The Starlight Club was one of those typical sixties party joints where they played psychedelic tunes, the drinks came with swizzle sticks and umbrellas; and they always had plenty of that other stuff that I never cared for. You know what I mean; the sort of stuff that made the 60's famous like marijuana, acid, and magic mushrooms.
Aside from the atmosphere and the aforementioned illicit house goodies, what made this place special was the clientele. Not just anyone was allowed entrance; you either had to be somebody or know somebody. Thanks to Tom's dad, we could pretty much get ourselves into any club. Before he was even old enough to drink, Tom's dad would take him to clubs with famous sports figures and movie stars.
Tom told us stories about partying with the likes of Natalie Wood, Donovan, and what he believes were two members of Them. The truth is he probably just said hello and then watched as everyone had a good-time except him, but either way once you get a reputation for hanging out with the stars the doors to the hot spots are permanently open. The funny part was that neither Tom nor I knew exactly what his dad did for a living or how he knew those people - strange.
There was a line up of at least twenty people standing outside the Starlight Club waiting patiently. Tom and I, on the other hand, walked right up to the bouncer who waved us directly in. Beyond the entrance doors women were dancing behind semi-translucent screens showing off their splendid, curvaceous silhouettes. Intimidated guys were scattered in groups, planning their strategies of attack. Hues of orange and pink lights reflected off the flowery walls with multicolored lights shining down from the ceiling. The doors closed behind us. We were in.
Tom went straight to the bar and ordered us two Zombies. Things were going about as well as could be expected for two guys having a night out until Tom noticed a crowd of people forming at the bar. Tom was the kind of guy who had to know everything. If the phone rang and he missed a call it would drive him insane. He would actually phone people up asking them if they were the ones who called, so it came as no surprise that Tom had to find out the reason for the crowd at the bar.
"I don't care who's here," I told Tom, "unless it's a very attractive and available girl."
Tom gave me a crooked grin.
"Alright," I told him, "she doesn't have to be available."
Tom pushed his way through the crowd. If Tom were to write a book about his life, this is where it would begin. What he saw shook him to his core. There was Rock Hudson pulling off his charms on the ladies. On closer inspection, there was his beloved Julie, sitting on Rock's lap. Tom glared at her until Julie noticed his angry stare. Their eyes met. They shared an incredibly awkward moment until Tom turned away and ran out of the bar, dejected. I tried to stop him, honest, but he would hear nothing of it.
Julie saw the way Tom left the bar and came up to me, fairly upset. I'm sure it was because she left Rock Hudson because of him. Julie wasn't the sort to be anybody's lap girl but this was Rock Hudson. Nobody would ever blame her, except Tom.
"What was that all about?" she asked me furiously.
"Nothing," I told her. "You know how Tom hates Rock Hudson."
Julie didn't know how to react. I think the problem was that she felt guilty and couldn't understand why.
"That definitely was not nothing," she replied," and he loves Rock Hudson. He begged me to go with him to that war movie Tobruk. I sat through two hours of Tom saying, "that's so cool". She paused briefly for a moment as she looked back at Rock Hudson who now had two other girls on his lap. "Come on Adam tell me what's really up with Tom."
"You can't stand here and tell me you have no clue what's going on with Tom." I said to her.
"A clue about what?" she asked.
For Tom's own good and as his best friend, I felt I had no choice but to be straight with Julie. If he wasn't going to tell her, I had to. "You see it's like this, Tom has the hots for you. He always has but could never find the nerve to say anything."
Julie looked at me with a cold angry glare, exactly the same look she gave me back at the hotel. "How could you do that?" she asked me.
"Do what?"
"Betray his confidence like that?" I just stood there, blank. She asked me to tell her what's wrong and then gets pissed at me for telling her; women.
Julie left the club, presumably to go after Tom. I decided that my work here was done so I went to the bar and ordered a Heineken. Finally, I had some alone time.
"You're in my seat." From behind me, I heard a most sensual feminine voice. I hope she's attractive, I thought to myself as I turned around. She was indeed.
"Didn't you see my purse on the bar?" she asked as her long brown hair fell off her bare shoulders, compliments of a strapless dress.
"Please except my humble apologies," I told her as I stood up from the bar stool. "How can I ever repay you for the inconvenience that I have needlessly caused you? A fine beverage perhaps?"
The brunette couldn't help but laugh at my exaggerated charms. "I'll have a grasshopper," she said as she sat down.
"I'm Adam," I reached out and awkwardly offered to shake her hand.
Damn..what the hell am I doing? You don't shake a woman's hand. I was supposed to take her hand and gently kiss the top of it.
"And I thank you for the drink," she replied, never once making eye contact with me, or shaking my hand.
A challenge!
Tall brunettes were always my weakness, but this one made my knees shake. She must have been twenty three, no, twenty four. I looked her over from her gorgeous long brown hair to her succulent toes that were visible through the tip of her open high heel sandals. She was five-foot seven, one hundred and twenty pounds. I considered myself an expert on the feminine physique.
"So which one these handsome guys is your personal slave for the evening," I asked her. "Wait," I said. "I'm sure I can tell you which one it is."
"Fine," she replied. "But if you're wrong, I want you to go away."
"And if I'm right?" I asked.
"Then I'll go out with you on a date. That is what your after, isn't it?"
I wanted a little more of an instantaneous reward, but a date would be just fine. I scanned the bar, checking to see which guys were looking at her. I placed my arm around her shoulder as I concentrated. She gently shrugged my arm off of her. This was getting more interesting by the moment. Guys were looking at her, after all she was gorgeous, but none of them seemed jealous. She tricked me! She was here alone or with some girl friends. I turned in front of her and smiled.
"I know which guy is your personal slave for the evening," I said confidently. "But first, I'd like to raise the stakes."
"I'm not sleeping with you.....ever," she replied, "so don't insult me with a lude comment or the bet's off."
"I wouldn't dream of it," I said. "I'm not that kind of guy."
"Of course you are," she replied with a grin.
"I'll prove it to you. If I'm right, then we leave now for our date."
"Okay," she replied. "Which guy is it?"
"Any one you want."
Once again, she laughed. "You're funny," she said, "and rather sweet."
"Sweet?...Did you just call him sweet? No he isn't!" yelled a voice from behind me. It was Tom. "This man is a back-stabbing, insensitive loser who only wants to sleep with you tonight and then never call you again!"
Of all of the bad timing! Tom continued, "While I'm outside trying to save my friendship with Julie, you're here picking up the best looking girl in the place. How could you?"
What kind of a point was Tom trying to make? Was he angry at me for spilling the beans about his undying love for Julie or because I was getting it on with this gorgeous creature? Silly question, it was obviously both.
"Is Julie ok with everything?" I asked him.
"Is she ok with everything?" he repeated. "She shouldn't have to be ok with anything! Why would you do that to me?"
"I did it for your own good. At least now she might look at you differently." Tom clenched his teeth to keep from screaming.
"So what did you say to her?" I asked.
Tom took a few deep breaths. "First I told her that you were just causing trouble, being Adam, and then I told her that I had no feelings for her that way. I was just upset because I thought that if she was free, she would have gone with me to the movies."
"That's the way to make yourself appeal to her," I said, very sarcastically. "Way to be a man!"
"Shut up," Tom said to me.
I turned back to look for the brunette that I had been cruising, but she was gone. I was actually disappointed. There seemed to be something different about her. Maybe it was her confidence that appealed to me or the classy way in which she carried herself. She definitely was not the kind of woman you come across every day. Pretty and sexy women were everywhere in Southern California. This one was special. At least she could have been. A night with her would have been something, I thought to myself as my mind remembered her long legs, her sensual lips and her deep mysterious eyes.
"We're even now," I said to Tom who didn't appear satisfied that he had just destroyed my chance at paradise.
"This isn't even the beginning," he replied. "I really liked Julie and you've ruined it for me."
"Let's get out of here," I said to Tom, "too many bad memories."
Even Tom had to laugh at that comment.
"Wait," the bartender said to me. "The lady left this for you." He handed me a napkin.
You won the bet. 555-0108. Betty
Tom peaked over my shoulder. "I hate you!"
So there it was, the end of the most important day of my life. You could say this was the beginning of the story but looking back on it I now call it the beginning of the end.