ly. The guys gave us a onceover, and seconded the waving.
"Absolutely not," Cassandra said.
"Agreed."
I motioned for Eloise to join us and went in search of a table. As we cut through the throng, a balding guy in a suit lurched over to Cassandra.
"Hey, doll, can I buy you a drink?"
She brushed past him. "Do you see what I mean? I'm the catch-ofthe-day for temporarily single men of a certain age."
"Hey, at least someone thinks you're hot. Even without the wristband."
I walked to a single guy taking up a whole table, forlornly searching the crowd for someone to share it with. When he saw me coming, he straightened and popped a breath mint.
"Hey," I said, smiling as I crouched beside his table. "My friend over there really wants to meet you, but she's shy. Do you think you could go and say hi?"
He scanned the packed bar. "Where?"
"Over there, behind those people. Brunette. Short skirt. Stiletto heels. Just wander over. She'll notice you."
"Okay. Thanks."
"No problem."
He vacated the table. I slid onto a chair.
"Cruel," Cassandra said as she took a seat.
"No, a creative manipulation of human gullibility and desperation. I thought you'd approve."
"Never said I didn't."
Eloise finally made it to us.
"Sorry to drag you away from the guys," I said. "We didn't think this would make a good public conversation."
"Don't worry, I gave out a few phone numbers." She giggled. "One of them is even mine. I figured we'd need to talk in private, but thought maybe you girls would like to have a little fun first. A couple of them were really checking you out. Did you want a drink? We've all got our wristbands, right?" She flashed hers, then looked at our wrists. Her dark eyes widened. "Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. That's wrong. Just wrong." She leaned over and whispered, "Barry's on the door today and he can be very picky."
"So we noticed," Cassandra murmured.
"I'm Eloise, as I'm sure Aaron mentioned." Another giggle. "Is he as hot as I've heard? Because I've heard he's really hot, and he sounded hot."
"I'm Savannah," I said. "As I'm sure Aaron mentioned as well."
"He said who was coming, but the music was real loud and I couldn't hear. Savannah, you said?"
"Savannah Levine."
She nodded, but gave no reaction, like she'd never heard of me before.
"And this is Cassandra," I said. "Cassandra DuCharme."
Eloise's mouth opened and closed, like a fish out of water, her eyes huge. "Did you say--Cassandra? Like the"--she lowered her voice--"head vampire Cassandra DuCharme?"
"She prefers Queen Vampire," I said.
"Oh, my God!" Eloise squealed. "Cassandra DuCharme!" She pumped Cass's hand. "It is such an honor. I thought it was cool getting to talk to Aaron, but this is amazing. Best. Day. Ever."