12:34AM Saturday, September 13, 2013

Spencer leaned on the side of the building, breathing heavily, the alcohol finding its way back to her brain.    ‘FUCK.  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.’  Before she caught her breath, she pushed off the wall and continued to walk east.  Passing one club, then two, passing East West, passing Eleven… Spencer finally ducked into the next bar.  She pushed her way through sweaty gay men until she hit the bar.  She pressed her stomach against the bar, hands holding on to the bar at either side of her body, and after what seemed like five minutes, Spencer finally made eye contact with the bartender.  Gay bars are the only bars that women aren’t served first.  She yelled over the noise what she wanted.  The bartender and Spencer exchanged the drink for money.  Turning around, Spencer leaned against the bar, and took a gulp of her drink.  Her cell phone vibrated in her jeans pocket as she spotted Kate walking towards her through the crowd.

“I found you.”

“I didn’t want to be found,” was what Spencer meant to mumble, but the words were so slurred together Kate asked Spencer to repeat herself.  Spencer just shook her head. 

“Come on, let’s go home.  You don’t need to be here.” 

Spencer knocked back the rest of her drink in one swallow, set it down on the bar and followed Kate towards the entrance of the club.  With the heat of the bodies surrounding her, Spencer began to the latest effect of the alcohol and reached out to Kate’s hand through the sweaty gay men.  Kate felt Spencer’s hand in her’s and squeezed gently as she led her out of the bar. 

12:40AM Saturday, September 13, 2013

Ashley finally made her way out from the crowd of her fans and to the side steel doors to exit the club into the alley.  She walked west twenty years until she hit Robertson.  She turned north and walked up to Santa Monica Blvd.  ‘There’s no way I’ll find Spencer on the street now,’ she thought.  One by one, Ashley walked into each club, scanning it for Spencer, and then walked out.  Rage, Fiesta Cantina, East West, Eleven, Trunks, The Normandie Room…She crossed the street and walked into The Palms.  No Spencer…Distraught and discourage, yet again, Ashley walked back west towards her car.  No cell phone number, no address…she’d have to wait until she ran into Spencer again by accident.  As she neared Here again, she realized she was to drunk to drive and turned towards the street to hail a taxi.