Escaping Reality

Chapter 22: Parental Advisory

Nico's house was a little bit of a trek but I wasn't mad, the extra drive time just meant more alone time with Lola. I made sure to put the top of the Porsche down and let the warm Miami breeze blow through my hair. The radio was turned up loud enough to mask our poor singing voices as we belted out the lyrics to hit songs from the 2000s.

A half-hour later we pulled up and I was taken aback. The place looked like something out of a modern architecture catalog. It wasn't necessarily the biggest house I had ever seen but it was certainly one of the nicest. It's all white exterior stood out against the night sky. Lola led me up to the front door as I lagged behind dumbly looking all around me, taking everything in. Nico's parents stood at the door and wore kind expressions. They greeted Lola with a welcoming hug before turning to me.

"Are you new to town?" they asked in unison.

"Yeah, my name is Luke. I'm from South Dakota but I'm in town for a week or so and have been staying at Lola's!" I answered in my most polite voice.

"Well, it's fantastic to have you," Nico's father Dell said. "If you have car keys and plan on drinking we ask that you place them in the basket"

"Sure thing, thanks again for hosting," I said as I placed the keys in the basket noticing the change in his facial expression when he saw the Porsche logo on the key fob.

"No problem, you party animals have yourself a good time now!" Dell said as we ventured further into their luxurious house.

A few people were roaming around upstairs, hanging out and talking but we could hear the music bouncing off the walls downstairs and decided that'd be the best place to scope things out. As we ventured downstairs my eyes had to adjust to the strobe lights and the disco ball that had been permanently installed in their ceiling. Nico had a buddy who was a DJ for a small Miami company and was spinning some tunes for the party.

"He used to be pretty big on Soundcloud," Lola said over the noise, "He's gotten pretty good and is suppose to be signing with a label pretty soon."I

n the corner Nico had a custom made bar with every possible brand of alcohol you could imagine lined up with a designated bartender. Smart move on his parent's part I guess, control what the kids are drinking and how much they're drinking. No wonder everyone loved these kids' parties, this was not your typical plastic bottle liquor house party.

Madeline and her entire posse were there huddled in their little circle. They greeted me with a kind but slurred "Hey Lukkkeee." Hmm, I guess the party last night wasn't an isolated instance - these girls liked to drink. They danced without a drunken worry, it was almost admirable how little they cared what people thought of them. If only they maintained that same attitude without the copious amounts of liquor.

Before too long we spotted Nico and he flagged us over.

"Hey it's Luke right," he asked.

"Yeah, Nico right" I responded.

"Yeah, man. Hey, Jason and Tyler told me about your party last night, I'm sorry I didn't make it. I'm glad you were able to swing through tonight though."

"For sure, you've got a nice place here," I said.

"Wait a minute, where's your drink man?" He said looking me up and down.

"Oh I'm hurting a little bit from last night man and I'm not a huge drinker," I said softly.

"Nonsense man!" he said. "We've got every possible drink here, there's gotta be something you like. It's quality stuff it goes down easy and you'll be feeling alright tomorrow morning I promise. Anything you're dying to try?"