He looked as if he’d been slapped and I left him that way. I realized halfway back to the couch that I forgot the whiskey. Kent had moved back to Jen, his face still pale. I huffed to myself. I was glad he was feeling some of the pain I’d felt earlier. Served him right for ruining our tradition. I topped my cup off and then joined Stacy on the couch.

“Want some?” I held my cup under her nose so she could smell it. She turned away with disgust.

“God, no! Why would anyone want that? I want Schnapps.” She looked over one shoulder and then the other and then back to me. “Did they have Schnapps?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea. I just picked up the prettiest bottle.”

Stacy gave me an odd look and then shrugged. “Ah well, I’ll have something later.” She settled back against the couch and sighed happily, “I have a good buzz going right now.”

“Why do you smoke pot? It smells like shit,” I said. “Like, literally, shit.”

“So does that shit.” She pointed to my cup.

I held it to my nose. It burned, but it certainly didn’t smell like poop. “It does not!”

She grinned. “To each their own.”

Kent and Jen slowly made their way over to the couches. Jen took a hit off the bong and Kent stayed next to her, rubbing her back as he stared off into space. Every once in a while she’d pull him into the conversation but he was somewhere else.

I finished off my second cupful of whiskey and was headed back to get more when Sadie yelled, “Truth or Dare time!” I tripped over myself and caught onto the bar with both hands. I whipped my head around and stared at the little group. Really?

Chapter Sixteen

It didn’t matter that I’d tried to hide behind the bar, Stacy found me anyway, cup in hand. “Come on, Elly. It’s your turn to get even with that bitch,” she snickered in my ear as she pulled me back towards the group. “Elly wants to go first!”

My eyes were wide as I looked at the grinning faces. I shook my head, “Oh, no, I was just suggesting that we um, spin like a…” The alcohol was making my brain fuzzy and I struggled to find the word for the long glass thing that beers came in.

Kent, with his straight-laced self, came to the rescue, “Bottle?”

I pointed at him and nodded so hard I felt like I might fall over. “Yes! A bottle.”

Sadie giggled, “I love that idea! Nerdy guy…” She was speaking to Kent, “Jen’s boyfriend? Go get us an empty beer bottle.”