I forced myself to be cheerful for the rest of the party, moving from groups of people and laughing, making jokes. I still felt Simon's eyes following me, but every time he caught my eye, I just smiled as if I was having the time of my life.
It was finally time to head down to the East End. Jenny was determined to drink legally at the bar and the Henchmen would be performing. I tried to convince myself that it would be the perfect end to the night.
We made our way to the bar; a jovial horde of people laughing and having a good time. Most of the partygoers were headed to the East End, although the crowd was smaller as some of our guests had decided not continue the night at the bar. Marcus, Grant and Simon had already headed down earlier to get ready and I walked in step with Sarah and Jenny.
"This is the best birthday ever," Jenny announced excitedly. "The party was awesome. Thanks guys."
"No problem," Sarah replied with a grin. "Maybe you'll get a birthday kiss from Marcus."
"Ha!" Jenny scoffed. "If I waited around for him to kiss me, I'd probably have grey hair and a cane." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. She definitely had drank her fair share of punch. "Maybe I'll make the first move."
"I don't know whether Marcus would keel over in shock or jump your bones," I said with a laugh. "I don't think his system could handle that much sensory overload since he's been pining away for you for so long."
Jenny grinned mischievously. "I guess we'll see."
We walked into the East End after greeting Charlie and was enveloped in the jostling crowd. Even though tomorrow was technically Halloween, most people were celebrating tonight and I saw plenty of costumes, ranging from outlandish to clever.
Janice waved us over to a table with a Reserved sign on it, shooing away the people who were loitering around it to have a place to rest their drinks.
"The birthday girl needs to have a table," Janice explained as we settled down. Jenny smiled appreciatively at Janice.
"You're the best Janice," Jenny said. "I'm ready to order my first drink of legal age."
"First round's on me," Janice offered.
"Awesome!" Jenny squealed. "I'll have a Long Island Iced Tea."
"Whoa there," I said, eyeing Jenny. "Let's not get carried away."
Sarah nodded. "Yeah, we don't want to have to spend the night at the hospital." She turned to Janice. "She'll have a vodka with cranberry juice."
"Hey!" Jenny protested. "I'm totally fine. I can handle a Long Island." She hiccuped, ruining the effect of her words.
"Sure," Sarah said with a roll of her eyes. "Like I said, she'll have a vodka with cranberry juice. I'll have the same."
Janice looked over at me. "What about you, honey?"
I shook my head. "I'm fine for now. Thanks Janice." I didn't think I needed any alcohol with the way my night was going. I needed as clear a head as possible.
Janice went off to get the drinks and Sarah leaned forward and looked at me with a conspiratorial smile. "Grant told me some stuff tonight. I think the punch loosened his tongue."
I wondered if he had admitted to having feelings for Sarah. "What did he say?"
Sarah bit her lip as if she were carefully considering her next words. "He said that Simon kept asking him about Bob and about whether he knew of him. I don't think Simon believes that there really is a Bob."
I had explained to Jenny about the fictional love of my life earlier, using the excuse that I wanted to concentrate on graduating without the distraction of a relationship. Jenny had been disappointed but had accepted my explanation. She and Sarah had both guffawed when I had told them I had named the fictional man in my life Bob.
I frowned at Sarah's statement. "That's pretty presumptuous of him," I said, annoyed. "Who is he to think there's no Bob?"
"But there is no Bob!" Jenny exclaimed.
I grimaced. "That's not the point!"
Whatever Jenny had been about to say in reply was lost as the crowd starting cheering loudly. Simon, Grant and Marcus had bounded onto the stage. They were no longer wearing any remnants of their ZZ Top costumes. Grant was probably sorely disappointed by that.
"Hey guys," Simon spoke into the microphone. The crowd cheered even louder. "Thanks for coming out tonight."
"Trick or treat!" someone yelled out from the crowd.