I turned back to Luna but she was gone. I couldn't see her pink hair anywhere. I pushed through the crowd and found Alexander talking to Sebastian by the club's entrance. Sebastian was eyeing all the girls in the club, but one in particular had grabbed his attention since the split with Luna - Onyx. She was hanging by Jagger's side as he attended to business concerning the club.
I gave my hot-and-steamy Alexander a kiss on the cheek.
"I'll be right back," I said.
"I'll be right here." His dark locks fell over his eyes; his soft smile was mesmerizing.
I headed back to the dance floor and grabbed Becky by the sleeve.
"What's up?" she asked.
"We're on a mission."
She sighed. "Aren't we always?"
I started to guide her off the dance floor.
"But I want to dance," she whined.
"But I want to dance," she whined.
Becky was growing accustomed to the club, too, along with the other students at Dullsville High. But this matter took precedence above our happiness for the night. If we didn't attempt to handle Luna's singlehood, we'd have a bigger mess on our hands later.
"This is more important than dancing," I insisted.
"But I don't want to leave Matt alone," she said as she followed me reluctantly. "I don't trust Luna. She seems to be trying to get her hands on every guy here at the club."
"I know. And we have to fix that."
"What can we do? If I leave Matt alone, she may try to come around again."
"I'll take care of that," I said.
"What are you doing?" Scarlet asked as she caught up to us.
"Trying to find a soulmate for Luna," I answered swiftly.
"Oh, good!" she said. "I'll come with you! But can we leave her alone with our guys?"
"We can in a bit," I replied to the bewildered girls.
I stormed over to the bar, where a member of Jagger's security team was watching the dance floor. The burly guard was as wide as he was tall. And he was very tall.
"Can you make sure that that pink-haired girl," I said, pointing to Luna, who was now dancing alone at the edge of the dance floor, "stays away from those three guys?" I gestured to our dates - Alexander and Sebastian, by the club's entrance, and Matt, who was hanging out by a pool table with Trevor.
"Uh ... isn't she Jagger's sister?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Well, he's the boss." He towered over me like a concrete building.
"And I'm the customer," I insisted. "Isn't the customer always right?"
But just like a concrete building, he didn't budge.
I dug into my Hello Batty evening bag and pulled out a five. I waved it in front of him.
But the security guard didn't even look. I slipped the money into his behemoth-sized palm.
He glared at me as if I'd handed him a penny.
"Here." Becky reached into her purse and took out a few dollars. "Our love lives depend on it." The hulky guard couldn't help but grin as he loomed over us.
"Yes," Scarlet said, handing him another bill.
"Okay - " he finally said, "but this stays between us."
"Of course," we agreed.
"Tick a lock," I said, winding a pretend key against my dark-stained lips.
I grabbed the girls' hands and we tore through the crowd to the bar. It was impossible to find an empty stool and even harder to get Romeo's attention.
I squeezed between a preppy couple, leaned over the bar, and scooted as close to Romeo as I could. I didn't have any more money to wave. Instead I held up a white cocktail napkin. "Romeo, over here!" I called.
But Romeo was pouring and delivering as many drinks as humanly possible, even for a vampire. At this rate, we'd be waiting at the bar all night.
I couldn't wait any longer.
As he passed me by, I reached over the bar and grabbed his tattooed wrist, causing him to spill one of the drinks.
"Hey! What's going on?" he yelled.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I just need to speak with you." I knew Romeo recognized me from our previous meetings at the Coffin Club.
Romeo was handsome and a great fit for Luna, I thought. He had a tattoo of Munch's Scream on his bicep and Chinese characters on his wrists. His shaggy dark hair couldn't hide the countless silver studs and hoop rings in his ears. He wore a Berlin T-shirt and ripped jeans.
"Can't you see I'm busy?" He wiped off the bar and the back of his drink-soiled hand.
"It's imperative I speak with you now," I said urgently. "What do you think of Luna?" I asked him with a hopeful smile.
"Luna?" he said, half listening, as he served another drink.
"Luna Maxwell. Jagger's sister."
"I know who she is," he said as if I was bothering him.
"Well, what do you think of her?"
He turned to face me. Romeo was cute with his dark, wavy hair and intense stare. "DDG," he said.
"What's that mean?" I asked.
"Drop-dead gorgeous," he replied.
I beamed. "Then why don't you ask her out?" I asked.
"I dunno."
"I think you should. Why don't you?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Uh ... she's, like, sixteen."
"No - she's, like, eighteen. Maybe even nineteen."
"Really?" He perked up.
"Yes. And she's single."
"That's cool." He bounced a bit as he wiped down the bar.
"You should ask her out," I said.
"Maybe."
"I think you should. Now." I was getting impatient.
"Yes, you should," Becky repeated.
"Ditto," Scarlet added.
"Okay ... maybe later," he finally answered.
"Later?" I asked. "We don't have time for later!"
"I can't do it now," he said as if I was crazy. "I'm working."
"How about I help out?" Scarlet whisked around the bar and joined Romeo.
"You aren't a bartender," he scoffed.
"I am now," she said.
"Who wants a cold one?" Scarlet shouted to the patrons.
Several hands raised high in the air.
Several hands raised high in the air.
But Romeo didn't move. Instead he seemed distracted by the help that Scarlet was providing him.
"I can't leave," he told me. "I could get fired."
Why did work have to come in the way of his love life - and mine? I couldn't wait until the end of his shift to get Luna hitched.
"We have to get her over to the bar," I said to Becky. At least with Scarlet helping out Romeo, he might have more time to talk to her.