"Now," Suzu brought up the elephant in the room, "We have to make a few changes for the sake of our dear friend, Sarah."
"W-What?! What's that supposed to mean, Suzu?!" She yelled, feeling deeply wounded by her remark. Who did she take her for? A prude?!
"Everyone knows that you are too innocent!" Suzu teased, nudging her on the forearm.
"I-I am not! I-- I've done a lot of... things--!" Sarah said flustered at the reminding of some of them. Her mind instantly froze; she couldn't possibly let them know some of the stuff she has been doing in the past few months with Erik, they would certainly be labeled as kinky and she wasn't sure how they would take in that she was into those sort of stuff. So, she had to think of something fast, "I... I've had my first kiss already!" and yet, that was all she managed to say. Really? Dumbass... who hasn't?
"Ha! Yes, yes! What a grown woman!" Suzu taunted her for long enough.
"Don't mock, Suzu!" She implored Suzu to spare her the embarrassment.
Sam laughed so hard that Sarah thought the whole house was going down. "Pfff--... Nice one, 'ya doofus!"
"A-Anyway... where do you intend to go get the drinks?" Sarah then asked, sure that she had forgotten.
"Here!" From underneath the table, she pulled a box full of vodka bottles. "Ha! I bet you thought that I would overlook this detail... but I have not! So, who's in?"
Sam was the first one to agree to it, "Damien? You in too, right?" and turned the question to his little brother.
"I think I'll pass... I'm not too fond of drinks..." Damien kindly refused but, Sam didn't take a no for an answer.
"Don't be a pussy, Damien!" Sam snarled, "Man up and have a drink with us!"
Damien seemed hesitant at first but, ended up joining the game group.
The game went as Suzu had planed. They were getting drunker and drunker by the second as the questions mentioned out-loud got personal and shady. Honestly, after the 5th shot, it was all a huge blur. Sarah was a light drinker, she usually didn't drink on a daily basis. She pretty much liked to keep her feet on the solid ground, not in the 9-cloud.
"C'moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo guess! Just guess!" shouted Suzu.
"How am I supposed to now???" Sam replied.
Sarah's head fell on top of her crossed arms on the table, 'I feel... so lightheaded' then blinking hard a few times, she tried to make some steadiness out of her surroundings. 'My mind is swirling badly... I need to lay down for a bit... but, if I get up, I'll surely throw up with all this swirling', she looked around only with eye-movement.
Suzu and Sam were sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall with the window just on top of their heads. Suzu's face was as pink as peach, matching Sam's, with only one exception, his eyes were shifting from green to gold. However, he wasn't taking advantage. Good self-control was a great trait for someone to possess.
'Good boy', she managed to thought. Her gaze moved further down to find Damien laying down on the ground. It looked like he was already pass out cold but, he wasn't. He was wide awake, just mumbling some strange, imperceptible words; it was almost like a chant. 'Jesus christ-- scary'
"How am I gonna know which one you have?" Sam retorted.
"Pshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I had BOTH!" Suzu shouted so loudly that a continuous ring, rang in her head, making Sarah shut her eyes tight and cover her ears.
"You had both?!! No waaaaaaaaay!" Sam seemed genuinely surprised.
"Yesssssssssssssssss!!"
"No waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"
"Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!"
And, that conversation went on. 'I need to get out of here', she urged herself to get away from that room and go to another, to simply lay down and rest but, it was no easy task in the state she was in.
"They wanted a three-way so I had to give it to them! And let me say... Best. Party. Ever!"
"I don't believe you!" Sam gapped, "I'll say. Damien." and gave him a nudge with his foot before taking another swing from a seemingly almost empty bottle before continuing to speak. "Do you believe this shit?! She says that she screw this guy and bitch at the same time! Her! Can you believe her?!"
"Hey!" Suzu smacked him on the shoulder. "You doubt that I have the persuasion to do that?!"
"Uh-uh!" Sam sang in a melodious voice while running a finger along the rim of the bottle.
"O-Oh yeah! Want me to prove it, brute?!" Suzu was getting a bit far agitated than she usually got when someone provoked her.
"Yeah! Prove it! Make out with both me and Damien!" Sam challenged her. "Damien, what do you think? Want some free kisses? Or maybe reach third base~?"
Damien, being in the state of almost alcoholic coma, still was able to nod with his head and raise his arm, hand-shaped like thumbs up.
Suzu, if she were found in a normal situation, probably would jump up energetic, but in her physical state, one would think she just wouldn't do it. But, she did try it anyway; ended up stumbling over her feet. "Challenge accepted!" Challenges for her were like drinking water; she accepted without giving a second thought. "I'm legen--... wait for it... --dary! You'll see!"
"You guys are the worst..." Sarah found herself saying, "I'm going to my room to rest, see you guys tomorrow..." then she got up from her chair and exited the dining room almost stumbling and tripping over herself on the way to the mansion lobby. "Hm... I have to..." Not finishing her thought, she looked up and saw how many steps she still had to take to reach her room. "Oh, man... I can't...! What should I do now?!"
While trying to figure out what to do, through her peripheral vision, she noticed a dark, faint figure pacing in the parlor, carrying several boxes from one side of the room to the other. Not having figured out a way to get to the first floor, she decided to pay that figure a brief visit. Once again, she made my way there stumbling ridiculously over herself. Already there, the girl could see that the figure was no one else than Erik. 'Ah! My beloved Erik', she drooled with dirty thoughts washing her mind.
Erik was in a current 'upside-down position', figuratively speaking, a small ledge underneath the fireplace, seemingly looking for something. "Where is it? Where is it?" He kept repeating, over and over.
"Erik~" Sarah decided to call out to him, not understanding why he was not paying her any attention; she was standing there for at least ten minutes for God's sake!
Erik jolted up at the call of his human-given name. Then, he turned around to see who was calling him. "A-Ah... P-Princess... it's just you...! Y-You scared me..."
"It is I indeed! Hehe~" She covered her mouth, trying to contain her giggle. She wasn't definitely in the best state to be able of containing herself. Hell! She hadn't been in control since that 5th shot!
Erik frowned his eyebrow confused, not able to say a word at my unusual attitude.
Feeling audacious enough, she grabbed his vest and, in spite of everything around her feeling unsteady, she was able to firmly pull him towards her, thus pressing provocatively her body onto his as much as she could, "Erik~ I think I must be dying--... 'cause I'm looking at heaven. Help me, Erik!" She voiced between fake, needy short breaths.
"Er... what's gotten into you princess?" His voice sounded troubled for her.
"Your eyes are like two HUGE blueberries! Can I eat them? Can I?! Pretty pleaaaaase!" Sarah's voice came out too childish-like for her own taste.
"You're not making any sense, princess. Tell me, are you drunk?" Erik asked with an agitated and serious face.
"Maybeeeeeeeeee~!" She giggled, no filters. "Pfff-- of course not, you silly~!"
Erik sighed, aware he didn't an answer to that question to know what happened prior to that short interaction. "I leave you for five minutes and this happens... Who got you so tipsy?!" Another sigh escaped his lips in realization. "Did I seriously ask myself that?"
"You're being… ridicu-lush... I-I'm n-not drunk! " The attempt to dissuade him due to him not being in the room was in vain.
"Yes, you are. I can sense the scent of alcohol in your breath." He explained.
"Uh-uh~! J-Just intoxicated by you, Erik dear!" She had a surprise for him; frankly, she was going to wait until they were all alone in her room but, they were alone now so, why waiting and leaving for later? She slowly began removing her Christmas red jacket and tossed it to the near couch.
Erik slightly blushed upon eyeing the very outfit he had gifted his princess early in the evening.
Despite all the blur and confusion in her mind, she still could manage to see he was excited to see me. "Do you like what you see?" The female voice purred seductively in his ear.
He coughed roughly, covering his front with his hand, not needless to say that he tried to hide his excitement for her. "I'm not made of iron 'ya know?" He muttered almost soundlessly. "Let's cover you." As the man stretched a hand to reach out for the jacket, it was only one slip of a movement to the left and there was no more balance for both of them.
.
.
--Tud-- Tud--Tud--
.
.
Erik fell forward on his knees and launched his hand in front in a vain attempt not to fall on top of the girl. With just a hand on her back, he kept her close to him. She could feel his heartbeat... every single pound in his chest. Sarah gazed up, an intense rosiness searing through her cheeks and a flighty, slight hallucinatory look in her eyes due to the high blood alcohol levels. "E-Erik..." She tightened the grip around her arms. "Hehe~ slow down sugar because I'm diabetic!" and teased.
Before those honeyed words of hers, there was just one thing left for Erik to do: trying to hold his sudden burst of laughter as much as he could possibly hold. "Pfff--... first of all, you're not diabetic... second, you're totally drunk."
"--M not!~" She whined, "You're mean! you're a mean one, Mr. Grinch!" and, began singing. She was not merely singing; she was experiencing the music deep within her head. "La-la-la-la. Just get nakeeed~"
"That's it. Bed for you, missy." Slipping a hand underneath her knees and another supporting her back, Erik lifted Sarah up bridal-style.
As they started walking out, the turbulence of the steps joint together with her dizziness to the minimum movement, made her suddenly want to puke. She took a hand to my mouth as she felt her vomit reflex reaching her throat. "Erik," Her voice came muffled by her own hand.
"Bathroom?" He simply asked.
She nodded with her head, "S-Sorry..." and promptly apologized.
"That's what you get for drinking too much." Erik scolded her for being so careless.
She just shrugged, "It was a game... I couldn't help it! I had to--" there were really no excuses for her reckless behavior.
After many, many, MANY steps and a LONG corridor, finally, they arrived at the front of the master bedroom. "Do you still want to go?" He asked as he helped her down.
Once again on her feet, the hallway swayed almost causing her to lose balance and she reached out for the wall. "N-No," She answered as she stared at the ground numbly, it didn't turn steady as she expected. Was it just due to her vision? Well, it still felt like walking on a tightrope. "I... I-I-I think I can manage." A lie escaped her.
"Sure princess?" He arched a brow.
"Y-Yeah... just help me get to bed." At that point, she knew it was best to hit the hay.
At last, Erik guided her inside, closing the door behind him. She dragged her feet on the floor, her arm endorsed around his shoulder as he walked her towards the bed. He pulled sheets back and, helped her lay down next. Plunging in her own side-reality, she closed her eyes and nuzzled her face on the pillow. "So soft~" and mumbled delighted.
"I'm going to get a bin for you to throw up during the night if you feel like." He said while walking out of the room for a moment.
Sarah hummed quietly, feeling the warmth of blankets wrapping her body and lulling her senses into null, the girl quickly fell into slumber.
"Here's a bin for you to-- Oh? You fell asleep." Erik acknowledged then, walked over to the bed. He pulled the blankets up and gingerly tugged her in. "Sleep tight, princess. Tomorrow will be a rough day. A huge hangover expects you." He left a cup of water and some medicine for her to take in the morning in the bedstand. Then, kissed her forehead and stepped away. "Good night, love." He turned the lights off and closed the door, leaving her to her rest.
١
١
١
١
~ The next day ~
.
.
Vertigo. Nausea. Thirst. Sensitivity to light. Suzu knew if she were to get up too fast, she'd worsen her hangover. "I seriously need to stop drinking... Hey, wake up already, it's morning." and, shoved Sam's arm who was drooling right next to her in bed, fully bare as he came to the world.
"Wha-What?" Sam opened his eyes to the dimly lit room, his mouth dry and sticky with thick saliva. He woke up rather still dopey from all the alcohol he forced in his body last night. Then, he moaned before reaching out to his phone and check the time. "Shit, my shift starts in four hours."
"Can't you two keep it down? My head is throbbing..." Damien's voice sounded out muffled by something smooth and woolly, his pillow. He was laying on the floor by the bottom of the bed, completely naked, having only a sheet covering his butt.
"That's the perks of having a hangover," Suzu rubbed her temples in an attempt of easing a nasty headache of her own. "I need a long shower and a strong cup of coffee..."