Adrenaline

29 | streets of monaco pt. ii

Blink and we might miss everything.

        Moxie's hand in mine is the only anchor keeping me in place. She leads the charge while Lauren trails me and Seira behind her. Girls' nights are important for the soul, and we are all in agreement that this night in Monte Carlo requires some good soul searching.

        "Any preference?" Moxie asks once we arrive at the bar.

        "Surprise me."

        Within seconds, we're all being handed our drinks. Moxie rattles off some French words I've never heard in my life, laughing when I stare blankly back at her because getting over the proverbial hump of understanding how French 'r' sounds work is still a task I've yet to defeat. I take a sip and the flavor of oranges floods my senses.

        "Delicious. I feel disgustingly rich just drinking it here."

        Moxie laughs, flicking my hair over my shoulder. "You're so rich we should all be paying for the view."

        "Pay me in drinks," I reply with a flourish. The pre-game party inside Moxie's hotel room had more of an effect than I thought it would.

        "As you wish." Seeing how low my drink is already, she raises a finger in the bartender's direction.

        "Wait," I sputter with a laugh and yank her arm down. "I was just joking. I will fight you to pay at the end of the night."

        "Good luck with that."

        "Don't need to ask me twice about buying me drinks." Darting between us, Seira orders a round of shots."Can I ask you a question? And be honest."

        "Sure."

        Turning out to the crowd, she points to a group of guys across the bar standing one level up. They're looking down at the crowd like apex predators searching for their prey, and I'm not drunk enough to not find it creepy.

        Seira, on the other hand, appears to be.

        I nearly barf after she asks me if any of them are cute. "You know how they always tell us not to judge a book by its cover? Yeah, not the case here. They look like walking red flags."

        She pouts, squinting as if it'll help prove her point. "I honestly thought I'd had more to drink."

        "I'm not encouraging drinking until you blackout but," I give the guys one more grimace, "if you think they're cute, you need to reconsider all of your life choices."

        Eyeing the empty shot glass once more, Seira groans at the thought of forcing herself to down another. "Isn't getting more drunk just going to make me think they're even better looking?'

        "No. There's a sweet spot."

        "What sweet spot?"

        Lauren places a hand on Seira's shoulder. "There's a certain level of intoxication where you find even the most basic example of men attractive for no apparent reason. But once you keep drinking and reach that sweet spot, you come back to reality."

        "Yes," I add. "Suddenly the basic man is back to looking like the goblin descendent he is."

        "I've never heard that before."

        "That's because you're usually better at holding your liquor." I move her away from the bar so she can stand in front of me. Placing my hand on her shoulders, I point over at them again and speak into her ear. "Please take another good look and tell me if you genuinely think any of them are genuinely attractive."