rtbpdf by Cassie Alexandra

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