Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“Oooh! So this is happening?” I ask, recalling the shopping cart race from years ago. “Now I’m glad we haven’t started drinking yet!”
Cass grabs another cart, but when he gets a bit wobbly, my mind is flooded with visions of him falling over and all the glass tied in his T-shirt breaking and cutting into his stomach and chest.
I grab his arms, filled with dread. “Wait. I… Is this safe? With all the glass?” I point to his T-shirt.
With one leg already in the cart, he raises his eyebrows, but then his expression softens. He leans in and pats my cheek. “Aww… Mattie, you care!”
I push his hand away with a snort. “Of course I care! It would be a stupid way to die. Impaled by gin.”
Cass gets his foot back to the asphalt. “Okay, let’s skip the cart race. But let it be known… only because you chickened out!” He makes a clucking sound.
I laugh and shove him again. “I don’t care. I’m a responsible adult now!”
Cass shakes his head and pats my back. “Sure, let’s see how responsible you are after you sample these.” He points to the bottles and leads us toward the car.
On my seventeenth birthday, we ended up chatting and sampling all kinds of cereals under a bush between the store where we got them and a chapel, but since Cass’s car miraculously recovered, he drives us to the woods nearby.
The parking lot is empty, and when we open the doors to rest on the flat back seats, I notice the only thing I can hear is the wind. We’re on our own, with several bottles of liquor between us, and when I see Cass pulling out pillows and sleeping bags, I know we’re gonna spend the night here.
It’s perfect.
“Are those because you don’t wanna miss out on rating the drinks?” I ask, shaking the tiny bottle of Jägermeister. Levi might think I’m a dumbass, but I’d never let Cass drive after drinking.
“What amazing powers of deduction you have, dear Watson,” Cass says, chuckling when I jab him in the ribs.
“You ever had this one?” I open the tiny bottle and recoil at the intense smell.
“Not yet,” Cass says and switches on a small flashlight so we can have a bit of illumination for this. He grins. “Should I be your highness’s royal tester?
I spread my arms. “It is my birthday. I love it, by the way. Feels like a sleepover.” And it’s different to what we do at home every night, where each of us locks himself in a separate room.
This is a real blast from the past.
Cass grabs the bottle from my hand and takes a small sample. He blinks before scowling. “Oh Jeez! That’s so herby and pungent. You think Absinthe tastes similar? If it’s even stronger, no wonder people used to have it with so much sugar!”
“Let me try!” I laugh but I have to wrestle him for it. Taking a big sip brings results in instant regret. “No! This is worse than that shitty beer Tim Lawson used to get us in high school, remember?”
I go for the eggnog next, because I need to wash the taste away with something sickly sweet. It’s almost too much in comparison, but we each have several swigs, and while the booze hasn’t kicked in yet, I am already relaxed in the old car, on hard seats, resting next to the guy I’m crushing on so hard I can’t make myself tell him.
“Tim was crazy. I wonder what he’s up to,” Cass mutters, resting his head on the heel of his hand.
I burst with laughter, already feeling the buzz of alcohol. “Oh, he’s in prison. My mom told me. His sister is doing well though. Did I ever tell you…” I stop myself, unsure if I should mention it. I take my time choosing a tiny gin bottle as my next victim.
“Tell me what?” Cass asks. His skin looks so golden in the glow of our little lamp.
“She was the first girl to ever go down on me.” I cover my face in embarrassment, but the gin helps ease my nerves. Its herby, bitter flavor is exactly what I need, and I find myself annoyed that we haven’t bought more of it.
“Oooh, so you also had secrets,” Cassian whispers.
I point to the bottle. “This one’s the winner so far. But back to her, I never told you because… it was bad.” I laugh, and pass Cass the gin, with my sights already set on whiskey. “You’d think it’s an easy thing to do, but we were both clueless.”
A raspy chuckle makes me glance Cassian’s way as he rubs his face against the pillow.
He’s always been a bit of a lightweight when it came to booze. Then again, maybe he already had more than me?
“Don’t laugh! I think she watched too much porn, wanted to really go for it, but then she started gagging, and I got worried that something’s wrong and went soft, so she tried again… Oh, man…” I giggle-snort at the memory, loosened up by the booze. “I shouldn’t have said anything!”