Chapter 3: Surprises

Dave pushed his chair back, satisfied after a nice meal. The temperature had dropped several degrees but he was actually fairly warm, starting to feel the effects of the three drinks that he'd put away. He waved to the server for another round, and decided on Red Bull and vodka, he felt he needed the energy for what promised to be a long night out on the town. "This trip sounds like it's going to be interesting, it might just be what I need to get out of my funk," thought Dave. It was a little difficult for Dave to spend time with Paul and Autumn, as it was obvious they were very much in love, and the luscious Autumn represented everything he didn't have, a beautiful, loving, sweet girl that loved his friend for who he was rather than what he had. He was very happy for Paul and adored Autumn but sometimes he couldn't help but feel a few pangs of jealousy.

He thought more about the trip. He wasn't especially looking forward to spending a month with Mike. Mike had been two years ahead of the twins at Los Altos High School and had taken the job with McKinsey shortly after graduating from Yale. He had been dating Jess for three years, although both Dave and Jess had known Mike from high school. He thought that Mike was generally an OK guy, but he was very motivated by his career and Dave felt that he cared much more about his career than he did about Jess. He'd brought his misgivings up to his sister on a number of occasions and although she believed him, she thought things would work out. Dave wasn't so sure, but he figured that if Mike was willing to take a month off work and spend time with his sister, then perhaps things were on the right track. However, he couldn't help a few private worries about the subject.

He pushed those away and painted a huge smile on his face. "Who's ready for some dancing?" Everyone seemed to be ready to leave the restaurant, so Dave quickly paid the bill and they exited the patio and padded up Sunset towards the car, ready for their trip to the nightclub. The cooler night breeze was invigorating but most everyone was feeling no pain by this time. As they strolled up Sunset, the Hollywood sign was clearly visible and Jess stared as the others exhibited amused smiles. Jess hadn't really done the whole Hollywood scene yet, although she'd had the opportunity to do most of the touristy things in LA on visits to her brother.

Jessica was in a good mood. Her fiancé was supposed to arrive tomorrow evening and teasing aside, she knew that her brother would plan out a wonderful trip for the four travelers. Dave had been to Europe many times, and his somewhat leisurely undergrad experience had left him plenty of time to visit many places. To some degree, Jess felt a small amount of regret at spending most of her college years in the library or classroom, but she didn't feel like she had her brother's natural aptitude towards learning. Dave's brain was a sponge that absorbed everything and never spit it out, and his ability to think about the big picture made him a natural leader.

On the other hand, Jess was a superior organizer and was able to manage her time and energy effectively. Although she had a great deal of spontaneity in her personal life, she felt she wasn't as creative as her brother. Dave of course, argued that his twin was just selling herself short. Dave felt Jess was one of the smartest people he knew, while Jess was only too vocal about her brother's brilliance, usually teasing him about it.

Missy was pensive as well, the evening had been interesting so far, and the night was still young. She pretended to look into a shop window and let everyone else pass before falling back into step, studying Dave and Jess's behinds with great interest. On a intellectual level, she recognized that Dave was an extremely attractive man, but she wasn't really able to transfer those feelings to personal attraction, perhaps because she'd unconsciously labeled Dave as only a friend after her intervention with his breakup freshman year.

Meanwhile Missy thought that Jess was exciting, outgoing, brilliant, and gorgeous, representing everything Missy felt she wasn't, and Autumn was all of the previous, but she seemed perhaps a bit more approachable. The shy, reserved, Missy wouldn't dream of acting on these thoughts, and she was still unable to reconcile her childhood experiences with her current infatuation with these women. She was pretty sure she wasn't a lesbian and she knew she someday wanted kids and a family, but her body was reacting to the stimuli she'd received today. As she thought about her masturbation session in the ladies room at Miyagi's, she felt herself getting a little wet again.

They piled into Missy's car and pulled out into traffic, heading up Sunset towards Hollywood. While it was only a short drive from the restaurant up to the nightclub, they felt it would be easier to leave that way, and the Garden of Eden was indeed closer to the 101 that they needed to take to get home in any case. Paul and Missy had been to the club before, along with a few friends, but Dave figured his sister would get a kick out of the place.

As they pulled up to the valet parking, Dave saw his friend Jack who was the outdoor manager for the Garden, and he waved. Jack walked up just as Paul and Autumn got out of their car, and Jack escorted the party past the velvet rope, visibly annoying the line of people waiting to get in. They walked through the club up a spiral staircase to the VIP area, which was in the corner overlooking the dance floor, and they marched to a booth marked "Reserved", and Jack slapped Dave on the back as he headed back outside. Jess' eyes were wide, taking in the over the top décor and clientele.

"That's..." Jess was about to point before Dave grabbed her arm. He whispered in his sister's ear, "You're probably going to see a lot of celebrities tonight, but don't point or draw attention to them, this is not a public place, just sit back and enjoy!" Jess nodded but still stared as she saw one of her pop idols standing at the bar, waiting patiently for her apple martini.

Paul had also been to the Garden once before, but Autumn joined Jess in trying to take in the whole scene. Dave spoke first, "This is a beautiful place, and it's always fun to people watch, but I'm just happy the three prettiest ladies in the place are sitting at our table!" while tossing his sister a two-fingered salute, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

This earned him a swat from Jess, a smile from Autumn, and a blush from Missy. A beautiful waitress dressed in a harem outfit that was delightfully sheer dropped off a bottle of Cristal, compliments of the management. Dave kept the fact hidden that he was a partner in the restaurant/club carefully hidden.

When the Garden had changed ownership several years ago, he'd bought a stake for what he thought was a reasonable price. While the profit-sharing checks that he received each quarterly were nice, he had really made the investment so he could receive VIP service on a regular basis. Dave felt that alone made it worthwhile.

Dave did the honors with the champagne, and armed with flutes of Cristal, the ladies made their way to the dance floor, dragging Dave and Paul along. Dave left his jacket and strolled over to the DJ booth while the ladies staked out a nice corner of the dance floor near some speakers. He handed a small piece of paper to the DJ and he nodded respectfully. He strolled back to the ladies and rolled his eyes as Paul was trying to bust an outrageous dance move.

"What the fuck is that?" Dave asked, as Paul had one arm cocked behind his ear and the other outstretched. "It's the robot, man! You gotta get with that euro shit, it's awesome!" said Paul, as he started to gyrate wildly. Dave just shook his head, and the ladies giggled.

Jess grabbed Dave's hand and they started to move to the music. Dave and his sister had gone through years of dance lessons, compliments of their mother, who felt that dancing was a forgotten skill and should be cherished. After the hip-hop song ended, the DJ started a new track that had some chanting in an unrecognizable language followed by a catchy bass track. "What is this?" asked Jess, as they danced.

"I asked the DJ to do some Euro techno, he was supposed to be in a hip-hop set, but I don't really like that stuff, and I know you're not too fond of it either. This is a Romanian song called Dragoste Din Tei, It's really big in Europe," said Dave.

"They take requests just like that?" asked Missy, who was lingering nearby, also moving to the beat, obviously a competent dancer. "I own part of this club," said Dave simply, and shrugged. The two girls laughed, and Jess said, "You are full of surprises big bro," and Dave smiled, he was twenty five minutes older than his sister.

Missy headed to the bar to get another glass of water. Being the designated driver wasn't as much fun, especially in a place like this, but she was nothing if not responsible. Besides, with all the things she had on her mind tonight, drinking wasn't really a priority for her. As she waited for her glass of water, someone bumped her arm. She looked over, and realized that it was Rob Connor, a twenty-something TV star. He gave her a quick smile and moved on.

"Wow, this place is something else," Missy thought, as she made her way back to her friends. "Hey Dave, I just ran into Rob Connor at the bar, he seems pretty cute in person!" Dave laughed, "I'm sure his boyfriend thinks so too!"