Kenzie & Friends

The bar feels slower. More social. Groups lean against counters underneath glowing blue shelves while bartenders move nonstop through crowds of people ordering drinks and laughing between songs.

Honestly, your brain’s still partially stuck back on the dance floor.

Specifically:

dirty blonde hair,

tiny denim shorts,

and Kenzie grinding backward against you underneath flashing lights.

Then you spot them immediately.

Kenzie and her friends are still together, still loud, still somehow complete chaos even while standing still at the bar. And fuck, they somehow look even hotter after dancing.

Kenzie leans against the side of the counter laughing breathlessly at something Lexi says while making absolutely zero effort to fix herself after the dance floor. Messy blonde hair hangs around flushed cheeks underneath glowing blue lights while sweat still glows softly against tan skin from dancing. The black tube top hugs tightly around her breasts while soft cleavage still shows every time she throws her head back laughing.

And somehow?

The tiny denim shorts sit even higher now than they did earlier.

The bottoms of her ass cheeks still show underneath the frayed denim every time she shifts casually against the counter. She still hasn’t fixed them once all night.

Lexi stands beside her somehow still operating at maximum energy despite nearly dying on the dance floor twenty minutes ago. Tiny red top. Gray cheeky shorts. Heavy eyeliner slightly smudged now underneath the lights. She laughs loud enough that several people nearby glance over automatically while gripping Maya dramatically mid-story.

Maya still somehow looks the most normal out of all of them despite being fully absorbed into the chaos by now.

And Ava—

yeah.

The second Tony notices Ava again, he immediately tries pretending he didn’t.

Which completely fails because Ava notices him almost instantly too.

Just another quick glance underneath the blue bar lights.

Small smile.

Then she looks away casually while sipping her drink.

Like nothing happened.

Like she didn’t just make the man short-circuit internally.

“She definitely liked you,” Rob says immediately after spotting Kenzie.

“You think every girl likes everybody.”

“She literally threw ass on him for forty minutes.”

“That’s fair,” Chris admits.

Meanwhile Tony stays suspiciously quiet beside everybody.

Which honestly?

At this point says enough by itself.

“You guys are pathetic,” Chris mutters quietly.

“We’re victims,” Rob corrects.

Then—

Kenzie notices you.

Immediately.

And fuck.

The reaction hits instantly.

Her entire face lights up the second she recognizes you standing there with the guys.

Not subtle.

Not cool.

Genuine excitement.

“Oh my GOD,” Kenzie says loudly while grabbing Lexi’s arm immediately. “Dance-floor boy survived.”

Lexi turns instantly.

“HE LIVES.”

You laugh automatically while walking closer underneath the glowing blue lights.

“Barely.”

Kenzie grins immediately.

And honestly?

The way she looks at you now feels completely different than earlier.

Not just random dance-floor chemistry anymore.

Recognition.

Familiarity.

Like she already mentally filed you under:

fun.

“You disappeared,” you say.

Kenzie points dramatically at you.

“YOU disappeared.”

“You literally left.”

“You also left.”

“That’s because YOU left.”

Kenzie stares at you for one second.

Then bursts out laughing again.

“Okay fair.”

The energy immediately clicks back into place like the dance floor never actually ended.

“You dance suspiciously well for a man,” Lexi says accusingly.

“That sounds sexist.”

“It IS sexist,” Maya replies calmly.

“Thank you,” Lexi says proudly.

Meanwhile Ava casually shifts slightly closer toward Tony while pretending to listen to the conversation happening around everybody else.

Nothing obvious.

Nothing dramatic.

But enough that you notice Tony suddenly becoming way too interested in his drink for a second afterward.

Coward.

Kenzie takes another sip from her drink while still smiling at you underneath the blue lights.

Then suddenly:

“You guys should drink with us.”

The invitation comes out completely naturally.

Like she assumes the answer’s already yes.

And honestly?

At this point it basically is.

Immediately the two groups start blending together underneath the bar lights.

Not awkwardly either.

Naturally.

Like the dance floor already did half the work earlier.

Conversation starts bouncing everywhere at once.

Lexi somehow dominates half the discussion by herself while Maya keeps correcting her exaggerated stories. Kenzie keeps ending up pressed lightly against your side whenever the crowd squeezes tighter near the bar.

At one point she reaches across you toward the counter for another drink and her hand settles briefly against your chest for balance.

Neither of you acknowledges it.

But she doesn’t move away immediately either.

And fuck.

That somehow feels more dangerous than the grinding did earlier.

Because now the energy feels warmer.

More familiar.

Like the two of you already skipped past awkward introductions completely.

Meanwhile across the group, Chris finally decides to awkwardly attempt flirting.

“So uh,” Chris says while looking toward Maya, “you want another drink?”

Maya looks genuinely surprised for a second before smiling politely.

“Oh— I’m okay,” she says carefully while lifting her current drink slightly. “Still working on this one.”

And instantly everybody understands what happened.

Not rude.

Not awkward.

Just:

not interested.

Lexi notices immediately.

“Oh NO,” Lexi says dramatically while grabbing onto Maya laughing.

“I respect the attempt,” Maya says honestly.

“I got nervous,” Chris mutters defensively.

“You shot a jumper and bricked it,” Rob replies immediately.

“At least I shot.”

Meanwhile Rob himself remains fully locked onto Lexi all night.

Which would probably work better if Lexi had literally any awareness of what effect she was having on him.

But she doesn’t.

At all.

One second she’s grabbing onto his arm laughing at something stupid.

The next she’s talking directly into your face.

Then dancing against Kenzie beside the bar for half a song because she heard a lyric she liked.

Meanwhile Rob watches all of it like a starving Victorian orphan seeing bread for the first time.

At one point Lexi grabs his shoulders dramatically while laughing at some joke.

The man visibly stops functioning.

Kenzie notices immediately.

Then leans closer toward you laughing quietly.

“He’s DOWN horrendous.”

“It’s honestly hard to watch.”

“I kinda respect it though.”

“You would.”

Kenzie laughs again before taking another sip from her drink.

Then eventually—

somewhere between another round arriving and Lexi loudly demanding a song request nobody can hear—

the girls finally finish their drinks.

Kenzie looks around the group thoughtfully afterward before shrugging casually.

“You know what?” she says.

Everybody looks toward her.

“We should leave.”

Lexi points dramatically.

“YES.”

“Where?” Maya asks.

Kenzie shrugs casually.

“I dunno. Somewhere we can actually drink without getting shoved every three seconds.”

Before anybody else can answer—

“Our apartment,” Rob blurts out immediately.

The entire group looks at him.

Even he looks surprised he said it that fast.

Then Lexi grins instantly.

“Oh my GOD apartment afterparty energy.”

Kenzie bursts out laughing.

“That was IMMEDIATE.”

“I’m efficient,” Rob replies proudly.

And honestly?

The idea catches way faster than it probably should.

Maya shrugs first.

“I’m down.”

Lexi immediately raises both hands.

“I wanna see how men live.”

“You absolutely do not,” Chris mutters.

Ava laughs softly beside Tony.

Kenzie looks back toward you afterward, still smiling underneath the glowing blue bar lights.

“You down?”

Before answering, you feel her fingers brush lightly against your arm underneath the crowd.

Small.

Casual.

But intentional.

And fuck.

It’s the first time all night she’s touched you outside the dance floor.

The first time it feels less impulsive.

Less accidental.

More:

I’m choosing to stand close to you specifically.

“Yeah,” you answer immediately.

Kenzie grins.

“Perfect.”

And somehow the second she says it—

the entire night suddenly feels like it’s about to become a much, much worse idea.

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STATUS UPDATE

Confidence:

91/100

Intoxication:

66/100

Attraction:

95/100

Emotional Connection:

31/100

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