Drunk Me Would Totally Be Willing To Risk The Aftermath

You take a moment of happiness in whichever way it presents itself to you. A beautiful moment can come in many forms. Sometimes beautiful moments are not found in obvious places.    There was nothing striking about this dive of a small town pub. It was always something random that changed the average experience to the memorable. She could tell this was going to be one of those nights. One of those places to remember. A gold star on her always expanding list of wild whacked out memories. Memories that laid dormant in her mind waiting to be remised upon during the tediously long hours of travel that always seemed to lie ahead of her. The smoke machine in the corner added something extra seedy to the ambiance of the pub. Kayn lifted her hand from its place on the bar’s counter and it was actually covered in dust. She wiped it on her jeans. Kayn had been watching the dust as it drifted in through the large double swinging doors each time someone entered.    The guys were sitting at a table a few feet away from her. They were probably talking about the bar’s female patrons. It was usually what they were talking about on any given occasion. They were watching the locals sing karaoke badly. This was the best kind of karaoke. The kind where everyone in the entire establishment was clearly tone deaf and possibly crazy but they were all having the time of their lives. Tonight was about embracing the simple things in life such as stopping at a random pub and allowing the crazy boys of Ankh to school the locals. She would have liked to use the ‘you’re only young once’ phrase but she could now be whatever age she chose to stay at. That particular phrase had lost its ability to hit home. Kayn was doing shots as they appeared before her. They were being sent from a table of attractive cowboys. The ladies of Ankh raised their tiny glasses in salute as a thank you. She found her gaze traveling as always in search of Frost. He was grinning at her, looking more than a little intrigued by the fact that she was still drinking. She had made a few alcohol induced decisions in the last five or ten minutes. She had decided that she was jealous of the flock of scantily clad girls that surrounded Frost and hung on his every word. She wanted to walk over, sit on Frost’s lap and stake her claim. Each time she peeked in his direction she caught him watching her. She glanced away, afraid he’d be able to read her mind if their gaze held for longer than a second. She was all but a few stolen glances and innocent brushes against him from ignoring her earlier plans to make good choices. He was thoroughly aware of this little tidbit of information. Kayn could hear the whole conversation at his table. She could hear it quite clearly from where she was sitting at the bar. It was becoming difficult to stifle her laughter.      Grey punched him in the arm, “Don’t be that guy.”   “What did I do?” Frost laughed back in his usual mischievous manner.   Zach shook his head disapprovingly. He looked at Grey and said, “He’s not that much of an ass.”   “Yes, he is that much of an ass. It’s like you don’t know him at all!” Grey chuckled as he shook his head. He scolded, “I’ll be personally disappointed in you. Don’t you dare lay a finger on her while she’s drunk.”   All of the girls were listening to the conversation now. Lily stood up, wandered over to the boys table and remarked, “Really... Kayn can hear everything you’re saying. Frost is not plotting to deflower her tonight. That would make him Satan and I’d like to hope I have better taste in friends.”   “I’m just happy she’s finally having a little fun,” Frost replied.    “That’s good; we wouldn’t want her to regret her first night out in public drinking, would we?” She teased.   Frost whispered his response, “Oh Lily... Nobody regrets a night spent with me.”   Kayn turned away as her cheeks heated up. She pressed her palm on her face. It was hard not to react to what she was overhearing.     Lily smirked and countered, “I was there when you were given that order Frost. It wasn’t a suggestion.”    “I don’t need to be reminded,” Frost replied.   Lily caught Grey’s eye as she left the table. His gaze followed her as she strolled away from them towards the bathroom.   Kayn ordered another drink just as the boys were called up for their turn to sing. Kayn, Lexy and Mel scrambled over and stole their table so they’d have a decent seat up front for the impending gong show. As their tone deaf rendition of a Mariana’s Trench song began Kayn couldn’t wipe the grin off of her face. Zach was actually pretty decent so was Grey. Maybe they were all so horrible and she was so drunk that they sounded phenomenal? They sang to each girl within flirting distance. Frost of course lost his shirt five seconds into the song as always and their performance turned into a karaoke slash Chippendales show. They all laughed for a solid five minutes, nearly falling out of their chairs. Kayn couldn’t help but notice that Lily never seemed as impressed with the boys’ shenanigans as the rest of them were. They had all lost their shirts by the time the song ended. The boys were always attempting to one up each other. The naughty trio came to sit down at the table. A still shirtless Frost scooted into the booth beside Kayn. She smiled at him and shook her head while actively trying to stop herself from ogling him but she was far too drunk to be coy. He casually slipped his hand over her knee and gently squeezed it. She picked up her drink and took a sip while trying to act like his forward behavior hadn’t thrown her. He didn’t remove his hand. He left it there. Kayn smiled because she knew it was a dare. He wanted to see if she would scurry away like a frightened rabbit. She wasn’t going to offer him the satisfaction of reacting to the placement of his hand. She could feel him smiling at her stubbornness without even looking up. Desperate to think about anything else she picked up one of the coasters from the table and began to read it. As his hand traveled a seductive path from her knee to the center of her thigh, aroused she bit her lip. Kayn took another shot and exhaled. She was going to lose this game of chess if she wasn’t careful.    Lily broke the tension as she ordered, “Put your shirts on before they kick us all out of here.”   Grey rolled his eyes, “Why must you always be such a party pooper?”   Zach was sitting on the other side of her. He snatched the coaster out of Kayn’s hand and gave her a glare of disapproval. He’d noticed the placement of Frost’s hand. Lexy was smiling so hard it was a little creepy. She’d done something. Zach was called up to sing.   Zach smiled at Lexy and as he stood up, gave her a golf clap and jousted, “Kamikaze karaoke... Touché Lexy.”   For a second Kayn had no idea which song it was and then it clicked. Oh, that’s so evil. They all began laughing hysterically as soon as the chorus started. It was, “The Woman in Me” by Shania Twain. If Lexy had expected Zach to crack under pressure or storm off of the stage mortified, she’d underestimated him. His sense of humor was wacky enough to prove her wrong. Zach didn’t flinch and without missing a beat, he belted the entire song out. He even began serenading the men sitting at the tables in front of him. Everyone was laughing so hard it turned to tears. Frost removed his hand from her knee to put on his shirt. Moments like these were amazing. The usual rules did not apply for any of them. They didn't care if they made a fool of themselves. Why would they care? Every person that they met would only in the end be a tiny blip on the screen of their existence. Kayn got up to sing next. She knew she wasn’t half bad. One by one they took turns singing. When karaoke ended, the music began. She wished she had a touch of Chloe’s confidence. The alcohol had definitely loosened her inhibitions. She wanted to be wild and carefree even if it was only for a moment until her brain cells staged a revolt. She shimmied closer to him on the bench and whispered his name, “Frost.”   He whispered back, “What?” He was listening to Melody tell a story.   Zach rather abruptly grabbed her hand, yanked her to her feet and towed her towards the dance floor. He laughed, “You’ll thank me later.”   She met his eyes and sighed, “You don’t need to protect me. I’m a big girl.”   Zach pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, “I’m your friend and you’re drunk. Things always seem like a way better idea when you’re drinking. This is all new for you. Do you have any idea how badly I want to hit on Lexy? Does that sound like a good idea?”   Kayn chuckled, “Not even a little bit.”   Zach whispered back, “From what I’ve heard crazy girls are always incredible. Drunk me would totally be willing to risk the aftermath.”