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When we reached the bathroom, three girls
walked out and it was just the two of us.

“Did you see how riled up Gary got when he
thought we were lesbians?” said Krystal, laughing.

“So did Brian. He likes you, you know.”

She smiled. “Do you think so?”

“Of course.”

“Jason was staring at you. I’m sure he likes
you.”

“I can’t see why. I look like I’ve been through
a tornado,” I said, grimacing at my reflection. My hair was all over the place
and my makeup definitely needed to be touched-up. I pulled out my brush and
began using it.

“Sorry. I should have told you. It’s been like
that ever since Raptor threw you over his shoulder. What was that like?”

“What was what like?”

“Having that gorgeous creature carry you into
the back room. For a minute there, I thought you two were going to go at it.”

My eyes widened. “You mean have sex?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t even know him.”

“Who cares? A guy as hot as him has got to be
fantastic in bed.”

I smiled. “Probably.”

“He gave you his number, right?” she said as
two girls walked into the bathroom and began talking quietly in the corner
about some guy.

“Yes.”

“Are you going to use it?”

“No,” I said, lowering my voice.

She smiled. “Maybe I should use it.”

My jaw dropped. “What would Tank say?”

She shrugged. “I’d make Raptor keep it to
himself.”

“I doubt it. They’ve got this bond… He started
telling me about it.”

“Yeah. I know. They’re ‘brothers’ because the
club and stuff,” she said as the two girls left the bathroom. “The truth is
that I’m pretty sure if I hit on Raptor, Tank wouldn’t just break up with me.
He’d hunt me down and beat the shit out of me.”

“Seriously?”

She smiled grimly. “He’s got a temper. They’ve
all got tempers.”

“Maybe you should break up with him.”

“Like I said earlier, I’m thinking about it.” Krystal
reached into her purse and pulled out a small white vial of powder. “By the way,
Tank scored me some coke for my birthday. You want some?”

My eyes widened in shock. “No. I didn’t know
you did that shit.”

She shrugged. “Just a few times. Tank said that
this is the really good stuff. Are you sure you don’t want to try some? It’ll
wake you up and make you want to dance all night.” She giggled. “It even makes
you horny.”

I stared at her in disbelief. Where was my
friend that used to complain about her mom smoking pot? Now,
she
was
snorting coke? “You know I’m not into that crap and I didn’t think you were
either. Let me guess, Tank is also the one who introduced you to it?”

“Yeah. So? Don’t make a big deal out of it,”
she said, stuffing it back in her purse as someone walked in. She turned around
and headed for the largest stall. “Don’t go back without me. I’ll be done in a
minute.”

Sighing, I went into the other stall, did my
business, and then washed my hands. A few seconds later, Krystal stepped out of
her stall and quickly washed her hands. Our eyes met in the mirror and I could
see that she was already beginning to feel the effects.

“What?” she asked, frowning.

I just shook my head.

“Don’t be a buzz-kill,” she reapplied, pulling
at a paper towel. “Seriously.”

“Whatever. You know how I feel about it.
Anyway, it’s your life.”

“You’re right. It is. Let’s go,” she replied,
walking out of the bathroom.

When we made it back to the table, I noticed
that Jason and Tiffany were on the dance floor, their hands all over each
other. Thinking he’d been attracted to me, I felt a twinge of disappointment. I
brushed it off and concentrated on the drink the waitress had brought, and
listening to Gary ramble on about how his girlfriend had left him, the week
before.

“Your girlfriend left you?” repeated Krystal,
knocking her knuckles on the table. “Why?”

“She thinks I have a drinking problem,” he said,
smiling sheepishly.

Krystal tilted her head and smiled up at him. “Do
you?”  

He shrugged. “No. Maybe. I don’t know. I’m in
college. I’m supposed to get drunk and have fun, right?”

“Exactly… I’ll drink to that,” she said and
then quickly drank half of her cocktail. She set it back on the table and
shuddered. “Whoa, now that’s what I call a good fucking Mai Tai.  Hey.” She
looked at Brian, who was standing next to Lucas, and talking about football.
“You want to dance?”

“Sure,” he said, smiling. He set his drink down
and then held out his arm. “Don’t hate me if I step on your toes.”

She stood up and slid her arm through his. “I’m
not worried about it. Monica?” she asked as a new song started, something with
a faster beat.

“No, I’m fine right here,” she said. Monica
hated dancing.

Krystal looked at me and I shook my head.

“I’ll dance with you guys,” said Gary, setting
his drink down as a new song started. “I love this one.”

“Okay, Gary. Let’s go, boys,” said Krystal,
holding onto both of them. She looked back over her shoulder as they began
walking toward the dance floor. “The rest of you are all a bunch of party
poopers!”

We waved at her.

“Have fun!” I hollered.

“Looks like she’s been partying enough for all
of us,” replied Monica, twirling her straw around in her glass.

“Oh yeah,” I answered.

“It’s her birthday. That’s the point, right?”
asked Lucas.

“True. Hey, where’s Amber?” I asked, as Lucas
sat between us.

“She left,” they both said at once.

I frowned. “Why?”

Monica shrugged. “I don’t know. Something about
Paul.”

“Oh.”

“So, it’s just the three of us, Party Poopers”
said Lucas, smiling as he leaned back in the chair.

“Why aren’t you out there dancing?” I asked.

“Two left feet,” he replied. “What about you?”

“I don’t know. Just not in the mood, I guess.”

He nodded toward my cocktail. “Drink up. I’m
sure that will help.”

I smiled and picked up the glass. “Thanks for
the drinks, by the way.”

“No problem. Jason bought this round. You want
a shot? I’ll get you one.”

“No. Like I was saying earlier, I need to be
careful. I’m driving.”

“Are you always careful?” he asked, his dark
eyes sparkling.

I could tell that Lucas was flirting with me
and he seemed like a nice guy. I just wasn’t interested. “When I need to be.
Like now.”

“Fair enough. What about you?” he asked Monica.

“I have a son. I have to be careful.”

I could tell from the look in his eyes that she
was marked off of his “To Do” list.

“So, tell us a little about yourself, Lucas,” I
said, trying not to yawn. It wasn’t even eleven and I was already getting
bored.

“Not much to tell,” he said, looking toward the
bar. “Oh shit.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, turning to see what he
was staring at. There was a girl with two guys ordering drinks at the bar.

He smirked. “Guess you could call her an
ex-girlfriend,” he said, nodding toward them.

“The girl with the two guys?” I said.

“Yeah. She’s completely nuts. If she sees me,
she might freak out, which, I guess, is my cue to leave. I’m going to go and find
Jason,” he said, getting up. “Let him know I’m leaving.”

“Okay. Well, it was nice meeting you,” I said,
feeling bad that his Ex was so crazy that he couldn’t even be in the same bar
with her.

“Yeah,” agreed Monica. “Sorry we didn’t get a
chance to talk more.”

“Another time, maybe,” he said, looking at the
girl again. Then his eyes met mine. He winked. “Enjoy yourself, tonight.”

“Thanks,” I replied.

Still watching the bar, carefully, he took off
toward the dance floor, leaving me and Monica alone.

“Boy, that was weird,” said Monica. “He’s obviously
afraid of her.”

“She must be a real head-case,” I replied.

“You never know. He might just be saying that.
We don’t know him, either. He could be a real asshole.”

“True.”

She yawned. “I’m getting tired. I was up with
Max early this morning.” Max was her five-year-old son. “He wasn’t feeling
well. I hope I’m not coming down with anything. That’s all I need.”

“I hear you,” I said, taking another drink of
my cocktail. “Wow, this is strong.”

“Don’t drink anymore of it, then.”

I pushed it away. “Maybe I won’t.”

“I envy you,” she said, sighing. “Not that I
don’t love Max, hell, you know how much I adore that little guy, but there are
days when I wish that I would have been more careful.”

Monica had gotten pregnant in high school and
the boy who’d knocked her up, hadn’t wanted anything to do with the baby.

“I’m sure. Thank goodness your mom didn’t freak
out when you first told her about Max”

“She’s great. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t
know how I’d have managed.”

“You would have found a way. You’re a lot more
resourceful and independent then you give yourself credit for.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Still, I wish I could give
him more, you know? He deserves it.”

“He has his mother,” I said. “Who loves him and
that’s all he really needs. You’re doing great.”

She smiled.

“Plus, look at it this way, you’ll still be
young when Max is old enough to get into a bar. You can buy him his first
drink, and everyone will say what a hot MILF you are.”

She laughed. “Right.”

“He really is a great kid,” I said, thinking
about his round little cherub face. “So sweet. You’re lucky to have him.”

She nodded. “He is sweet. He must take after me
because his father is a douche bag.”

“Yeah he is,” I said, feeling a little dizzy. I
put my hand up to my forehead. “Is it hot in here or just me?”

“It’s a little hot,” she said, looking around.
“But look at how many people are crammed into this joint.”

“It’s packed, alright,” said Jason, who was
suddenly standing next to me. “And there isn’t anywhere to move on the dance
floor, there are so many bodies out there, now.”

“Hey,” I said, looking behind him. “Where is
Tiffany?”

“She’s dancing with Brian, Gary, and your
friend, now,” he said, sitting down next to me. “I needed a break.”

“Lucas left,” said Monica.

He ran a hand through his dark hair. “Yeah, I
ran into him on the way back here.”

Monica yawned. “I’m tired. I think I need some
caffeine.”

“Me, too. I’m feeling a little dizzy anyway.” I
stuck my fingers in into my drink and grabbed an ice cube. “I knew that I
should have went to bed earlier last night,” I said, rubbing it on my forehead.

“Drink your Rum and Coke,” he said, nodding
toward the drink. “That will help cool you off.”

“No. I’m done,” I replied, unzipping my purse
to get to my wallet. “I think I’m just going to go and get a plain Coke.”

“I’ll get it for you,” he said, jumping up.

I looked up at him. “No. It’s okay. You already
bought the drink. I feel bad for wasting it.”

He waved his hand. “Are you kidding? Don’t
worry about it. Would you like a Coke, too?” he asked Monica.

“Yes. Please,” she said.

“Okay. I’ll be right back,” said Jason, walking
away.

“He’s nice,” I said, watching him move around
the busy bar, trying to find an available bartender.

“Yeah. He’s cute, too.”

I nodded and closed my eyes.

“You okay?” she said.

I opened my eyes. “Like I said before, I’m a
little dizzy.”

“There’s a lot of stuff going around,” she
said. “Flu season, you know.”

I scowled. “I hope it’s not that. Last time I
had the flu I couldn’t get out of bed for three days.”

“You and me both,” she said.

Jason returned a few minutes later and handed
us our sodas.

“Thanks,” I said. “I think I really need this.”

“Yeah, thanks,” said Monica, taking her soda.

“No problem,” he answered, sitting back down
next to me.

“I’ll be right back. I need to go to the
bathroom,” said Monica, standing up.

“Do you want me to come with you?” I asked.

“No. I’m fine. I’m going to call my mom, too.
See how Max is doing.”