdomen, and I mentioned it to Mimi when we got to the bar.
“Yeah, that happens. I’ll get you a ginger beer. It will help calm it down. Oh, also, make sure to stay hydrated tonight, okay? It’s important.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, wiping my clammy hands on my jeans. A tingle ran up my upper arms, not particularly unpleasant, but unfamiliar. I chewed on my nail as Mimi ordered our drinks from a bartender. There was a steady stream of people coming from the main entrance and filling up the remaining space around us. Soon, this place would be full, and I couldn’t stay down here then. No matter what promises Mimi had given me about Molly, I doubted it would lessen my anxiety about being closed in on all sides by dancing bodies. As soon as we got our drinks, I needed to go up to where it would be less packed.
“Here you go,” she said, handing me a cold bottle. “Cheers to a fun night!”
“Cheers,” I said, smiling at her. “And thanks for getting me in and the other…stuff.”
“Don’t worry about it! I’m happy I can help. Okay, I need to find Mikey. He texted me he’s going to be waiting for us in front of the DJ booth,” she said, turning toward the mass of people.
I reached out for her shoulder. “Wait. I can’t go in there. I get claustrophobic. I was actually thinking about heading upstairs.”
