John opened the particularly large doors of the club, holding them open for Erin. They entered, and Erin was dumbstruck. Though not particularly big, or crowded, the club's only clientele were transformees of mind-boggling diversity. The closest to 'normal' anyone got was one of the bartenders, a twenty-something girl with cat ears and a tail. The other bartender was a centaur, and on the stage was a ten-armed naga playing soft jazz on keyboards, bass, saxophone, and drums--the logo on the bass drum read "Cassie's one-woman band".
John nodded to the centaur bartender, hend up two fingers, and led Erin to a corner with low tables, padding on the floor and up part of the wall, and a group of people--very few of them bipedal--watching Cassie onstage. Erin took it all in, barely trusting herself to speak.
They took their seats at an unoccupied table. An armless naga with bluish-white hide was reclining at the next table, her tail coiled around the stem of a margarita glass. She was glaring lightning bolts at the musician. John tapped her on the shoulder.
"Earth to Lauren," he said.
The naga turned to him, set her drink down. "Johnny boy!" she said, brightening. She tousled his hair with her tail, eliciting a goofy grin from him. He hugged her. "I'm a little jealous of her," Lauren said, shrugging a shoulder at the multi-armed musician onstage. "And who's this?" she said, smiling inquisitively at Erin.
Erin held out a hand, which Lauren coiled the end of her tail around and shook. "Erin Cooper, pleased to meet you, she said, strangely comfortable.
"Lauren Stratham, likewise. You know, you're lucky. I've been after Johnny boy for months."
"No you haven't," John scoffed with mock indignance. "You're gay!"
"Got me on that one, Johnny boy. But if I weren't..."
"And what's more," John said, putting his arm across Erin's shoulder, "You've got it backwards." He gave Erin a peck on the cheek. "I'm the lucky one."
