“And combat boots,” agreed Bryce, motioning to their friend’s feet.
Indeed, Mikey had strayed dramatically from his usual colorful graphic tees and Converse low-tops. He’d worn all black tonight; his frayed jeans were tucked into well-worn, scuffed platform boots and his hazel eyes had been ringed with smokey make-up.
“Is he trying todateHannah orbeher?” Thea downed her shot of tequila before Bryce could answer, and then handed Bryce’s over so she could do the same.
The Bloody Mary was about as dark and dingy as it sounded. A depressing Nick Cave song droned from a speaker somewhere, and all of the cocktails were horror themed: their Zombie cocktails had been served in a skull-shaped mug, something questionable and eyeball-like floating around inside. It was like being at an off-season Halloween party, with fake cobwebs — Thea hoped they were fake, anyway — catching in their hair and the staff costumed in bloodied rags and skeletal facepaint.
Thea’s and Bryce’s paradise, really. Mikey would’ve fit right in if he didn’t look so completely un-Mikey in his new get-up.
“Mikey!” Thea greeted when he finally reached them — and soon regretted opening her mouth at all. A pungent whiff of too much cologne choked her half to death. “Jesus. Have you been rolling around in potpourri?”
“Too much?” Mikey winced and adjusted the hem of his Rolling Stones T-shirt, flashing a set of thick, silver rings on his fingers. “I was kind of hoping that if I wore enough cologne, she’d smell me before she saw me, y’know?”
“That makes no sense.” Bryce’s features, done up in warm brown shadows and glittery highlights for tonight by Olivia, crumpled into a frown. Thea had been taken aback when Bryce got into the cab they’d shared on the way here. It had been a long time since she’d last seen her made up, and with deep red lipstick and her wavy hair freed of its usual loose ponytail, it only reminded Thea of just how beautiful her best friend was.
And just how much Thea’s stomach could lurch at the mere sight of her.
“You know what?” Mikey huffed, scraping his shoulder-length hair from his eyes. He’d left it down tonight, too, though it wasn’t quite as majestic as Bryce’s. “So far, the two of you are crappy wingwomen. Have you seen her yet?”
“I can barely see my own hand with the fog machine on over there.” Bryce motioned to the corner, where puffs of smoke spurted onto the tiny dancefloor. Thea couldn’t help but notice that she hadn’t taken so much as a sip of either of her drinks yet. The shot still swished in her hand, the cocktail still brimming on the bar with a straw sinking sadly into the orange liquid. Thea had almost finished hers already.
“I’m going to the bathroom. Order me something fruity, will you?”
Mikey still fidgeted on his way to the men’s room, and Thea pitied him. Her own nervous energy manifested through excessive chit-chat and giggling, but poor Mikey couldn’t disguise his so easily. It was written all over him.
Turning back to the sticky, crowded bar, Thea ordered another round of drinks from a tall man wearing Beetlejuice-style pinstripes. He looked vaguely familiar, but with the facepaint, she couldn’t place why. A new acquaintance, or an old school friend, maybe. She wouldn’t have been the first to remain trapped in this bleak little town.
Bryce was oblivious, too busy scanning the bustling crowd of people piling in with a sour glare.
“Can’t you at least pretend you’re having fun?” Thea sighed.
Bryce’s dark eyes snapped to her, and she moved to place the tequila back on her beermat.
“No!” Thea stopped her, her clammy fingers curling around Bryce’s wrist and directing the drink back towards her lips. “The drinks cost a fortune here. You’re not wasting my hard-earned money.”
“Thenyouhave it,” scowled Bryce, still trying to struggle against Thea’s grip. The tequila spilled over the rim of the shot glass and splashed onto Bryce’s hand and dribbled down her bare arm, until they both shied away from further spillages.
Bryce wore a plain black camisole top under a collarless T-shirt and skinny jeans, and yet with the soft curves of her hips and thighs, she still managed to be one of the most beautiful women in the Bloody Mary. Thea herself had opted for color and shimmer, in a loose champagne-hued party dress she’d been dying for a chance to wear since she’d bought it on sale last Christmas. Perhaps it was a little fancy for a rundown bar in Stone Grange, but it was better than her usual faded jeans.
“No,” Thea whined. “Come on, Bryce. You can’t let loose for one night?”
“What if Liv calls?” Bryce sucked the tequila from her fingers, leaving a lipstick stain across her knuckle in the process. “What if she needs me? I can’t go home wasted.”
“Bryce.” Thea rested her hands on Bryce’s shoulders, blinking up at her with a deadpan expression. “She’s sixteen. She’s with her friends. She’ll probably make better life choices tonight than I will. Have a night off. You’ve earned it.”
With a huff, Bryce nodded and brought the shot to her lips. She swallowed it down in one, wincing against the burn. “This is peer pressure.”
Thea cheered her support. “That’s my girl.”
The next round of drinks had arrived by then and the sugary smell of Bryce’s floral perfume wafted over Thea without warning as she tossed back her hair to take her second shot. Thea faltered, wrapped in it, inher,and as Bryce laughed suddenly, Thea wondered how long it had been since Bryce had truly felt free of the weight of her responsibilities. It had certainly been a while since she’d seen her best friendappearthis relaxed, which, to Thea’s standard, was not very relaxed at all, mind you. Now tequila trickled down Bryce’s chin, and Thea caught it with the pad of her thumb before it could go any further.
Bryce froze beneath her touch, eyes fluttering half-closed to eye Thea’s pink-polished thumbnail. Resting in the small dimple of her chin, it was close enough to her scarlet-stained lips that Thea could feel Bryce’s breath tickling her.
“Sorry.” Thea drew away and hoped that her glowing cheeks weren’t too obvious in the dim light.
If they were, Bryce gave no sign, but the corner of her mouth softened with a grin. “Thanks.”
Thea nodded, eyes lingering on her best friend for perhaps a little too long, but she couldn’t tear away from this version of her. A version she rarely got to see.