Dare Me More

"Come on chicken," Christy shouted, a mischief smile carved to her mouth. "Just one shot."     Melissa nibbled on her thumb as she looked between Christy and the shot glass filled with clear liquid waiting for her on the small wooden table between us. Red used plastic cups, half empty bottles of liquor and coke, and Uno cards lay scattered in the lounge room of my rented dorm where my friends and I sat, waiting for Mel to complete her first dare of the night for the past five minutes.       Summer night air blew through the gaps of my window, but I wrap my fuzzy throw blanket tighter around my body, and checked my phone when no one was looking, waiting for a text or a call. Ten-thirty-five flashed across the screen instead.      "I can’t," Mel finally said, scooting back from the table. "I hate tequila, it makes me sick. And no one brought chasers with them."      Christy smiled, encouraging. "It’s not going to kill you. Live a little! You’ll be fine. Here, you can have some cranberry juice – well, whatever’s left."      Late-night pop songs played in the background on the radio my roommate had bought when she moved in with me. I hadn’t intended on using it until two-thirds into the night when all of us had jumped on our phones.      Mel hesitated and I could tell she debated if coming over was a good idea. Poor Mel, I thought. If only she had stuck with Truth again, then maybe this drinking game would’ve picked up a lot faster.      When Mel refused again, Mike, Christy’s boyfriend, said, "Hey, we’re here to have a good time. No pressure."     Beside me, Christy groaned. "Fine, if you don't want it, I'll have it." Before anyone could protest, Christy's hand shot out towards the cup and downed it in a matter of seconds.      "Dude," I said, laughter spilling out of me before I could help myself. “Are you trying to get yourself drunk?”      Christy wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before moving to push her cropped blonde hair back. She raised an eyebrow, as if that answered my question, then turned back to the group.      "All right,” she said, filling the glass back up again, “whose turn is it next?”      Mike waved his hand to pass. “I think I’m done with the drinking game; can’t we just stick to Truth and Dare like regular twenty-year-old's?”      Mel nodded rapidly. “I would very much like that.”      “What’s more fun than drinking?” asked Kevin, eating a slice of cold pizza from the cardboard on the floor. I laughed when he began making out with it.      “Thank you, Kev.” Christy filled up another empty shot glass. “We’ve waited too long to have a night in, I’m ready to get hammered as fast as I can. You in, Jacky?”      I hugged my blanket around my shoulders tighter, trying to focus on answering the question but hating how the attention went to me. “I actually agree with Mike, I’m kind of done with the drinking game.”      Christy dropped the alcohol bottle down on the table, her mouth ajar. "You’re never done with a drinking game. Like, ever!"      "I know." My fingers danced along the edges of my phone. “But I have school Monday morning, and I can’t miss out on this lecture.”      "Girl," Christy replied. "You have tomorrow to recover."     I check my phone once more, hoping to see his name pop up. It doesn’t. "I really need that textbook."     "Oh, please," Christy said. "That’s not the only thing you need from him and you know it."     The boys snickered beside me. I stuck my tongue at them. "Cole promised he’d message me once he’s done grading papers. I’ve requested that textbook for months."     Mel asked, "Why can’t you grab it tomorrow? It’s almost eleven."      "Because I needed it for Monday’s class."     Christy shrugged. "So, get it off him tomorrow, when it's morning and people won't care what you do." She grinned and passed me the shot glass. "Come on, girl. I know how much you love drama, but you’re here with your mates. Live a little."     Christy never leads me astray, I thought. I picked up the cold clear shot glass stench in tequila and a promised hangover and sculled the entire thing. My friends cheered me on, except Mel had a grimace on her face that she couldn’t get rid of.       "All right," I said. If Cole wasn’t going to respond anytime soon, I might as well enjoy the night.      We weren’t a loud group by any means, just too open and honest about everything, especially when we got drunk.       Drinks poured out faster, my mind turned mushier and my mouth loosened up a lot more than I’d have liked. I had a lot of restrain when I was sober, but drunk-me was an exception: all she wanted was to keep her company entertained; talk s**t about people without much heat; talk about her crushes and flirt with the person giving her those eyes.       My blanket disappeared somewhere underneath Kevin by the time I downed my fifth shot. Mel sipped on a mixed drink that looked like coke and tasted between a Bourbon and Jack Daniels – a mix I never thought would go well with Mel, but she surprises me every time we catch up – but her pale skin turned to a pinkish flush by the time Kevin was singing off tune to a song on the radio.      "Okay," Christy said, stumbling a little over the word. "Mikey, baby. Truth or Dare?"     Mike slides up next to Christy and poked her nose. "Truth."     "How" – she catches herself before continuing – "On a scale between Jacky and Mel, how drunk are you to say what’s on your mind? You have to answer."     "Oh, a Jacky for sure."      Mike smirked at Christy and I laughed right in her face. "Ha! See, we’re not...we’re not the drunk ones. You have to say what’s on your mind."     "Chicken nuggets!" Kevin said, holding a bag of McDonald's. "Mel, look! You have to come eat what’s in this bag."     Yet Mel was leaning on the wall holding her glass of mixed drinks with a wistful smile on her face, barely paying attention to anyone or anything. Kevin called her name again, and she took another swing, laughing.      Oh, she was hilarious.     "God, you two are off," Christy said, a grin making her way across her face. "Someone should be recording this, they're not going to believe me in the morning."     "To be honest," Mike finally said, "I’m thinking about how a kebab. I’m hungry as fuck."      Christy crawled her way in his lap, his arms snaked around her waist. "I’ve got something else for you to be hungry about."     This was not my scene.     I stood up too fast, spots dancing along my vision. "Okay! Right. You know, as much as I like to watch the flirt happen, we have to do something you guys. We have to have more fun. Make more memories with each other."     Christy’s wavering finger pointed at me. "Then I dare you to call someone and..." She laughed, and I laughed, because this was the best night I've had since I last saw them. "Call someone and tell them they’re sexy."     "I can so do that," I said, stuttering. "But, but my phone isn’t here."      "I have it!" Mel waved my phone above her head, hopping to her feet until she was in front of me. Her mouth twisted in a grimace, then she offered her glass up. "Can you finish my drink, too?"     I felt honoured to have Mel in my life. Sweet, sweet Mel, who wanted nothing more than to love and be loved. I gave her a wet kiss on her cheek. "I got you. I got you."      The mixed drink definitely tasted like Jack Daniels and a blend of tequila, with something warm and smooth, like honey. It hit me fast, it hit me hard.     I broke out in goosebumps. My head pounded as something vibrated next my hand, but I was far too deep in the comforts of where I slept to move. I buried myself deeper. I couldn’t quite explain how comfortable I was, but I knew if I moved, I’d never find the perfect position of sleep again.      Another vibration came from my hand, short and rhythmic, and I groaned. Who the hell would want to wake me up while I’m trying to have a beauty rest? I had the urge to throw my phone. It was so strong and almost overwhelming – and a little dumb since I had just complimented my sleeping position.      The radio’s music in the background increased as did my awareness.        Blinking back the slight sunlight peeking through the curtains that I left open for the parted window, I opened my phone with a blurry vision – and my heart jumped out of my chest.      Cole called thirty minutes ago.      My head peaked up. He called so early in the morning, too. In a rushed breath, I pressed his number to return his call – immediately, it gets cut off. With a quick look at the time I knew why: it was seven on a Sunday morning. I knew he liked to take his Alfo Romeo out for a drive around town, something about him appreciating life the best way many people would take for granted.      I couldn't understand what made mornings worth getting up for. Sleep was a never-ending cycle that I needed plenty of replenishment from in order to start the days ahead.     Disorientated by the sudden expectancy, I pushed myself to a sitting position. Beside me was Christy sleeping on Mike’s arm with mascara lines running down her cheeks. I didn’t remember Christy crying last night – I didn’t remember what happened after drinking Mel’s drink. The blanket I wore around my shoulders covered the three of us on the floor. When I move to stand, my hand landed on Christy’s butt.      "Ow." She groaned like a dog into Mike’s arm. "f**k off, I’m not awake."     I winced. "Sorry. Go back to sleep."      She didn’t respond.      I moved around the small room, checking in on Mel sleeping on my roommates' bed with Kevin on the floor next to her. I groaned to myself in annoyance: I wish I was drunk-smart enough to use my bed.          Tiptoeing around the sleeping bodies was harder than I thought. I picked up sticky empty bottles of alcohol, pizza cardboard boxes and McDonald bags, and chucked them in a rubbish bag, ready to be thrown out. I needed to go back to sleep, the bags under my eyes felt like they were dragging my skin down.       My hand reached for my phone. It hadn’t rung or vibrated since, and my social media notifications were on mute, but I couldn’t shake of Cole calling me. Maybe he wanted to get back to me over that textbook. But if that was that case, why did he call me so early when he knew most of my Sundays were spent in bed asleep?      A message from my roommate popped up on the top of my screen:              >7.15am >Monica: so plans have changed I’m not coming back for another week, dad has gotten worse and I think he needs me here7.16am >Me: yeh all gee, take care6.42am >Cole: you sounded drunk as last night, hahaYou sounded drunk as last night.     My fingers typed before I had the chance to reconsider:             >8.11am >Me: You wouldn't believe me if I told you     A new message popped up on screen, and my heart jumped at Cole's name.     And then I read his text.             >8.11am >Cole: Yeah we should talk