K Street's Second Shift

Monday, 1 a.m.

Temperatures hover in the 20s, but Marquesha Brown is wearing only black spandex pants and a white tuxedo blouse unbuttoned between her neck and navel as she smokes a cigarette outside kstreet lounge.

"K Street is cool," says Brown, 28, a licensed massage therapist who lives on Andrews Air Force Base. "The DJ is good. That's always a good party."

The club is on the ground floor of One Franklin Square, a prestigious address housing such corporate names as IBM and international law firms including Reed Smith. The interior is techno-modern verging on antiseptic: Colorful lights illuminate the high ceilings, and the white walls are mounted with flat-panel TVs. At this time of night, the open floor is packed, with most people shouting lyrics to such hip-hop favorites as Flo Rida's "Low."

Women are admitted free tonight, but there's no shortage of men paying the $20 cover. Brown discards her cigarette and flashes the wristband that indicates she's a big spender.

She joins six friends at one of the 25 sleek rectangular tables, where champagne and vodka are poured from bottles servers deliver in iced buckets. The good stuff comes flashing with sparklers.

Bottle service is the latest fad in club culture, and tonight it comes with a $700 minimum tab. Tab minimums fluctuate: On a busy weekend, they can be as much as $1,500.

Celebrity appearances elevate the clubs' profiles -- as well as the table prices -- and Sundays on K Street attract a particular type of high-profile player. Like Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, who popped in for an impromptu birthday bash at kstreet in early January.

"We were playing cards, and I decided to come," said Arenas, who pulled up in his black Maybach.

Soon after, Clinton Portis and other Washington Redskins arrived. Many are regulars.

"On Sundays, we attract a lot of ballers," said Dominique Moxey of Mad Power Unit, which promotes Sunday nights at kstreet.