BANGERZ 3: ON THE RUN (2017)

30. Cold Water

Hailey and I find an L-shaped booth that gives us a stunning view of the city. The couch is plush and velvety, accompanied by a glossy black table and orange lantern centerpiece. Jason and Cameron join us a few minutes later, clutching our ice-cold drinks and looking like some frat boys with bad intentions.

"Bottle service, head service, I came in first place!" Cameron chants, raising the bottle in his hand and swaggering into our section. He sets a gleaming white bottle of Malibu Coconut Rum and four highball glasses in the center.

"You are so gross," Hailey tells him, wrinkling her nose at his innuendo. "And I thought you were getting us champagne! Where's the Dom? The Ace? The Hennessy?"

"Hennessy is cognac, and none of that is gonna get us drunk. You'll take yo' ass right to sleep." Cameron careens around her long legs and plops down onto the cushions.

I take a sip of my Amaretto; it's an intoxicating balance of sweet and sour, just how I like it. "Oh, I don't know. I had a little bit of Hennessy on New Year's and it fucked me up." 

Jason, who has an arm draped around my shoulders, smirks behind the rim of his glass. Cameron just hikes an eyebrow, his mouth curling on one side, as he starts filling up the glasses with rum.

"A lightweight, huh?" he quips. "Probably saves Jason a lot of money on drinks."

"Not all of us have to get a girl drunk for her to like us," Jason points out. "And TK is just as much fun sober."

Hailey and I chuckle at Cameron's expense; he just scowls and pushes a glass toward each of us. The clear liquid sloshing around inside could've been water, if it weren't for the balmy scent of coconut wafting from the contents. Hailey sniffs her suspiciously.

"I can't drink this without cranberry juice," she declares.

"Don't be bougie," Cameron scolds, even though he paid for an entire bottle of rum, is wearing Versace eyeglasses, and dines regularly at, as Jason told me, five-star bistros. "We're chugging these straight." He glances around at all of us, a dare to challenge him gleaming in his eyes, and raises his glass convivially. "To being a millennial."

I roll my eyes secretly at his theatrical toast before tipping my head back and joining our communal chug fest. The distinct coconut flavor eases the burn of the alcohol, but only a little. It's like liquid fire racing down my throat.

Cameron is the first to slam his glass down, completely drained, followed by Jason, his honey eyes glittering and liquid guilt dripping from his lips. Something changes after we down the liquor, like an electrical current sizzling to life. We all look around at each other with bright, feverish gazes, and slow, stupid grins spread across our faces.

"Shit!" Hailey exclaims, coughing on the aftertaste. "That was so disgusting but so good at the same time."

"That's what she said," Jason grins, making me jab an elbow into his side. He clutches his stomach and leans forward, and for a second I think I've actually hurt him - but he just chuckles and reaches across me to give Cameron dap.

"That deserves another toast. We might as well finish this off," Cameron announces, tipping the Malibu over the rim of his glass. With his other hand he rummages around in his red-white-and-blue-striped cardigan and pulls out a pack of cigarettes. He pats his other pocket and glances at Jason. "You got a light?"