those years between us

[16] RAISE OUR CUPS

  "OH MY GOD," I giggled as I tapped Camille's puffed up cheeks, "your cheeks are so pinchable. Oh my god you're so cute, Cami. Cami, the most adorable little girl in the world. Cami!"

  Besides us, Dean watched with utter amusement. "Is this how girls usually act?"

  "She's so cute," I told him, though my eyes were still trained on Camille. "Such pinchable cheeks."

  "Can I try?"

  "No!" Both Camille and I cried out at the same time. I turned to glare at him, and he held up both hands in mock surrender.

  "Jesus Christ. Calm down. Fine. I won't."

  We sat in a VIP booth at the club that belonged to Lance's brother, staring down at the dance floor below. Lance and Savannah had disappeared a while ago—I must admit, Savannah didn't seem to be the fondest of Camille. I'd pointed this out to my best friend a while back, and she'd agreed. It was probably how good friends Camille and Lance seemed to be, but Camille had already told me she was keeping her distance. I trusted her. But either way, they'd already gone, alongside a mass majority of the other kids that Lance had brought along.

  Orion had sent himself on a mission to acquire us drinks a while ago, though how he'd managed to carry back four glasses was a mystery. So far, he had not returned, so Camille, Dean and I remained sitting there, overlooking everything.

  Neon lights covered every inch of the club. My eyes had almost been destroyed the moment I'd stepped in, and I was slowly starting to get used to it now. That, and our booth was darker than the rest of the club, and far away enough from the nearest speaker that my ears weren't exploding yet either. A DJ was hyping up the crowds below, our friends' sweaty bodies probably among them, but it was rather difficult to seek them out.

  The only nice thing was that the air conditioner was set high enough it didn't feel hot. It was December, but Hong Kong was never truly cold, and there were so many people. I felt like I could get trampled if I went on the dance floor, which was why so far, I hadn't.

  And for once, Camille seemed to agree that it might be a slightly better idea to stay up here with me until the crowds started to disperse a little. Not sure how long that would take, but we were sure it would happen eventually... right?

  I wasn't a Lan Kwai Fong regular—which was expected, since I'd only turned eighteen less than a year ago and most of that time had been spent in the UK. But everyone had heard of Lan Kwai Fong. In the heart of Hong Kong were these narrow streets and alleys, crammed with people every weekend night, a mess of fluorescent light, cigarette smoke and glasses chiming as they were knocked together. The sound of talking, laughing, all amalgamating into one epic fantasy. It seemed different from the rest of the city somehow.

  The street was popular with expatriates, so there were plenty of foreign faces among the natives in the crowds. Lance's brother must make a fuckton if he was able to afford such a large place at Lan Kwai Fong. And just looking at this crowd...

  Jesus Christ.

  Camille threw her head onto my shoulder. "I actually came here once before," she told me. "Remember Eric?"

  "Eric Ou?"

  "Yeah, him. He threw his birthday party during the summer holidays, remember?"

  "Oh, I didn't go, I was in Japan on holiday then."

  "Yeah, I know. Well, after the birthday dinner, a bunch of us decided to come here. Celebrate him finally becoming an adult and joining us in the loser's club, you know. We came here for a while."