The game they were playing went on for twenty minutes. This is not the first time they've played King's Cup, yet Nina is still not used to it. Ten pieces of cards was left on the table and everyone was too drunk to even go to the bathroom by themselves.
Well, all except for Anthony.
He took the tenth card and then flashed them a huge grin when he saw it. "How about that, four is for whores, again." He shrugged his shoulders then laughed at the girl's reaction.
"Again?!" The two screamed in unison.
Others who were sitting on the table next to them jerked and flinched, earning a few whispers and looks.
"You know, I feel like you're cheating..." Was Nina's accusations as she reached for the glass on the middle of the table. Her knees were shaking and used an arm to balance herself. She took three of the glass filed with liquor and handed it out to her friends.
Judy hissed when the liquor from the glass spilled a little. Nina was getting a bit to wobbly for her own good.
"Let's all die together!" Nina shouted as she drinks from the glass. The three of them gulped the alcohol. They can't feel the sting against their throat because of their drunken state.
"I think you're all drunk." Anthony noted as he stared at each and everyone of the girls. Niña looked like she was possessed, Judy looks like a train wreck. And Lissa... Well, Lissa still looks like a drunk Nymphomaniac. "Are you sure you can still drink?"
Judy and Lissa had a brief exchange of looks. Before, Lissa was crowned King or rather... Queen of the game, but this time, the three of them acknowledged that it's time to pass the crown.
Nina stood up from her chair abruptly, making Judy and Lissa flinch. The table wobbled and some of the drinks, juices and liquors spilled on the table. "Enough!" Her voice was so loud that most of the people around them looked. "I surrender my entire being to the state United States of America! And... I still have to drive..." She eyed one of the remaining four shots on the table then got one to drink. "This is my last one... I promise, Daddy."
Judy palmed herself in the face as she watched Nina wobble her way through the bathroom. God forbid that another scandal was released by some stranger Nina had fun with. Nina's very rich and influential father would definitely hate the idea. "Nina!"
She stood up and her hazed mind was cleared up from the Adrenaline. She can't let some scandal be released again, and of course, Nina is her friend. She doesn't the other one to feel that kind of shame again.
She pulled her friend by the arm, and wrapped her own against Nina's waist. "There you go... that was your last shot, okay? That's it for tonight. I'm drunk as well."
"Really, it's over?" Was Lissa's bored and disappointed reply. "But the night is so young! And there are still nine cards left. Only nine! Come on, we can do this..."
Anthony silently agreed with Lissa, there was this circulating rumor that if the game isn't finished, someone or those who did not finish the game will receive bad luck. He grabbed a shot, then drank it. "You're really sure you want to go home?"
She didn't mean to be disrespectful but whenever she's drunk, the gangster girl inside of her slips out from nowhere. "Well, you've already drank from the king's cup, right?" Was her irritated reply at her boss and Lissa. She even gestured towards Nina who looked like she was avoid to vomit.
"Just look at this bitch. She can't even stand properly. Who's going to pay for the damages if she breaks something, eh? It sure ain't gonna be me! Heck, I can only drink at places like this cause' she pays for my drinks! I ain't got no money to pay for her damages, fools!"
Even though Lissa did not like the turns of events, but Judy is right. Yes, she was having fun drinking with Anthony, but they'll have to continue this some other time. "Okay, so what do you plan to do?" She crossed her arms against her chest and crossed her legs as well. "Somebody has to win the game or else we'll all have bad luck." She reminded Judy. "You're superstitious, right? And you believe in those things..."
"Then play another drinking game." Judy answered nonchalantly. "The one called Firefox tail. Didn't you say that you loved that game, Lissa?" She suggested with a smile while she looked at her friend suggestively.
"Do you really want to see me crawl on my own vomit? Or do you want my mother to lock me in my room and never see you guys or even the sunlight ever again?" Was her irritated snap. "That game is too hard! It's a starters game, not meant to be the ending, jeez!"
"I thought you said you wanted to finish the darn game?!" Judy asked with a challenge. "Then, play the darn game! Nina will be the one to pay anyway, right?"
Niña who they thought was sleeping raised her head and said "Yeah!" She screamed with eyes closed and with a huge grin on her face.
"So... you game?"
Lissa signed and looked at Anthony as if there's no option left on the table. "Okay, fine." She raised her both hands, signifying her lost and agreeing to her friend's offer. She took a scrunchie from her bag and tied her hair up into a bun. "What's the rules, the consequence and the price?"
"Same old rules." Judy answered. "You have to finish the drinks before mag-two minutes. The one who surrendered first is the immediate loser. And the loser will be the slave of a the winner for the whole entire day. No rules regarding the slavery part. Anything is possible."
After hearing the consequence, Anthony looked at Lissa who seemed to be all fired up. There was a dark aura circling around her, and truth be told, it slightly intimidated and scared the shit out of him. God knows what she'll do if she'll be given the authority, even if this is just a stupid drinking game. "Uhm, how about the prize we change the prize? Isn't the consequence a bit too much?"
Judy was about to speak up when she was distracted by Lissa's slow and loud consecutive claps.
"Aye!" She teased with a grin. "Don't tell me you're scared?" She poked Anthony by the torso and gave him a sly wink. "Are you scared to be controlled by a woman, Mr. Lee?"
Judy looked at Anthony, then back to Lissa. She has been friends with Lissa for so long, and she knows how much of a tease she can be... but... their boss, why?
"Uhm, so is a deal or no deal?" She can't read between the gray area and it seems like something is going on that she isn't aware of just yet. Like there's a thin line of sexual frustration between the two. Either it's that, or it's the alcohol talking.
Anthony arched his brow then stared at Lissa, he did not mind the intense and studying stare that Judy was giving them. He took one step closer to be near enough then he smiled at her, showing his perfect rows of teeth."You sure are a brave girl to challenge me in a drinking game."
He raised his hand and let his long fingers thread against her long curly hair. "You'll regret it if I win."
=========================
Lissa and Anthony were both standing face to face on each side of the table. Nine shot glasses was lined horizontally in front of them with different levels of liquors and spirits poured in each one. And then there's a lone rock glass on the end.
First level is a quick shot of Chivas, second was Jim Beam, 3rd was Jameson and then Jack Daniel's going on to Johnnie Walker, Bacardi Black, Silver 1969 Bacardi and the last one of the nine was Absolute Vodka before drinking the dangerous and lethal Firefox--- a mix of blue Curaçao, 151° Bacardi, Tequila, gin, grenadine syrup and orange juice.
"Ready?" Judy prepared the signal and the stopwatch on her phone. She looked at Lissa who looked like she was praying to every saint, god and sinner there is to know. Then she gazed at Anthony who looks like his soul has already left his body. "Ready, Mr. Lee?"
"Go!"
The two of them drank the first one at the same time. The timer was set and the numbers were moving so fast as Judy stared at the two individuals who were in a hurry to drink the shots in the pace they're comfortable with.
The first to the fourth glass was as easy as pie, but as the level of the liquor takes a step up, it gets more and more challenging. Specially since the drinking game doesn't allow them to drink any juice or water.
Lissa breathed in deeply as the strong mixture of liquor inside her renders a painful sting on her throat and stomach. She can no longer control her facial expression, her face was all scrounged from all the different taste from the spirits and liquor. She looked at Anthony who was near the fifth glass, then she looked at her side of the table and she was left behind by one.
'Oh, fuck me!' She screamed at herself as she grabbed to shot glass at the same time and gobbled it both in one go, mixing the alcohol in her mouth.
Judy eyed the timer on her phone. One minute and eleven seconds. "Damn, Mr. Lee is at his 7th glass!" Judy squealed and was all excited at the turn of events.
"Fuck!" Anthony hissed after the 8th drink. Closed his eyes and prompted one of his hand against the table. He was starting to get dizzy, feeling too woozy to even support himself.
Just one drink left and he'll be winning against Lissa. But then that last shot of Bacardi 1969 got the best of him. It feels as if his head is about to explode. He palmed his head and gritted his teeth.
A hand reached for his shoulder, immediately he looked at the direction and his vision was hazy and blurry.
"Mr. Lee, are you alright?" Was Judy's sincere question, worried about her boss.
He shrugged off the question then smiled at her. "I'm fine." Was his weak answer. He stood straight and fixed his posture, he reached for the ninth drink then looked at Lissa who was no better shape than he was.
He raised the shot glass, waiting for Lissa to do the same. Then they clinked their glass together. "A toast." He said, flashing that oh-so debonair smile at her.
They drank and sighed in unison. They looked at each other, eye to eye as there was only one drink left on the table. And it was the one that will fuck them up the most.
Firefox.
Now comes the real deal. Anthony breathed in deeply before he took the rock glass from the table. He raised his glass and said "For the price." He closed his eyes before chugging the whole thing.
Judy looked at Anthony in sheer amazement. "Damn, son." Was her own way of saying how amazing the man in front of her was. She watched with her mouth gaped as Anthony finished the drink in one go.
With a loud groan and a shocked expression on his face--- Anthony slammed the glass against the table. He took a few deep breaths before he opened his eyes.
Judy was clapping her hands continuously. "That was amazing!" She squealed like a child. "You've defeated the old record, Mr. Lee! You're definitely a beast! One minute and forty seven seconds!"
He smiled at Judy. A sincere one, and somehow, and she was almost smitten by how handsome he was. Half Korean, Half America he definitely got the best genes from both parent. Now she kind of understand why Lissa has a crush on their boss.
Anthony looked around for Lissa, a bit confused as to why she's out of his line of sight. His half lidded eyes widened, a bit worried why she's gone so suddenly. "Where's Lissa?"
"Eh?" Judy answered innocently. she looked around for her friend as well, and her eyes widened just like the man before her. "What the---she disappeared!"
"She didn't disappear, fools!" Nina shouted.
And they thought she was asleep.
Nina couldn't even control her face, her eyes were closed and couldn't open them properly. Her hair was so disheveled that it looks an atomic bomb was dropped on her hard. Nina then pointed on the ground, laughing loudly as she goes. "There she is! Look, she's sleeping like a princess."
Again, Nina laughed at her own joke. "You hear that, Lissa? You're sleeping beauty..."