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FIVE HOURS had passed, and Valentina was still going strong. Subsequently, so were all her friends. Nancy had retired to lounging on the couch with Jonathan's arm around her waist, though she still held a red solo cup in her hand and occasionally forced her boyfriend to refill it. Jonathan was sporting a cold beer himself. He wasn't a big drinker, but he didn't mind indulging—especially when he didn't have to drive home.
Tina was beyond wasted. In her defense, she didn't think it would be fair to allow the birthday girl to have a drink alone, so she matched every shot Valentina took that she wasn't already taking with someone else. That 'someone else' was usually Steve, who didn't mind the fear of his impending hangover because he'd do anything to stay by Valentina's side all night, even if it meant downing shot after shot of whatever she shoved in his hands.
That's where Steve found himself in that moment, like every second since the one he arrived: at Valentina's side. The two stood chest to chest, dancing in the blonde's living room amongst the crowd, which had shortened in size over the last hour or so. Valentina was planning to kick everyone out within the next hour before her mom would arrive home, and only Jonathan, Nancy, Tina, and Steve would remain, who would all sleep over. It suddenly came to the girl's mind that she couldn't remember if she'd told Steve he could sleep over or not.
Valentina looked up at the floppy-haired boy, her eyes glossy with that drunken kind of gaze. His eyes startled, jumping around the room in the same nature. Eventually, they found hers.
"What's up?" he asked. Her dancing slowed down for the first time in the last few songs, which either meant she wanted another drink or she needed to pee. Or she felt sick, but Steve doubted that was the case due to the smile hanging on the girl's lips. It hadn't left there all night.
Valentina leaned backward as Steve leaned forward, their bodies moving in tandem to the rhythm of Duran Duran. Steve's face came towards her as she asked him, "Did I tell you that you can sleep over tonight?"
Steve's eyes wrinkled as he breathed a fresh smile. "Yes, you did," he laughed, "Several times." Still, his heart warmed the same way it did the first time she told him. When he realized he counted as 'important.'
Valentina's small "Oh" made him laugh harder. She was offended for half a second, then laughed with him. Steve grabbed her hand and twirled her around, her back skimming his chest for a moment until they were face to face again.
Another thought came to her mind: "This will be our first sleepover since '81!"
Valentina's voice boomed over the bass of the music, muffled by the chatter of the crowd but still heavily audible on Steve's ears. His eyes widened. Did she not remember what happened after Tina's party? His face recovered quickly, hoping Valentina hadn't noticed the somber expression that overtook it for a moment. He didn't want to upset her on her birthday. "Yeah, it will," he agreed. In a moment of drunken curiosity, without caution for what would be the response in any other—sober—situation, Steve asked, "What do you make of that?"
