Inside, the club was mostly empty. As if the throngs waiting outside had been nothing but an illusion. I leaned over to Sophie. “If there's no one in here, why the hell do they have everyone waiting outside?”

Sophie laughed. “Image, darling. Only about a quarter of those people will get in because they have the cash to bribe the bouncers. And don’t forget, most of those people are coming for the larger club. This area is more exclusive and private.”

“But what's the point? Wouldn’t they make more money if they just let everyone in?”

Faith and Sophie smiled at me like I was the village idiot. Finally, Faith said, “Honey, this club has members that pay a pretty penny to keep the riffraff out. Besides, it's a hot spot for OK magazine darlings and the royals. The princes have partied here, so have the princesses and lesser aristocracy. Princess Alicia was spotted here last week. You can’t let the general public in with them. It would be pandemonium.”

I blinked. “And Jasper’s DJing here? He must be really good.”

Sophie shrugged. “He is. He creates beats for some local UK artists too. He’s starting to get big.” My friend assessed me shrewdly. “You’re starting to pay more attention to him now, huh?”

A quick laugh burst out of my lungs. “No. He’s lovely, but I don’t buy the flirtation for a minute. I won’t be spending any time in his, er, DJ booth.”

Sophie cackled. “Don’t let him hear you say that. You’ll only become even more of a challenge.”

“Oh, fantastic.”

Faith joined us with three shots in her hands. “Okay, ladies, drink up. These are courtesy of Max and the boys at the bar.”

I stared at the purple liquid. “What is this?”

Both of them laughed, and Faith just said, “I don’t think you want to know.” Raising her glass to the two of us, she added, “To Abbie. Welcome to London. And to the three of us, together again!”

“To us,” I muttered before tossing back the violet liquid. Surprisingly, it went down smooth and tasted remarkably like grape juice. It wasn’t until several seconds later that a warming sensation started in my belly then slowly spread to my extremities, making me instantly relaxed and a little numb. “Jesus, Faith, what was that?”

“They call it a Post Orgasm. Makes you feel loose, huh?”

“Loose is one word for it.” I couldn’t feel my fingertips.

Sophie grabbed the glasses and deposited them with a barback who moved through the crowd. “Come on, girls, it’s time to dance.”

Now dancing, I could do.