Last Stop This Town by David Steinberg Page A

away from all the hookers and con men please?”
    “I found the queen the first two times!”
    “We’re almost at the Brooklyn Bridge,” Dylan noted. “You want me to see if it’s still for sale?”
    Noah laughed and changed the subject. “Look, it’s still early. Let’s just find some place to hang out.”
    “And get some food!” Pike reminded them.
    “We can ask for directions or get a new map or whatever,” Walker tried to convince Dylan. “But I’m tired of driving around in circles.”
    “Okay, okay,” Dylan gave in to the majority will, then added under his breath, “What a bunch of girls.”

    Dylan parked on Bleecker Street in the heart of Greenwich Village. They all got out and Dylan said, “Everyone remember where we parked.”
    The Cube beeped locked and they headed out.
    The guys walked around for a bit to get the lay of the land, and soon the guys found themselves on MacDougal Street. Greenwich Village was a fun part of Manhattan that the guys had never really explored on previous trips into the city with their parents. It didn’t have as many desperate weirdos as the East Village, but it was still a lot more eclectic than back home. NYU students, young gay men, and visiting hipsters crowded the narrow streets filled with cool beer halls, funky clothes stores, and trendy cafés. The warm weather really brought people outside and the fun vibe of cool, young people everywhere was intoxicating. It felt like no matter which way they turned, something was happening . It was like a music festival. Or Spring Break in Cabo… at least according to MTV.
    Suddenly, Dylan announced, “Two o’clock, check it out.”
    It was a group of five super-hot girls their age.
    “Let’s see where they’re heading,” Dylan suggested, and immediately changed directions to intercept them.
    “No, come on,” Pike whined. “You said we were gonna eat. I’m starving.”
    “You’ve just got the munchies,” Noah said dismissively.
    But Walker took Pike’s side in this debate, saying, “I could eat.”
    “Fine,” Dylan replied quickly, keeping his eyes on the girls. “Go grab something. We’ll meet up with you later. I’ll text you where we are.”
    “Cool,” Pike agreed and he headed out with Walker to find some food.
    Dylan turned to Noah, happy to be temporarily free of the dead weight of Pike and Walker. They were great to have around 99% of the time, but when it came to stalking prey you needed to travel light, and one wingman was plenty. “Come on.”
    Dylan started running after the group of girls and Noah ran to catch up. As he got within shouting distance, Dylan slowed down and got their attention. “Hey! Hey.”
    The girls stopped and turned around. They looked roughly eighteen, dressed a bit fancy, and seemed rich. Dylan guessed they were from Manhattan or maybe Long Island. Either way, he could tell just from looking that these girls were up for some fun, and it was actually a lot easier to convince five girls to get crazy than just one or two.
    Noah let Dylan take the lead, of course, and Dylan didn’t let him down. “Hey, I’m Dylan,” he began. “Listen. We are totally lost. We were supposed to meet some friends but we’re not from the city. Can you help us out?”
    The girls looked them over.
    Leah, the cute one with short brown hair that fell over her eyes, answered. “Where are you supposed to meet them?”
    “Where are you guys going?” Dylan avoided a direct answer.
    Becky, the tall one with the long hair, said, “Element.”
    “That’s the name of the place,” Dylan continued fabricating. He turned to Noah and asked, “Element, right?” for added credibility.
    Noah played along. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that sounds right.”
    Dylan smiled and waited. He knew that’s all he had to do.
    Finally, the first one, Leah, suggested, “Do you want to come with us?”
    But Dylan surprisingly played it coy. “I don’t know. Our girlfriends might get jealous.”
    Noah