“A party?”
“Yeah,” Aiden confirmed with a nod. “It’s at Redeye’s place. Just a group of friends, mostly guys, but some of their girlfriends and such will be there. You already know Lo and Mo, so you wouldn’t feel totally lost.”
I considered it. Though spending time alone with Aiden was also tempting, hanging out with his friends might be an even better way of getting to know him.
“Sure,” I said. “That sounds like fun.”
“Awesome!” Aiden beamed. “It’s not far—just a twenty-minute drive. They’re a fun bunch—I know you’ll have a blast. Just be prepared for some serious drinking.”
Redeye lived in Hollywood, just a few miles inland. It was a nice middle-class neighborhood with a row of houses obviously all designed by the same architect. His house was in the middle of the street, and there were already a lot of cars parked outside. Aiden stopped the jeep a few houses down and we walked up to the front door. It opened before he could knock, and a tall man with a moustache peered out at us.
“Well, look what the fucking cat drug in!” he called out.
“Hunter!” several voices cried at once. I recognized Lo and Mo immediately as they crowded the door.
“Lo said you had a lady with you,” the man who had opened the door said. “Quite frankly, I didn’t believe him.”
Aiden put his arm around my shoulders.
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“Chloe, this is Redeye. Redeye, this is Chloe.”
“Well, I won’t let her taste in men sway my opinion of her.” Redeye laughed. He made a big sweeping motion with his arm. “Come on in! Let me get you a shot.”
“I did warn you about this guy, right?” Aiden said as we walked in. “If you aren’t careful, he’ll be shoving shots at you about every five minutes.”
“I’ll watch myself,” I said with a smile.
“It won’t help,” Aiden warned. He reached up and pushed his cap firmly against his head. “He’s pretty insistent.”
“Hey there, darling!” Mo said as he pulled me into a hug.
“Don’t be hoggin’ all that to yourself!” Lo cried.
The next thing I knew, I was trapped in a bear hug between both of them.
“For Christ’s sake,” Aiden mumbled, “let the girl breathe!”
Their booming laughs echoed through the room as they released me.
We walked through the house and out a sliding glass door to a screened-in sunroom and pool beyond. There were about ten people total, only two of whom were women. Two of the guys came up to us immediately. One had a cute, boyish face and short, spikey hair, and the other wore glasses and had nearly as many tattoos as Aiden.
“What’s up, Hunter?” the first one said as he gave Aiden a hug. “Long time, no see.”
“Not much, bro,” Aiden said. He turned to me. “Chloe, this is Clutch and Dutch.”
“Clutch and Dutch?” I repeated. “Doesn’t anyone you know have a normal name?”
They all laughed.
“Good to meet you,” Dutch said. He tipped his cap and bowed, drawing my attention to his legs, which were covered in green and orange striped socks.
“Good to meet you, too,” I replied. “Love the socks.”
“Why, thank you, ma’am,” he said as he tipped his hat again.
“Tell me this guy is paying you to be here with him,” Clutch said as he took my hand and held it. “Tell me there is no way this asshole ended up with a hot chick like you.”