ADAN HAD TOLD HER it would be best to catch up some place else. The walls were so thin, he'd said, that someone could easily drop eaves even without meaning to. Elysar had begrudgingly agreed, unwilling to admit that he could be, for once, reasonable.
And so he had brought her to a club called Kasakar — his "favourite place around here". Adan greeted the bouncer, and the burly man nodded at him, opening the door. Elysar was surprised, to put it mildly.
The club was a purple jungle, neon bars hanging down from the high ceiling with vines curled around them. Live music performed by a quartet was playing over the low-level buzz of chuckles and chatter; glasses clinking, dice thrown at the gambling tables overcrowded by greedy men.
"How often do you come here, exactly?" Elysar asked, remembering the specific instructions to stay away from the nightlife.
Before Adan could reply, a busty waitress appeared out of thin air, "Oh, Mr. Burkenot!" she sang in delight, green hair falling down her shoulder in a thick braid, "I kept a table just for you. Your usual?"
"Ah, you're a gem, Harlow. Aaand yes, my usual. Oh, and some Jawa juice for my friend," he smiled, and the waitress swooned. Elysar rolled her eyes.
"Sure thing," the girl winked and swanned away, the braid flowing like one of the vines that adorned the ceiling.
"Shall we?" Adan gestured to the table in the back, ignoring his cousin's glare. She trudged after him and slumped onto the red leather bench, "You're mad, aren't you?"
Elysar was dangerously quiet, staring at him with an expression she'd learned from Master Windu. She hoped it was intimidating.
Adan sighed, "You're mad at me."
"What kind of blithering idiot are you?"
"The best kind?" he made a hesitant guess.
"Helion Burkenot? Really?"
Adan gave her a winsome smile, "I thought it was quite fitting." Elysar all but growled in exasperation.
"Look," suddenly serious, Adan leaned forward, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a tray that suddenly appeared under his nose. He glanced up at the waitress, donning the signature philandering smile again, and watched as she placed the drinks on the table.
"Anything else?" she asked, batting her lashes.
"We're good, darling," Adan winked at her. As soon the girl was out of sight, the smile dropped, "Look, I tried to follow your rules, but you we've been gone for five bloody years, Elysar. I had to do something, to make some kind of life for myself. And so I did," he reclined in his seat, looking like the entire club was his oyster.
