The Vault

Sweet Tequila Sunrise - Jimmy Page Fic (requested)

March 28, 1975 - Los Angeles, California, USA

I'd never really been one to go out and party all the time. Don't get me wrong, I love to let loose and just have a fun night with my friends, but sometimes I just get a little overwhelmed by night clubs. The strobe lights, the mass amount of sweaty bodies hypnotically swaying to the beat of whatever the disk jockey decided to play, the overwhelming amount of drinks to choose from an even more overwhelming bar, while a highly annoyed and judgemental bartender awaits your order with peircing eyes…

All in all, night clubs aren't entirely my thing. So when my roommate and best friend, Emilia, nearly begged me to come out with her tonight, it wasn't very surprising that I was bombarded with copious amounts of doe-eyed stares and pleas of 'come on, just this once!'. 

I was starting to think that 'just this once' was going to be my downfall with this girl, just as it has been over the past three semesters of school that we've shared together, since we've decided to move into our apartment together, that is. 

"Come on, Summer! Just this once." Em grinned deviously as she pulled me onto a leather bar stool, thrusting a shot-glass filled with a clear liquid towards me. A small plate holding a slice of lime and a salt shaker were passed in my direction as well. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she was begging me to do a shot of tequila with her. 

"Em… Do you even know how to do a shot of tequila?" I laughed, rolling my eyes as she paid the bartender for the two shots she just purchased. I thought about my last encounter with tequila and tugged nervously at the black mini skirt which clung desperately to my hips. 

"No, but I know you do." She giggled. "Come on, tech me. I know you don't like to get too drunk, so this will be the last shot I make you take. I promise!"

She was right… After an accident my first semester, involving an unbelievable amount of cheap vodka and shitty beer, I, Summer Jones, hated getting drunk. In fact, I almost never did it. I would always limit myself to at least one shot, if shots were being taken, or one drink whether it be a beer or a mixed. 

"Please? Please, Summer? Please, please, please?" She begged me, her bright blue eyes shining softly in the glow of the lights near the dance floor. "You know… After all that's happened with Jason, I deserve a good night out. I need to forget about him and the only way to do that is if you teach me how to take a god damn shot of tequila…"

Giving into her puppy-dog eyes, I looked at my best friend with sympathy… She clearly wanted to have a fun night. She was right, after all - she deserved it. She just caught her boyfriend of four years, Jason, cheating on her with some high school girl.

"Fine," I laughed, licking the back of my hand before pouring a little bit of salt on the wet patch I created. "First, you put salt on your hand like this, then you lick it, take the shot, and then suck on the lime. Got it?"

"Got it!" She giggled mischeviously. "Ready?"

I nodded and was about to take the shot, raising the glass to my face, when someone from the other end of the bar caught my eye. He was handsome, devastatingly so, with dark hair that fell to his shoulders in wild, untamable curls, and eyes that shone with the brightest shade of green I've ever seen in my life. My Grandmother once had a beautiful jade necklace that sold at an auction for nearly five thousand dollars - that necklace couldn't compare to this man's eyes. He had a small, crooked smile that could make anyone go weak at the knees. He seemed so farmiliar, though I couldn't tell quite where I've seen him before. But sure enough, he was the type of man that every girl wanted, and every guy wanted to be. And he just so happened to be staring at me.