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CHAPTER ONE – MASON

The club is the kind of place I’d have liked back before I knew better Red velvet rope caging in a long line in front, trendy-ish people standing in it, tough guy at the door trying to keep those people out

I never understood this I et the bouncers I’ve bounced many a club inWasting their Saturday night

Don’t they get it? They’re not good enough That line isn’t there because the club is crowded inside, it’s there to keep them out

I want to walk up to every single person standing in this line and shake the fuck out of theo do so this asshole at the door to let them play with the cool kids

That’s not what happens

Instead I shove my hands into the pockets of my jeans, meet the eyes of the bouncer at the door as he unhooks the velvet rope, and slide on past him without comment

It’s a work night I don’t have time to babysit the masses

Inside it’s predictable Too fucking loud Too fucking dark Too fucking hot

And this club is crowded Soabout those assholes in line outside In fact, it’s probably over capacity, so yeah OK I rong about that

But none of my other opinions about this club, or the people inside it, will change tonight That’s for sure

I sigh, glancing around at the hundreds of ood little drones So alike, I can’t even begin to understand o to choose one to take hoht

Most of the ht colors because the beach is just a block over and that’s pretty ht, white t-shirts with a short, perfectly tailored tan linen jacket, rounded out with chinos and boring loafers on their feet

Notmy version of smart casual I have on a button-down shirt, expensive, orn jeans with a black belt, a short cotton jacket pressed to perfection, and black, polished dress boots

Every man in here was chosen at the door to be a part of the scenery because that’s the h I also meet that expectation, that’s not why that bouncer let reased his palm earlier in the day with five crisp Benjamins