The ice-cold but disgustingly-bitter liquid sloshed around in my mouth and trickled down my throat. I couldn't help but physically recoil in disgust. How do people drink this shit? Blank-expression-boy, whose name was still unknown to me, chuckled beside me. "Not a beer person?" he asked.
"Apparently not," I replied, examining the can as if it were my worst enemy. He took a long sip of his bottle gracefully and shrugged.
"It's an acquired taste for sure. But hey, gotta get drunk somehow."
"Is it worth it?" I asked seriously.
"Have you ever been drunk?" he responded just as seriously. I nervously darted my eyes around the group to check if anyone was listening in on the conversation. Helena and Kellie were still lost in dramatic conversation. Alina was shoving a brownie in her mouth by the picnic table. Eddie and Colton had got up from their chairs and were now seated on the edge of the dock, their feet dangling in the water.
"No," I replied hushedly.
"Okay, so then drink a couple beers and report back to me in an hour. You decide if it's worth it," he shrugged. I sighed and took another swig, closing my eyes tightly with each gulp. "I'm Brendan, by the way."
"I was wondering that, actually," I surprisingly responded.
"I know," he shrugged. "I'm a mystery to most people, which I think is pretty funny, because honestly I'm probably one of the most boring people ever." I chuckled and nodded my head, staring absentmindedly into the glowing fire.
"Oh man do I feel that," I responded.
"It's okay, though. It's kind of impossible to be boring down here. These people really do bring out the best in you," he reassured. "Well... most people," he rolled his eyes toward the dock at Colton and Eddie. I raised my eyebrows and opened my mouth to question this statement, but Helena interrupted our conversation with a shout.
"Who wants to ride the bus?!" she called out, her booming voice echoing across the lake. I watched as Colton jumped up from the dock and raised his beer can in the air, hurriedly walking toward the picnic table. Eddie stood up slowly, sauntering not far behind him.
"Ride the bus?" I questioned, turning to Brendan.
"Ride the bus!" he simply responded, rising from his chair and joining everyone at the table. I haphazardly followed suit, taking the only open space at the table which happened to be alarmingly close to Eddie. Colton, Eddie, and I sat together on one side of the picnic bench, the wooden splinters aggressively poking through my shorts. My thigh was pressed tightly up against Eddie's, a touch that I could not seem to ignore. Invisible electric shocks ignited between our flesh, a touch that was wholly innocent and unavoidable, but still filled my veins with adrenaline. Well I guess I found my spark, I thought to myself silently.
"Alright, everyone, it's time to ride the bus!" Helena announced cheerfully from across the table, casually shuffling a deck of playing cards in her hand. I still had no idea what was going on, but I stayed silent. "Colton, you're up first." Helena grabbed a card from the deck and held it in her hand, obscuring it from Colton's view. "Red or black?" she asked.
Colton pondered for a second and replied, "Black." Helena flipped the card onto the table, revealing a 6 of hearts.
"Red! Drink! No card for you," she giggled. Colton shrugged and took an unreasonably long swig of his beer. "Red or black, Eddie?"
"Red," he responded smugly, a smirk across his pink lips. Helena paused for a second and revealed the card - a jack of diamonds. "Yes! Give me that!" Eddie cheered as he snatched the card from Helena's grip. Helena faced me and gave me a warm smile, another card from the deck in her hands.
"Cass, is this card red or black?" she asked me.
"Erm... black?" I questioned. Her smile grew wider as she revealed a two of clubs, enthusiastically handing it to me. She continued around the circle, asking Brendan next. "Is this the whole game?" I quietly whispered to Eddie, the sparks between our thighs growing with every word that passed my lips.
"Basically," he responded simply. "You pretty much answer Helena's questions about whatever card she's holding, and if you're right you get a card, but if you're wrong, you drink."
"So whoever has the most cards in the end wins?"
"Ha! If only," he chuckled. "Whoever has the most cards has to ride the bus. AKA lots of chugging."
"Oh, well that just sounds so fun," I quipped sarcastically. "Why does the winner get punished?" He turned to me with a grin, his hazel eyes piercing my soul and at this point, practically setting ablaze our touching thighs.
"Who said it's a punishment?" he winked, turning back to Helena who was now onto a question that asked whether the card in her hand was higher or lower than the card in his. Eddie got another card, and when it was my turn, I did too. Helena continued around the circle a few more times until it came time to ride the bus.
"Okay, so, we have Colton with a staggering single card," Helena remarked, announcing the results. "Brendan with three, not bad. Alina and Kell, you both have four," Helena turned to me and glanced at my cards. "Five! Wow, Cass, look at you! And Eddie... also five." She looked puzzled, darting her eyes between the two of us, then slowly lifted the corners of her mouth into a Cheshire cat grin.
"We got two riders tonight, people!" Colton announced loudly, clearly feeling the buzz from the eight million sips of beer he had throughout the game. My cheeks flushed red with embarrassment and anxiety. I watched as Helena placed five cards on the table face-up. An eight, an ace, two jacks, and one King stared me in the face. I looked at Helena confusedly.
"Okay, so, an ace is four sips, each jack is one, and the king is three!" Helena calculated the math in her head and announced, "9 sips, but really, let's just chalk it up to a can." Eddie laughed from beside me, grabbed two beers from the cooler, and handed me one. He cracked his open and looked at me expectedly.
"A can?" I asked him. "Right now? The whole thing?"
"The whole thing, baby!" he excitedly cheered. "Come on, you got it. And if you don't... well, you suck." He nudged me playfully. I carefully popped the tab to my can, gave him a cheers, and we chugged our beers together.
Somehow, I finished the whole damn thing.