Wishful Sinful [REVISED]

Part 16: Turn the Page

            Dorian, perhaps predictably, sang a famous classic rock song about the angst of being a musician on the road. The goth twins, as Jared was calling them in his head, even though they looked nothing alike, rolled their eyes and scoffed. He wondered for a moment if Melanie would give him a standing ovation for his performance but couldn't bring himself to care enough to watch and find out.

The Vampire Bite cocktails were cherry-forward, with what tasted like cherry vodka and light fizz from a black cherry soda, balanced with the tang of some cherry lemonade. The barkeep served them up in martini glasses rimmed with some kind of red syrup and red sugar sprinkles, with a set of plastic vampire fangs biting the edge of each glass. The girls tried their fangs on immediately and mugged for selfies with Jared.

They picked out a classic goth track to sing with Jared. He was impressed at the depth of the karaoke set-up's repertoire. Soon, the three of them were crowded around a single mic onstage, singing about Bela Lugosi.

Jared saw Erik and Paul out of the corner of his eye, while watching the teleprompter for the lyrics. Erik howled with laughter at the very fitting song choice. He hooted and applauded when they finished. Paul just shook his head, but he was smiling. 

Raul, meanwhile, seemed to have caught the attention of the female bartender, in spite of the crowd around the bar. She returned to him again and again. August sat with Haven and Lenore, enjoying some baskets of wings and fries with the ladies.

Eventually, Dorian sidled up to Jared. "Care to introduce me to your new friends?" he asked, with a devilish grin.

"Not really, no," Jared said, dryly, sipping his cocktail and turning his back.

Dorian must've pulled a face of some kind at that response, because both Amaris and Lisha dropped their jaws, flabbergasted. Jared didn't even turn around to see how long he stood there, while the rejection sunk in, but he felt the moment Dorian walked away.

"You know Dorian, huh?" Lisha asked.

"Intimately," he answered, unconsciously toying with the stem of his glass.

"Is that a good thing?"

"It was. Remains to be seen if it will be, again. But I don't want to talk about him tonight. Tell me about you. Both of you."

He learned they were both students of Nevada State University, Las Vegas, where they had met. Lisha was wrapping up a BFA in Art, her concentration in photography, and a double minor in Addictions Prevention and Addictions Treatment, alongside a secondary bachelor's program of study in Social Work. She planned to complete a final project exploring the application of visual arts as a tool of self-expression for those struggling with addiction, by donating pre-loaded cameras to outreach clinics and interviewing and surveying willing participants, to discuss the images they chose to collect.

Amaris was focused on one area of study; she'd nearly earned a BA in World Languages and Cultures, focusing on Romance Languages, and had just finished reading Dante's Divine Comedy trilogy in the original Italian. 

Jared told her about an online personality test you could take to find out which ring of Hell you'd occupy, according to Inferno, and she bookmarked the link for later. He'd discovered it during his own stint as a student, while taking a course in comparative religious philosophy, as an elective. They smiled knowingly when he admitted he'd landed in the second circle, with the rest of the lustful.

Dorian returned at that point, sounding more than a little annoyed. "We're about ready to head back. The guys and I have already had...plenty to drink. Did you? You done here?"