Lupo

Chapter Two: Tequila Flatliners.

Tito shook his head in exasperation and picked up the little glass between his finger and thumb, further screwing his face into a grimace.

"Ay dios mio!" he cursed, sniffing the the shot and repressing a gag. "Fine, because it's your birthday."

He clinked his glass reluctantly with Darcie's, then tipped his head back and downed the Flatliner in one. The alcohol and pepper sauce burned his throat and he choked, his eyes streaming.

Darcie grinned triumphantly at him through her own disgust and patted his shoulder again.

"Well done." she cooed patronisingly at him as he continued to cough and splutter into his sleeve. "Thankyou."

Tito muttered something lowly in Spanish before showing her the middle finger. "Ah, fuck you!" he joked, wiping his eyes and grinning at her again. "Feliz Cumpleanos!"

###

It didn't take long after that for Darcie to become very drunk indeed. By the time she'd hit the dance floor, the club had reached capacity and there was barely enough room to raise an arm. She was clustered in a small group of friends -including Tim and Minerva -and was flailing manically to a club remix of The Beatles. Tito was elsewhere.

Darcie didn't care. Her head was buzzing and her eyes were not longer registering who she knew and who she didn't. Occasionally guys would approach and attempt to engage with, or grind against her. When they did, Tim would slide a protective arm around her and draw her away.

Ordinarily Darcie would have dealt with such attention on her own, joking about, laughing at or even chastising her admirers; However, she was quietly thrilled by Tim's protectiveness and so allowed him to take control. Minerva, who was wrapped in Dan's arms, caught the look of excitement on her friend's face and winked.

Darcie smirked inwardly to herself as a very drunk, lecherous looking rugby-boy-type began to gyrate beside her. Once again, Tim slid his skinny arms around her waist and drew her away. As his did so, Darcie met the rugby-boy's gaze and shook her head teasingly at him. His Neanderthal crew laughed uproariously at their friend's failure and jeered mockingly; The lecher shrugged and sloped off, admitting defeat. Tim couldn't help but to smirk in triumph. Tightening his hold on Darcie's waist ever-so-slightly, he dipped his head close to hers, his nose and lips almost brushing the side of her face.

"It's hot!" he yelled over the music, fanning his face with his free hand in order to illustrate his statement. "Want to go outside for a bit?"

Darcie felt excitement jolt through her and, grinning, nodded her assent. Tim grasped her hand and began to lead her off the dance floor, elbowing and weaving his way through the mass of surging bodies. Minerva winked again as they squeezed their way past and slapped Darcie's behind.

"Be good!" she screamed at her, before Darcie was tugged forwards again and swallowed up by the throng.