Chapter 5: Wasted on You
"You looked like you were having fun out there," I said while awkwardly stirring the punch. "I'm guessing when you said that Chloe was really nice, what you really meant to say was that you liked her a lot. And you got mad when everyone kept telling you that she was the worst person alive."
"I just don't want to judge people without experiencing it myself. People are always so quick to judge even when they don't know the person." Carver started scooping punch into two of the red plastic cups.
"I guess that's an admirable trait to have."
"Here," he handed me one of the red cups. "Cheers!"
We clinked our cups and right as I took a sip, I gagged.
"Oh my god, is this what alcohol tastes like?"
"Whoever made the punch has a heavy hand." Carver opened the fridge and grabbed one of those emerald green bottles and handed it to me. "Here try this one."
Looking at the bottle, it had one of those crimped metal caps. I tried to twist it open but ended up giving myself friction burn on my palm.
"How the hell do you open this?"
"You need a bottle opener for that," Carver chuckled. "Let me help you with that."
Carver took the bottle opener from the dining table and popped off the bottle cap.
"Oh," I said dumbfounded. "I-I knew that!"
Bottle in hand, I took an overzealous gulp and gagged again.
"Oh god this is worse! It tastes like bread, drinkable bread. Why does it taste like bread?!"
"No one drinks it for the taste. It's a cheap way to get drunk."
"I don't think I'm the kind of person who likes alcohol."
"Maybe, maybe not. Let's see if I can change your mind."
Carver started rummaging through the cabinets and eventually pulled out a stout glass bottle with a round cork with a lime green ribbon tied around the neck. Then he brought his attention back to the fridge and started to poke around. He took out a lime and placed it on the island.
"Okay so we got a lime and tequila. Oh and we need salt too." Carver then twisted off the cap from a nearby salt shaker. "Okay I think we got everything. Fang can you grab a couple of shot glasses from the cabinets?"
"Shot glasses?"
"They're tiny cups."
Tiny cups? I started searching through all the cabinets for tiny cups. I wasn't really sure what I was looking for until I found a row of glasses that looked like they belonged to a miniature set. I grabbed a couple and set them down.
"Is this what you're looking for?" I asked tapping on the rim of the glass.
"Perfect!" Carver said as he started to pour the crystal clear fluid into each of the glasses. "Now lick your hand."
"What?" I asked looking at him strangely.
Lick my hand? Who says that?
"Like this," Carver placed the top of his left hand up to his lips and licked up slowly on the patch of skin between his thumb and the rest of his fingers without breaking eye contact. "Then we take the salt and sprinkle it in that spot I just licked. You got all that?"
Honestly, the only thing I had on my mind was Carver licking his hand in slow motion on repeat. I'm stashing that memory somewhere safe.
"Fang? You there?"
"Hm? Yup, I-I got it. Lick my hand then salt the spot. Wait why are we doing that?"
"It's part of the process. I'm going to cut up these limes real quick while you figure out how to lick yourself," he laughed again.
"Oh ha ha, very funny. I think I can figure out how to lick myself," I said as I licked the very same spot but on my own hand. "See!"
"Good boy," Carver said as he handed me a slice of the lime. "Now what you want to do is lick, shoot, and suck."
"Do what now?"
"Lick the salt, shoot the shot, and suck on the lime. What did you think I meant?"
"W-What? Uh no, just wanted to make sure I heard you right," I lied as I sprinkled salt onto my hand. "So lick, shoot, then suck?"
"Yeah, watch me."
That's exactly what I did. I watched as Carver lapped up the salt on his hand, knock back the shot, and sucked on that lime. What I wouldn't do to be that lime right about now.
"See, easy. Now come on, it's your turn."
"Oh right right. So just lick, shoot, and suck. Okay got it." Putting my salted hand to my lips, I licked then shot back the shot. "Oh god that burns!"
Suddenly, Carver took the lime from my hand and placed it between my lips. "Don't forget to suck," he said with a wink.
I sucked on the lime and realized it wasn't that bad, it was actually really good.
"I think I found my drink. What's this called?"
"It's a tequila shot, but you should probably just stick with the one."
"But it's the one thing that I actually like drinking. Why can't we do another one?" I asked grabbing the tequila bottle.
"It's your first time and it's hard liquor. We don't know how well you can handle your liquor. You could be a lightweight for all I know. And tequila isn't something you want to take lightly."
"But it's such a small amount. You're probably just exaggerating," I said as I poured us another round. "Or are you just chicken?"
"Fang, you really don't want to do this. It hasn't hit you yet but when it does--"
"Blah blah blah, just drink!" I said passing him his shot.
We slammed a few more shots and by then I was really feeling the mood. As I went to pour another round of shots, Carver pulled the bottle away from me.
"Oh no, you're cut off. I should have stopped you at two but I really have to cut you off now."
"Mm okay, that's fine. I feel pretty good now," I said as I started jamming out the music. "Oh my god, it's Taylor Swift! I love this song! Let's dance!"
I quickly took Carver's hand and pulled him to the dance floor. Everyone was staring at me but for some reason I didn't care. Let me be frank, I don't know how to dance. It's not like I've ever had a reason to know how anyway.
"Shake it off, shake it off," I sang while flailing around the room.
"What the fuck is going on here?"
I turn to see Chloe fuming.
"Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?" she asked.
"Dancing duh!" I then took Chloe by the hands and started shaking them up and down. "Dance with us! It's fun."
"Let go of me right now, Fang!" Chloe said snatching back her hands. "Carver why did you leave me when we were dancing? I thought we were having a good time. I thought you liked me."
"I do like you Chloe, I just wanted to check up on Fang," Carver turned back to me. "Chloe and I are going to go talk for a bit. I'll be back okay?"
"Yeah sure, shoo shoo," I said losing myself to the music.
I don't know how long I was there cause I was breaking a sweat and I no longer knew what was being played. Everything just seemed to meld together, the chatter, the music, everything. It wasn't just the sounds though, everyone around me just started to weave in and out. The whole room was spinning; it was really disorienting and for some reason I couldn't make it stop. Not like I cared too much for it though as I just wanted to keep moving. Suddenly I felt the warmth of someone cupping my face.
"Fang, are you okay?"
"Is that you Lulu? Come dance with me," I said as I wrapped my arms around her waist.
"Oh great, you're drunk," she sighed. "What did you drink?"
"I think it was called tequila shots. Carver and I had a two...or was it three shots? I don't really remember. Speaking of, have you seen Carver? We never finished our dance."
"I'm sorry Fang. I saw Chloe take him upstairs to her room. I don't think you want to know what's going on in there right now," she said trying to deter me. "Anyway, I think it's time to take you home. You're drunk."
"Drunk? I don't think I know her. Does she go to our school?" I asked.
"Okay, Fang I need you to stay right here. Don't move. I'm going to go find Dante then we're going to take you home okay?" Lulu quickly left in search of Dante leaving me alone to own my own terrible decisions.
I didn't listen because once Lulu was out of sight I stumbled upstairs in search for Carver. Once I got up, I started opening all the doors and peeking in hoping to find him. There were a lot of doors and on more than one occasion I walked in on people doing the deed. Talk about awkward. Just when I thought all was lost, I came across a door with sign in bold red stencil letting stating "Do Not Enter." This had to have had to be her room. I pushed my way in and saw Carver lying on his back on the bed with Chloe on top of him in the middle of pulling off her top.
"Oh fuck. This isn't the bathroom," I said as my eyes started to water.
"Wait Fang, this isn't what it looks like," Carver pleaded as I slammed the door shut.
Oh god, now I definitely don't feel good. My stomach was churning and I could feel my gag reflex working into overtime. I needed to find a bathroom pronto. Luckily there was a bathroom right next to Chloe's room. Rushing into the all white bathroom, I instantly purged into the toilet bowl. I see now why Carver cut me off earlier. I haven't felt this bad in well...ever. It felt like I was puking out my guts. It's safe to say I no longer like tequila. As I was puking out my guts, both Carver and Lulu burst in.
"Fang are you okay?" they said in unison.
"I don't think I like tequi--." Note to self, don't speak when you're puking out your guts.
"What is wrong with you? Why would you let him drink too much?" Lulu argued.
"Hey, I tried to cut him off after the first one but things got out of hand. But I did cut him off after the fourth one."
"Four shots? Were they at least spaced out?"
"Uh more like back to back. Thinking about it now, I should have been more assertive."
"Ya think? Look at him!"
Just like clockwork, Chloe barged in.
"Carver! You left me again! I was about to give you everything!" Chloe complained. She then looked around and saw what was happening. "You left me for this? For him, again?"
"I'm sorry, Chloe. Fang needs me. Rain check?"
"Rain check? Are you fucking kidding me? Get out! All of you get the fuck out of my house!" she screamed as she stormed out of the bathroom. I could hear her stomp back to her room and slamming the door shut.
"I'm sorry Carver. I ruined everything," I mumbled as I stumbled across the floor.
"Hey don't worry about it. I'm more worried about you right now," Carver reassured me. "Lulu, take his left. I got his right."
Carver and Lulu slowly lifted me off the floor and helped me out of the bathroom, down the stairs, and out of her house.
"I got him. You should head back inside. I'm gonna take him back to my place. I live down the road from here."
"Are you sure? I just need to find my cousin and he can drive us back."
"No, this is all my fault. I'm gonna take responsibility for him now."
"Okay I'm going to trust you but make sure to text me when you get home," Lulu said as she reluctantly walked back towards the party. "If anything happens to him, I will kill you though."
"Okay Fang, I think it'll be a lot faster if I carry you like last time. Are you okay to hop on my back?"
Carver knelt down as I sluggishly fumbled my way on to his back wrapping my limbs around him. "Giddy up, cowboy," I giggled as I nestled my head into his broad shoulders.
I really do enjoy being this close to him. It makes me feel safe. But honestly, any time closely spent with him makes my heart flutter.
"Hey you okay up there?"
"I'm always good when I'm with you," I muttered.
I don't know why but I was feeling rather truthful all of sudden like I didn't mind letting him know how I felt. Maybe this is a side effect of alcohol. They should change the name to truth serum.
Eventually, we got back to Carver's house and Aunt Jackie was no where in site but Grandma Aggie was was still relaxing on the porch.
"Looks like someone's had a good night. Is everything alright?"
"I may have given Fang a little too much to drink," Carver said avoiding eye contact.
"Why don't you take him inside? I'm going to call Jacquline and let her know that Fang will be spending the night here."
"Thanks Grandma," Carver said as he walked inside. He continued to walk in until he got to his room. Carver sat onto the bed and gently placed me in his bed. As he turned around, I grabbed his hand.
"I'm just going to get you a glass of water. I'll be right back," he assured me.
"Do you like me?" I asked gazing into his hazel eyes.
"Where's this coming from all of a sudden?"
"I-I like you Carver. I like you a lot but seeing you with Chloe...I-I guess you could say I got jealous. But I guess I'm not your type. I didn't mean to ruin things for you."
"Hey, don't worry about it," Carver whispered rubbing his thumb against my cheek. "I like you too, more than you know."
"You do? But what about Chloe? The way you were dancing with her and then when I found you two in her room, I--"
"I thought I liked Chloe but I couldn't stop looking at you when I was dancing with her. And I know what it looked like but I promise it's not what it looked like. I was trying to tell her I didn't want to but she's one of those girls who doesn't take no for an answer."
"You promise?" I asked sleepily.
"Yes and you're definitely my type. I'm glad you told me. I was starting to think you didn't like me back," he chuckled. "But you're drunk right now. Let's see if you remember this in the morning. Goodnight Fang." Carver then kissed me softly on the cheek as I drifted off.