Julian had been unable to get the night off work, so he was late arriving to the party. He'd considered skipping it altogether, but some friends of his had pressured him into making an appearance. He pushed his way through the mass of bodies dancing in the living room. He nodded to a few people he recognized, but he didn't see any of his friends.
Near the bar, Marcus intercepted him. "Hey man, good to see ya," Marcus said, thrusting a beer into Julian's hand.
"Looks like your party's going pretty well," Julian said, almost yelling just to be heard. "I could hear it from three blocks away."
"Dude, you gotta come downstairs," Marcus said, leading the way in hopes Julian would follow. "That's where the real party is going on."
Julian took one last look around for his friends. Not seeing t
