Making Friends With Bacardi

"You really should think about having some fun." Alex said, extending his hand out to me.

I rolled my eyes and took it so he would stop bugging me. I was sitting on a picnic table away from everyone watching them drink and have fun. When we first arrived the boys scrambled everywhere, leaving me to stand there alone looking lost.

"You really should think about staying with me." I shot back. "I don't know anyone here."

Alex was now holding my hand and leading me through the crowd of mostly guys. Loud rap music was blaring and everyone was dancing and grinding. Red cups hovered over our heads and laughter surrounded our ears. This brought back memories of high school. There were parties every weekend and Alex always made sure he was there.

"Kayleigh, there's a party in fells point tonight." He would say, giving me pleading eyes. "Please say you'll come with me." I always did. I always went with him. We never left each others sides and always had the time of our lives. Half the time we didn't even know anyone at the parties. Half the time they were college kids but we fit right in.

I was now standing by Alex watching him pour some drinks into two red plastic cups.

Alex was with me the first time I ever took a sip of alcohol. I was staying the night over his house on a Friday night towards the end of freshman year. His parents were both at work and we had no plans. As we were sitting on his couch watching TV, he looked at me with a huge grin on his face. "What?" I said, laughing at him.

"Have you ever tasted alcohol before?" He asked with eager eyes. I sat there and stared at the TV not knowing how to answer the question. I didn't want to look like a fool. "Have you ever gotten drunk before?" I looked at him for a second then looked back at the TV. I knew he has before. The guys were always talking about those few times at lame little freshman parties where they couldn't even get their words straight enough to ask for a ride home.

"No and no." I replied staring at the TV and still feeling him staring at me.

"Are you serious?!" He squealed, hoping off the couch and into the kitchen. I stayed on the couch and stared at the TV feeling stupid. I felt so much younger than him. He had already had a few girlfriends, his first kiss, gotten intoxicated. While I, on the other hand, never had a boyfriend, never kissed anyone other than my family, and never been exposed to alcohol. As I sat there thinking all those things, I could hear Alex in the kitchen. Bottles were clinking together and Alex was mumbling to himself. "Ah Ha!" He said, finding the right bottle and coming back into the living room.

"What's that?" I asked nervously.

Alex just opened the bottle and held it up to my nose. I didn't want to get drunk. I didn't even want to take a sip. The liquid smelled awful and stung my nose. "Bacardi. Just one sip." He begged.

I shook my head. "No." I said as I pushed it away.

"Oh, come on." Alex said. "I'll take a sip too."

"Straight up Bacardi? With nothing mixed in it?" I said.

"Yes but only one sip."

He begged and begged until I finally took a drink. We kept passing the bottle back and forth until it was half empty. "We're fucked up." I simply said as Alex finished the bottle. Alex just laughed, got off the couch and struggled to grab my hand.

Outside we saw headlights pull into the driveway and a car door shut. Alex and I quickly looked at each other with shock. "What do we do?" I whispered.

"Run!" He replied. He grabbed the bottle and ran towards the steps. He tripped going up them a few times but we made it to his bedroom before his mom walked into the front door.

In his room, Alex put the empty bottle in his sock drawer and jumped in his bed. I stood by the door with millions of thoughts running through my mind. What if we got caught? Would Alex say it was his fault? What would my parents say? What the fuck do we do?

"Uh, act like... act like you're sleeping!" Alex told me. He turned the light off and hid under his covers, while I stole an extra blanket from his closet and laid on the floor. We heard footsteps coming up the stairs and it was Alex's mom to come check on us. She opened the door and nothing happened. She didn't say anything or bother us. When the door closed and when we heard footsteps going back down the stairs, Alex turned his light on and we laughed at ourselves hysterically.

We still laugh at ourselves today.

"Bacardi." Alex told me as he handed me the red plastic cup. "Mixed with coke."

"Ah," I said, grabbing the cup. "I remember this. But when I first drank it there was nothing mixed with it."

Alex laughed and shook his head at the memory. "We were really stupid."

I nodded my head in agreement and took a sip. As I swallowed, It stung my throat and I made a sour face. Alex chuckled. "Shut up." I laughed at myself, "I haven't drank in a while." I don't nearly drink as much as the guys do.

"You'll be fine." He told me and took my free hand with his. "Let's dance." He said as we stepped into the crowd full of everyone dancing.

"Wait until this alcohol kicks in." I said, taking a drink. "I look like an idiot when I try to dance while sober."

"You look like an idiot when intoxicated too, what's the difference?" He smirked.

"The difference is, I have an excuse to be looking like a retard when I'm under the influence." I said, taking another big drink.

"Whoa, take it easy girl." Alex said, taking only his second drink from his first cup. I was almost on my second.

Alex's P.O.V

Kayleigh was clearly more intoxicated than I was. She was falling all over the place while attempting to dance to the rap music and I was constantly saving her from falling. I was only a little intoxicated. I could stand and I was aware what was going on around me.

"Ah ah Alexxx." She sang, hugging me. "You're my favorite."

I looked down at her and laughed. "You're my favorite too... kayleigh." I said. She held her cup up to me pointing out she wanted more to drink. "No." I said. "You'll die if you have one more sip."

"Well you-you're the one th-that brought me here." She stammered. I laughed at her and she smirked.

The song changed to a faster rap song and I found Kayleigh dancing all over me. I looked down at her while she was pressing her hips to mine. She dropped her cup and put her arms around my neck. She kept moving her hips around in circles against mine. I dropped my cup too and put my arms around her waist. She smirked up at me and turned around so that her back was facing me. She laid her head back on my shoulder and kept moving her ass in circles against my crotch.

I realized what we were doing and backed away a little. But she moved back to me and placed my hands on her hips again. She put a hand on the back of my head and threw her head back. Her lips were close to my neck and I could feel her warm breath. She moved my hands up and down her body and kissed my neck. I felt myself growing hard.

"Kayleigh." I whispered. She didn't say anything. She just kept grinding on me. I felt the urge to stop drinking. I wanted to remember this night. I wondered how far this could go. I suddenly felt guilty for thinking these things and pushed her off gently. I pulled my shirt down to cover my crotch. "You-you want more to drink?" I asked nervously.

-------

It was time to pack up and go to the next location. I met up with the guys and we all walked back to the bus together. I was carrying Kayleigh since I was the only one sober enough to. She passed out a few minutes before the party was over. The guys were walking slowly to make sure they didn't fall in this darkness and kept hanging onto each other for stability.

We made it to the bus and I sat Kayleigh down on the couch. I took off her shoes, put a pillow under her head and put a blanket over top of her. I've done this many times before and every time she tells me to take her pants off so she's more comfortable. But this time, I didn't because all of the guys were around.

"Hey, I sleep on the couch!" Evan whined as he entered the bus.

"I know." I told him. "But Kayleigh's sleeping here just for tonight. Go sleep in her bunk."

He didn't say anything to me and went straight back to the bunks. All of the guys were in their bunks, or in the back lounge sleeping now, leaving me and Kayleigh all alone.

"Alex?" She whispered as her eyes fluttered open.

"Yeah?" I answered, sitting next to her on the couch.

"I think..." She trailed off. "I think I'm gonna be sick." She finished, hoping off the couch as fast as she could and ran into the bathroom.

I followed and helped her hold her hair back as she hovered over the toilet. I rubbed her back to comfort her and got her a cold wash cloth to place on her forehead to cool her down. She stood up and wiped her mouth with her hand.

I laughed, flushed the toilet and said "Here, I'll help you." I took the cold wash cloth that was meant for her head and wiped her mouth gently. "You okay now?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Thank you."

I smiled and nodded. "Go lay back down and get some rest, okay?"

She did as I said and I followed her to make sure she didn't want anything else. I tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "Can you take off my pants?" She said. I nodded. I did as she said then asked if she needed anything else. She shook her head and I said goodnight. I turned out the lights and I started to walk back to the bunks.

"Alex." She called out. I went back to her. "Stay with me." She said holding her hand out to me.

I took my shoes off and laid on the couch next to her. She covered me with her blanket and buried her face into my chest. I put my arm around her and watched her drift off to sleep. She turned her back to me and I let my arm fall over stomach. I put my chin on her shoulder and kissed her cheek goodnight.

I didn't fall asleep. I just laid there watching Kayleigh's chest fall up then down peacefully in the moonlight. I watched her lips grow into a small smile in her sleep as I pulled her closer to me. I found myself wanting to kiss her but that would be wrong. So I just laid there with her and tried to put all the pieces from tonight together. Wrapped up in all my thoughts from us dancing at the party, I soon fell asleep, realizing that I'm attracted to my best friend.