A Touch of Sin |18+|

15

ALANI

One drink quickly became far too many.

An hour had gone by and we were still sitting at the table while Silvana ordered another round of vodka shots. I was a lot closer to being tipsy than I was to being sober and pacing myself seemed to have flown out the window.

My tolerance for alcohol had decreased over the years, and I found that out on my third shot when my head started to feel dizzy

I should probably call it a night and head home.

But it had been so long since I sat in a group of people and had a mindless conversation that I was enjoying it... a little too much.

I laughed, watching Silvana take two shots back to back. Her face contorted into a grimace, her cheeks tinting red while she squeezed her eyes close in disgust. She slammed the glass down, nearly shaking the table with the force of it. Antoine chuckled at his girlfriend's antics, handing her a bottle of water while twisting the cap open.

"That is disgusting." she whispered, fanning herself with her hand while clutching her chest. "Hot. Very hot."

I grabbed my own shot, telling myself that it was going to be last one.

"Go for it, Alani," Fabian encouraged, his French accent heavy as he shouted over the music playing in the background. I grinned at him, raising my glass and softly knocked it with his own. Fabian was usually a slow drinker, choosing to nurse a drink instead of taking shots. Tonight, he decided to join in with the rest of us.

Simultaneously, we raised our arms and threw our head backs—downing the violent tasting liquid. It slid down my throat, sending a burning sensation through my chest. I coughed once, suppressing a shiver. It was Silvana's turn to laugh. Fabian, on the other hand, appeared to be unaffected as his expression stayed the same, and also fixated on me.

"You okay?" he asked me, a charming smile on his lips. He had his arms crossed, leaning on the table while his muscles flexed underneath his t-shirt.

I stopped myself from looking anywhere that I shouldn't already knowing that Silvana would not let it go if I just looked at Fabian a certain way.

"Yes, but I'm done," I answered, waving my hand. "I think Silvana is trying to kill us."

"She is," Antoine chimed in, quickly receiving a slap on the bicep from Silvana.

"I am not," she argued defensively, switching her gaze to mine. "This is nothing. Remember that one party in high school when—"

"Oh my God," I groaned, hiding my face in my palms as I relived the memory. "Don't remind me. I was sick for days."

Fabian wrapped his fingers around my forearm, pulling my hands away. "No, don't hide. I want to know," he said, sending a grin my way. I groaned louder, shaking my head.

"Alani here thought it would be a good idea—"

"Listen," I interrupted her. "We both thought it would be a good idea."

"Okay," she rolled her eyes, lacing her fingers with Antoine's. "You know how you're supposed to dash a hard liquor with something that doesn't contain alcohol?"

Fabian winced, already knowing where the conversation was heading. I almost gagged just thinking about it.

"Our eighteen year old selves thought it would be a good idea to mix a vodka with another vodka because why the fuck not?"

"Why the fuck not?" I repeated, looking at her in bewilderment. "You seemed to have forgotten that you needed to be hospitalised."

Antoine looked at Silvana, a shocked expression on his face. "You never told me that."