Shanna finished the second pint of spice beer with regret. She had asked the bartender for another, but he said none of the festival bars served anything like it. It must have been something the performers brought in themselves. She was lucky Katie had only taken a couple of swallows before switching to something warmer. Shanna could have drank that beer through the night, thought she probably would have only been able to handle a couple more. She could already feel the effects of the two she had warming her to the point that she wondered if she had overdressed for the cold night.
Jack, Paul, and Katie had already drank enough to join the crowd dancing to the energetic band. The somewhat astounding amount of shots the band had taken from admirers added to the frenetic pace of the late concert. Jack had actually managed to use his insistent charm to spend a good deal of the evening with a fairly attractive festival attendee, although Shanna noticed the apparent mother hen of the girl's friends wryly watching the two as they flirted and danced. Jack probably wouldn't get all he might hope for this evening.
Paul and Katie were getting a little cozy themselves, but it might have been the booze. Katie was the newest addition to their little group, so it didn't completely surprise Shanna that Paul might see a possibility for a little more. Jack and Paul had been like brothers to her since high school. They had all experienced romances with friends in their group, but never with each other. The trip could not have come at a better time for all of them. It gave Katie a chance to bond a little more with the boys. Paul needed a get away from the long hours at his firm. Jack had recently been laid off, and was having trouble finding new employment. Shanna herself had just ended a three year relationship that should have ended two years and six months earlier.
That might have been why she decided to hold back a little. She also really enjoyed the almost sedative effects of the beer. Silly enough, she had also developed some concern for the very nice steins they had come in. Hopefully she could find the girls after the "Trail" walk-throughs ended tomorrow night. They had to want their mugs back. Shanna thumbed the lid flip of one stein with her right thumb. She looked down as it caressed the ornamentation on the end, a silver wolf's head with two garnet looking eyes.
Shanna looked up again as she heard Katie's laughter tinkling above the crowd. Paul had pulled his shirt up over his head to complement his waving monster arms to the band's creatively modernized "Monster Mash." Jack and his new companion had turned the "Mash" into more of a grind, but the mother hen looked ready to swoop in at any moment.
Shanna sighed and looked to the beer steins in her hands. "Well, boys, I think it's time to call it a night." Shanna smiled as she watched her friends enjoy the night. She could take advantage of an early retreat to the campsite to actually feel like a human being for tomorrow. She had sort of planned to wait until after the "Trail" to really party it up anyway. The "Trail" offered better scares if the participants weren't hungover.
Paul had the good timing to look across the field. Shanna thumbed toward the campsite and he acknowledged with a monster wave and a wink. Shanna smiled again as she turned away and started back toward their tents.