Sail Away [COMPLETED]

Chapter 5 - "You came to the right place."

Ty held her tray of drinks close as she skirted along the edge of the room, carefully weaving in between bodies. Most were moving in time to the heavy beat of the music pulsing in the air, but some were swaying to their own intoxicated rhythm.

Her gaze moved about the club, her eyes accustom to the dark setting and the flashing lights. She could see the Hamilton party at their VIP table, spread out along the plush couches. They seemed to be easing into the night with a few drinks before they took to the dance floor.

Hudson was back in a morose, disinterested mood. He was seated among a group of guys, but his attention seemed to be anywhere but their conversation.

Ty's course was set in their direction when she caught sight of a small huddle near the DJ stand. She might have missed them altogether if it wasn't for Anders's white blonde hair that almost turned neon under the lights.

The rest of the group was indistinguishable from her distance, but she had a feeling Johnny was at the center. Sure enough, as she got closer she could see Johnny's tall form in the middle. He was holding a piece of paper out for everyone to see.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Everyone looked towards her quickly with guilty looks until they realized who was talking.

"Ty, what's the name of the tall blonde in the pink dress?" Johnny asked, his attention already back on the paper in his hand.

"You brought drinks!" Nico said, reaching for the tray.

Ty moved the drinks out of Nico's way but grinned. Nico was talking to her again. "You won something."

He smiled smugly. "Johnny came up on deck during his lunch break and I made twenty dollars."

She shook her head. Johnny loved the game, but the game didn't love him back. They both looked at Johnny as he spoke passionately to some of their co-workers. "What kind of bets has he concocted for tonight?"

"Just the basics. Number of drinks per person, who gets on the dance floor and who doesn't. Who ends up with whom at the end of the night," Nico explained.

As he spoke, he tried to be sneaky and reach about Ty's back to grab a drink, but he wasn't smooth enough. She gave him a threatening look as she moved the tray out of his reach.

"What?" he asked innocently. "I just want one."

"No," she said.

"Ty, do you have that name for me?" Johnny asked. Ty didn't know what name he was asking about and after a moment he grew impatient and moved on. "We'll call her the lady in pink. Who has drink count for her?"

"Oh, drinks!" Anders said, appearing next to Nico. He reached for a glass but Ty held up a hand.

"These are for the Hamilton party. I need to deliver them." As she turned, Nico and Anders rushed to block her path.

"Just give us two drinks. They won't miss them," Anders reasoned.

"Two missing is nothing compared to a large amount of drinks they will be consuming tonight," Nico added.

"No," Ty said firmly. Nico's eyes got big and his expression went soft as he pulled out the puppy-dog pout. Ty began to shake her head. She had given into way too many things because of that look. "No," she repeated firmer and headed for the VIP table.

Hudson was the only member of the Hamilton party to notice. When she handed him his glass, he looked at her like her mere presence was a mercy and his eyes lingered on her as she kept moving around the group.

As Ty moved about, she couldn't help but notice a small group of ladies whose attention seemed to be darting to Hudson every five seconds. Hudson for his part seemed completely oblivious about it.