Lisa wobbled a bit, and was careful with her steps across the puddle that had formed from the melting ice. They shook hands and said hello. Lisa pointed her finger at him and wagged it. “I know you. Yeah. I hear you’re a little slut.”
Patrick didn’t waste a moment before replying. “I’m just experienced.”
Lindsey laughed and Lisa did too, but a slight suspicion still lingered in her eyes, which had sharpened on him.
Patrick moved aside so Josh and Lisa could get acquainted, and they did. But not a moment after, her attention slid back to Patrick.
“You know that wasn’t really vodka that they poured for you guys,” Patrick told them, pointing to the luge. “It was Everclear.”
“Shut up,” Lisa said.
“It’s true. You’re gonna be out of control and stripping in like ten minutes when it hits your blood. And you won’t even realize you’re doing it. It’s the ice. It masks everything.”
Lindsey turned and stared at the luge.
“Don’t listen to him,” Lisa told her. She shook her head at him and leaned over to whisper something in Lindsey’s ear. The whole time she was gazing into Patrick’s eyes, her face alive with an almost mystically piqued curiosity.
What exactly had Lindsey told her about him?
He wasn’t completely sure, but there was some sort of bizarre captivation in the girl’s eyes. Lining her up for Josh had just become much more difficult.
“Where’s this stash I keep hearing about?” Patrick asked forcibly. “You’re not going to hold out on us, are you, Lisa?”
“Sorry,” Lindsey said, looking at her friend. “I may have mentioned it to him.”
“It’s my sister’s,” Lisa said, suddenly on guard.
“That’s okay,” Patrick said. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the owners of the manor.”
“Actually, my sister knows you. She’s here, and she’s not too fond of what you did to her friend.”
Maybe Lindsey hadn’t said anything at all. Maybe it had been Lisa’s sister. Patrick stared at Lisa, sizing her up.
“Well, that’s surprising,” Josh joked.
Lisa laughed, noticing him for a small moment.
“I hate when I upset anyone,” Patrick said, sensing that Lisa was lying. She was probably just stalling. “Maybe she’ll forgive me for whatever I did if I drink some of her booze.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Lisa said.
“Thanks for noticing.”
“We can only have a little,” Lisa shot back, laughing. “I’m serious.” She suddenly reached her hand up and grabbed hold of Josh’s head of hair. “That means you too.”
Patrick laughed. “Yeah, Josh, only a little, you fuckin’ lush.” He turned and first swept Lindsey under his right arm and then Lisa under the other, and they giggled as he led them back into the house. Josh trailed behind.
As they walked, Patrick’s hand dangled over Lindsey’s shoulder, his fingertips brushing her collarbone, and she held it excitedly. Lisa had her right arm wrapped around his waist, her hand working—only to the knowledge of the two of them—in the groove of muscle that traced down his hip into his boxer-briefs. She pinched him softly, subtle enough that no one would notice, and Patrick winced from the pain, but didn’t say anything, just gazed down at her with a calm smile. He turned back to Josh to make sure he was still following.
In the commute through the kitchen it was so crowded that Patrick managed to gently push Lisa away and walk on before she could reattach herself. He again looked back to Josh and signaled him with his eyes to do something. Lisa led them down a hallway, past the bathroom, to a single door that people must’ve discovered was locked because it was the only part of the house that was empty.
With Lindsey already holding onto his hand, Patrick uncoiled her away from him into a twirl and pressed her up against the wall. He grazed her lips with his mouth and then rakishly pulled away. Her brown eyes were fully absorbed. Patrick was doing it to make clear who was with whom.
Lisa looked annoyed that she wasn’t getting the same attention. She knocked at the door and then took off her heel and pulled a small key from it. She looked at Josh with a smile, stuck it in the knob, and unlocked it.
They walked into what was obviously the master bedroom. Once they were all inside she locked the door again, sealing them off from the party. There was a great king bed up against the far wall with a seamless black leather headboard, a sectional couch in one of the corners of the room, and next to the wide, thin TV was an erected table lined with eight or ten bottles, chic glasses, and another four or five mixers. There was even a bucket of ice that resembled the ones you get in hotel rooms except made out of a heavy dark wood. And beneath the table was a cooler that Patrick assumed contained jungle juice.
“Sweet mother of God,” Patrick said, surveying the trove of booze. He paused before the table to take in the sight. “It’s Eldorado.”
“Pretty fuckin’ cool, huh?” Lisa said in mutual admiration while standing next to him.
“How is this even possible?”
“My sister’s boyfriend. He owns a small liquor distribution company. He always gets her a hodgepodge of the best stuff. So what would you like?”
Patrick pointed at the George T. Stagg Bourbon and said, “With ice and a splash of Coke to cut it.”
Josh sat down on the sectional couch while Patrick playfully tackled Lindsey onto the bed.
After a minute, Lisa handed them each a glass with their choice of drink and had made herself one also. She turned on the TV to a satellite radio station that played house music. Lindsey leaned into Patrick and he clinked his glass against hers.
Lisa sat down on the sectional couch with Josh. They tapped glasses as well.
Lindsey lit up when she tasted her drink. “Oh my goodness. That’s tasty.”
Patrick took the pint of Jameson from his back pocket, made sure the cap was tight, and tossed it onto the floor. “Won’t be needing that.”
Lisa was assessing the two of them, Lindsey and Patrick, from the couch.
“What?” Lindsey asked.
“Nothing.” Lisa swirled her glass with a mischievous expression and crossed her legs. “Actually, there is something. I want to see you guys kiss.”
Lindsey let out an embarrassed laugh. Patrick took a big gulp of his drink and looked away, not saying anything.
“C’mon,” Lisa insisted. “You drink my good shit. I want something in return.”
Patrick thought to himself for a moment. “Only if I can have another glass.”
“Hey!” Lindsey feigned insult, but was clearly not opposed. “We’ll only kiss if you guys do too,” she added a moment later, proposing something genius that Patrick hadn’t even thought of.
“That seems very fair,” Patrick agreed.
Lisa turned and glanced at Josh, her eyebrow raised. He beamed a smile and shrugged back at her. Josh hadn’t said much, and had mostly been sipping his drink, but Patrick recognized the thrill mounting behind that boyish smile.
“You first,” Lisa urged. “Kiss her, and make it a good one or I’ll kick you out of my party.”
Patrick turned to Lindsey and they locked eyes. “I’m scared,” he said.
“Bullshit,” she replied, and then they moved closer and met in a kiss.
He could taste the cherry coating on her lips and he pushed his tongue delicately into her mouth. The kiss lasted about five seconds, just the right amount of time to get his blood pumping and for her to forget that their friends were watching from only eight feet away.
Patrick took a sip of his bourbon and Coke and waited expectantly. Josh sat up straight and at attention, but Patrick could tell he wasn’t going to do all the work. Lisa would have to meet him halfway, to show she was at least willing. Lisa took a normal sip of her drink, which looked to be some pink lemonade-vodka mix, and then scooted over right up next to Josh so that their thighs were touching.
Josh put his hand around her slender waist and pulled her
forward. Patrick was proud of him in that moment, and Lisa didn’t hesitate in leaning in to meet his lips.
Their kiss lasted longer than Patrick and Lindsey’s had. Their jaws moved slowly and passionately, in fact, even to where Lisa ran her hand through the back of Josh’s shaggy hair. When they pulled away, Josh turned and looked at Patrick, but Lisa kept her eyes focused on him, then reached out and tapped his nose to get his attention. She held up her finger. “One more.”
They kissed again.
Patrick and Lindsey laughed. Josh physically took the drink out of Lisa’s hand and set it on the floor, and then cradled her down onto the couch so that he was on top of her. Their kiss persisted, and Patrick began to feel awkward with Lindsey now looking up at him impatiently. He gave in and kissed her again. Her hand started to move up his leg and he didn’t stop her, but he wasn’t the type to get too wild with others in the room.
During their kiss, there was a faint jingling of keys in the door. Josh and Lisa were still deep in a heavy kiss, his hands moving more and more aggressively over her body and her trying with one hand to respectably keep her skirt from hiking up. Patrick and Lindsey both craned their heads to the door.
“Pssst, pssst,” Patrick hissed, and finally Lisa became alert and broke away to see what was happening.
The door to the bedroom came open before Lisa could quite lift Josh up off her, and a slightly older, yet equally pretty girl who Patrick deduced was her sister came roaring in.
“What the fuck, Lisa?” the girl scanned around and saw all their drinks.
“What?” Lisa replied. “I thought you didn’t care if me and my friends had some.”
“I don’t,” the sister shot back, “but it looks like you guys are doing more than just having a drink. You need to go outside if you want to do that shit. No more sex in my bed.”
Lisa reddened as everyone in the room looked at her. Josh held an especially curious look, like he’d had his moment cheapened a bit.
“C’mon guys,” Lisa ordered, “let’s go.” And they had to all get up and file out of the room while the sister glared at each of them.
Josh held his glass with both hands over his zipper while walking with a hitch. They were forced back into the narrow hallway where kids were still waiting for the bathroom.
As they walked back into the jam-packed entryway of the house, Patrick noticed that Lisa’s sassiness had become an affectionate demeanor. She was even holding onto Josh while they walked, which allowed Patrick to sigh with relief.
Then Patrick stopped. “You think I can go back for my Jameson?” he asked Lisa, now realizing he’d forgotten it when he tossed it to the floor.
She hesitated and then nodded. Patrick dropped Lindsey’s hand. “I’ll be right back.”
He sifted through the people quickly and got back into the hallway. He approached the door slowly and waited a moment with his fist raised inches from the wood, then finally knocked. The sister answered with a glare and then let him in.
He snagged his bottle off the floor and tucked it away in his back pocket. “I wouldn’t have had sex in your bed,” he told her. “That’s just disrespectful, especially after you let us share in your awesome selection of liquor.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” she replied, arms crossed.
Patrick noticed that she looked very much like her younger sister. Beautiful with a great body, but she was older, maybe twenty-five or so. “I’m Patrick.”
“Lauren.”
“Good to meet you.”
She nodded. “I wasn’t worried about you fucking in my bed, by the way. I was worried about that tramp, Lindsey. Two weeks ago I caught her with some guy in my room.” There was a pause. “I’d make sure to bag it up if I were you.”
That made him outwardly laugh, but on the inside he was a bit surprised, though he shouldn’t be after how many times he’d blown Lindsey off. She was young and obviously looking to have fun. It was naive to think she would wait around for weeks, saving herself for him. “I’ll do that, you know, if I end up doing that.”
“I’m sure you won’t have a problem.” Then Lauren added, “She’s fine, really. Just don’t expect it to last long.”
Patrick nodded, appreciating the honesty. After only speaking with her for a few moments, he could already tell that he had more in common with the sister than with Lindsey or Lisa. As he walked back to the door she reached out her hand and stopped him.
“Give me that.” She motioned at the bottle in his back pocket.
He gave her a conspicuous glance and then took out the bottle. She snatched it from him and walked to a short hall in the room which led to a private bathroom and shower. Patrick could hear his Jameson being dumped into the sink and he winced with each gurgle.
She reappeared. “You were drinking the bourbon, right?”
He nodded, confused.
She uncorked the Stagg and slowly and carefully filled up his pint bottle. Once it was topped off, she handed it back to him. “Have a good time tonight.”
He slipped the bottle into his back pocket. It felt right so he went with it. He hugged her like she was his friend and she hugged back. He left the room with a smile and heard the door gently shut and lock behind him.
Something was happening in the entryway, a loud ruckus of yelling voices. Patrick hurried past the people waiting for the bathroom who were also peering down the hall to see what was going on. To his horror, there was a guy about six inches taller than Josh, leaned over him, shouting in his face. Lisa was trying to restrain him, but he was a big strong meathead type.
Patrick felt his whole body tense up and his pulse rise. The guy was on the cusp of violence, now grabbing Josh’s shirt, a thick vein running down his forehead, his face flushed. Everything went into slow-motion as Patrick watched the guy push Josh and then Josh shove him back. The girls were screaming for him to stop. Patrick took two long strides and threw both of his hands into the guy’s back. The guy went flying past Josh, smacked against the far wall, and then fell to the ground. There was a loud thud as the back of his head hit the tile floor.
Patrick didn’t have time to see whether the guy would get back up. He grabbed Josh and hurried him to the front door. And out they went, running full speed down the dirt driveway. Neither of them were fighters, by nature at least. The soles of their shoes crunched on pebbles and then slapped on the asphalt as they ran onto the street. They got to the van in moments, their breaths puffing white in the now cold darkness. They got in, fired up the engine, and peeled out onto the road.
“Take it easy,” Josh told him. “Just take it slow. I think we’re okay.”
Alcohol and adrenaline were coursing through Patrick’s veins, making him feel on fire, ready to kill someone. He’d been attacked multiple times at the bars and so when he went into fight or flight mode, it wasn’t easy to come back down. He was panting and frantically scanning through the windshield for anyone coming at them.
They had to make a U-turn and go back past the party in order to take the road back to town. Patrick held the pedal down lightly, quick enough that only a fool would throw themselves in front of the van, but quick enough that he wouldn’t inadvertently run some innocent partygoer over. When they passed back by the house, Lisa and Lindsey were waiting in the street, waving them down with both arms.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Lindsey was shouting.
Patrick slowed the van so that Lindsey could come around to the driver’s side. “I’m so sorry,” she pleaded. “Don’t leave. Everything’s okay.”
“I’m glad,” he replied. “But we’re gonna head back just to be safe.”
“Can I come with you?” she asked.
“Isn’t your car here?”
She frowned, realizing that it was.
“Just hang out with Lisa. I’ll call you once we get back into town. Maybe tomorrow we can hang out.”
Her shoulders sank down along with her face. She took a step up onto the running board of the van so that she w
as eye to eye with Patrick. “I was hoping we could have fun tonight.”
“We had fun.”
She reached in and rubbed his hand that was still gripped on the wheel. “More fun, I mean.”
Patrick looked over at Josh. Lisa was doing the same thing at the window with Josh, except her way of making it up to him was putting her tongue down his throat.
“Is she for real?” he asked in a whisper to Lindsey.
“Oh yeah,” she replied. “I think she’s really smitten with him.”
“Good.”
Lindsey leaned her head in through the open window and they kissed for a moment.
“You really will call me later?” she asked after they’d pulled apart.
“I’ll text you.”
She gave him a light punch.
He laughed. “Fine, I’ll call you.”
“Okay, I’ll wait up.”
He nodded.
Josh and Lisa finished making out and exchanged numbers. They both said goodbye to the girls and drove off into the night, Patrick making extra sure to obey the speed limit. The lines of the road were blurring together slightly.
“Thanks man,” Josh said, once they’d gotten a ways away from the party.
“It’s no problem. I figured the last thing you needed was to get in another fight, not that it was your fault.”
“I’m glad you did something.”
Patrick nodded. “I would’ve punched him, but you know, I’m a pussy when it comes to that stuff.”
Josh laughed, and Patrick could see that the pain of everything that had gone on in the last few weeks was still fresh in his eyes. He was glad he helped his friend, with not getting into another fight and for helping him meet a pretty girl, but he also felt guilty for almost putting him into a horrible situation.
“I got something else for you,” Patrick said, “just for the ride back, to make you feel better.”
“What is it?”
Patrick dug into his back pocket for the pint bottle. “I got Lisa’s sister to fill it up with Stagg bourbon. Hundred and fifty dollars a bottle, top-shelf shit.” He tossed the bottle onto Josh’s lap.
Josh shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it.”
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