Hello, I Love You

Chapter 13 - In Da Club

Kylie had never seen anything like it. The entire building had metal sheeting on the side, three rows high. The sheets were long, horizontal, and flat against the walls, except for the front of the structure. Those sheets of metal were designed on a curve, lending a futuristic vibe to the place. Along the top edge of the roof was white neon lighting, and in large letters over the front door were dark letters, shadowed by the blue neon illuminating it from behind. PURE was a nightclub unlike any she'd ever experienced, and she gawked openly as she stared at the enormous line of people that wrapped around the shiny building and down the block.

She almost tumbled from the car when Sadie opened the door, beckoning her to exit the taxi. Sadie only giggled and locked arms with Kylie before heading toward the entrance. She and Layla had been just as awesome as Pauleen had described, and the trio had arrived at Patrick's apartment in the nick of time.

Kylie had been standing in shock and horror, staring at the television as a TMZ entertainment reporter quoted Valerie Michaels' statement about her "long-term relationship with Patrick Gallagher." Just as her heart had dropped, and her legs were about to unceremoniously follow, Pauleen had knocked vigorously on the door. Pauleen immediately declared that Kylie was joining the girls for dinner, so they could gossip and "bond" before meeting the boys at the club.

"Guys, is there a theme night we don't know about?" Kylie asked warily. She scanned the line of people again, noticing a startling lack of color in every person's outfit. Without fail, each outfit was completely white. Kylie slowed her steps, which cause Sadie's strides to falter. When Pauleen and Layla realized there were stragglers in their group, they circled back to see what had stopped Kylie.

Kylie looked at Sadie's racy, emerald green dress, then studied Layla's short jewel-toned, purple strapless dress. She scanned Pauleen's red leather mini-dress and then dropped her gaze to her own black halter dress. Not one of them was wearing a speck of white.

"Guys, everyone is in white," Kylie whispered, horrified at their faux pas. Pauleen's rich laughter filled the parking lot.

"We're not even going to get in!" Kylie continued. "There's a dress code. Besides," she grumbled, "the line runs all the way down the next block."

"You've got a lot to learn about running with the A-list, Florida," Layla grinned.

Now that they understood her reluctance, the girls smirked at each other before Sadie once again locked arms with Kylie and dragged her across the lot.

"Look who decided to make an entrance," Jaron yelled from his spot by the bouncer. Kylie immediately searched for Patrick, noting his absence. Her stomach clenched at the thought that he might be with Valerie at the moment. Angry at herself for becoming attached so quickly, she determined to forget him for the evening. She forced a smile onto her face and greeted the guys. She recognized Gabe from the night before, and she smiled when she saw Abby tucked by Johnny's side. There were a couple of other guys she didn't know, but introductions were quickly made. The one that resembled a tall James Dean was John, Layla's on-again/off-again boyfriend. There was a shorter guy with a boyish face with John. His name was Nate. She noticed the entire group was dressed in bright and/or dark colors, but the bouncer didn't seem to mind. Johnny whispered something to him, and he lifted the black velvet rope to allow the entire group to enter.

If she thought the outside was impressive, Kylie was overwhelmed by the inside of the club. The décor was white and shiny. She had no clue how it was kept so sparkly and clean. The edges of all the surfaces in the club were rounded, and bright neon lights were woven through the designs in blues, greens, and reds. The dance floor had some high-tech lighting system that cause shapes to trail across the dance floor. For one song, it looked like everyone was covered in bubbles. For the next, the lights gave the illusion of being under water.