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</div>“I don’t know, lads.  I don’t feel this is quite the place for us, yeah?”  Corey said, shifting his shoulders a little uncomfortably as he looked around, his voice necessarily raised to reach his two mates over the thumping music.  Standing just off the side of the dance floor, Corey peered around the room, and the stupid ladder in their way that was supposed to make it look like a pool, and definitely felt he was out of place.  It was Corey’s twenty fifth birthday and two of his best mates, and not coincidentally flatmates, had decided to show him a good time and picked the Club Tropicana right in the heart of London to do it in.<br/><br/>While Corey considered himself a fair dancer, not to mention a man who liked a drink or two and certainly some good scenery, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all a bit fancy for him.  On top of that, it had cost a bloody mint to just get in the door, and it wasn’t like the drinks were cheap to compensate.   Luckily, the first two rounds had gone to his friends wallets instead of his, and his current third drink had been provided by the pretty hula girl waitress when she heard it was his birthday.  Glancing at the gyrating bodies in front of them though, Corey knew it would likely take him a few more rounds before he ventured out there, and pretty soon the goodwill would stop.<br/><br/>“Bloody fucking hell would you look at that…” His mate Colin breathed in awe, snapping Corey out of contemplating what the cheapest drink in the place was.  Turning to follow his friend’s gaze, Corey had to admit that Colin, normally the horniest bloke you were likely to meet, had every right to speak in such tones of reverence.  Standing at the bar, and currently leaning over it in an extremely dangerous way, was about the most perfect female form he had ever seen.  And considering the Tropicana’s usual clientele, that was saying a fair bit.  “That’s a pretty bird alright, no doubt about it.”  Corey said in amazing understatement, watching as the girl in question turned to survey the club while she waited for her drink.<br/><br/>“Yeah.  ‘Pretty’.  That was the adjective I was thinking of.”  Myles leered, rolling his eyes at Corey’s description.<br/><br/>“You should go talk to her, Cor.”  Colin exclaimed, elbowing his friend in the ribs and waggling his brows while Myles nodded in agreement.<br/><br/>“Bugger that.  She is probably with some bloody giant, or a gaggle of girls.  I don’t know which would be worse.”  Corey replied, begging off.<br/><br/>“No mate, she just came in<i>alone.</i>Doubt she stays that way for long.  Hell, I’m giving you first crack, Birthday Boy, but if you aren’t going over, I am.”  Say what you would about Colin, but he was never one to pass up any opportunity, and Avery was looking like quite literally a shining one.  “Plus, if things go wrong you can always pretend you work here, wearing that shirt as you are.”<br/><br/>“Alright, fuck off.”  Corey said, half a laugh in his tone.  “I’ll go, but you owe me another round when she laughs in my face. Each”  Downing his drink so he would at least have an excuse to be approaching the bar, Corey made his way the short distance to where Avery stood waiting, the walk feeling like it took an hour.  Setting his empty down on the bar, Corey suddenly felt that he was standing kind of close to the sparkly tall drink of water, but he had to be heard over the music, so there was no helping it now.   “Hey...there.”  Corey said, smiling in greeting.  “Can I buy you a drink.  Er, that drink.  The one that you ordered.”  He attempted, mentally cringing at every word.