Squeezing the frosty, wet bottle in my left hand, I shuffled back into the living room to watch the band for a bit, having been abruptly sidetracked before. On the floor in front of them, I now noticed a jar with some cash in it and a sign taped to it that said, SUPPORT THE HONEYS, BITCHES. I guessed this was what Kat meant about opportunities to donate.

Leaning against the wall across from the three Girl Scouts, I scanned the space. A couple of happily buzzed dancers swayed on the carpet. A few other folks crisscrossed over each other on the couch, having one of those hilarious, intense drunk talks. Out on the enclosed porch, the mood seemed a little different—strings of lights set a cozy scene, and a few couples were taking advantage of the mood lighting to get their make-out on. I watched them a little too long before I realized I was being a creep.

Just as I was getting a little hot under the collar and beginning to wish for a hookup of my own—I was only human and it had been a while, after all—a person I didn’t recognize appeared beside me with a sandwich board shaped like lips strung over their body. It read KISSES FOR A DOLLAR. TONGUE FOR TWO. They leaned in and bobbed their eyebrows at me. I couldn’t help but smile. Tempted, but not really a public-display-of-affection kind of girl, I let them kiss me on the cheek and slipped a dollar into an opening between the painted lips, wondering where exactly it would land.

I kept myself moving, walking across the living room and back through to the foyer. I poked my head into the room across the hall, which was blurry with skunky smoke. An intense game of Pin the Tail on the Roller Girl seemed to be taking place, complete with a life-size cardboard cutout of Lena skating, butt out, primed for pinning. Though watching these folks try to stick a tail made of rainbow-colored synthetic hair to Lena’s ass was entertaining, I moved on after a minute or so.

Following the hallway around behind the back of the staircase, I discovered an open door to the basement. The stairway was mostly dark, but I could see a dim red light at the bottom. Enticed by the mysterious red glow and hoping it was a sign of something improper, I started making my way down to it. The music from upstairs dulled a bit, a relief to my ears, which had begun to feel like someone had clapped their open palm against them repeatedly.