Check, Please (Book #2)

Seventeen.

By the time the club closed and I found myself being ushered out to the sidewalk, our original group of eight was down to six. 

Mattie had called himself a cab earlier in the night after vomiting into his drink, and Andy had quietly disappeared with him. Andy claimed he was leaving to make sure Mattie got home safely but I had a feeling that the real reason why he was so eager to get back to campus was because he wanted to meet up with the girl he'd exchanged phone numbers with at our last party. From what I could remember about her, I didn't blame him.

"So, where to next?" Carlos asked cheerfully as he rubbed his palms together.

I groaned into the torn poster that I was leaning against, struggling to bring him into focus. "You're joking."

"What? The night's still young."

"What time is it, anyway?" Parker asked. Although he seemed to be in much better shape than I was, the evening had definitely taken its toll on him as well. He swayed while he stood pawing at his phone's lock screen and the motion reminded me of a palm tree buckling in the wind. 

"One," Lucas replied.

I groaned again. This time, I also spat a thick wad of saliva onto the ground. "I'm done. I'm going home."

"Aw, come on, Scott," Carlos said, grabbing me by the shoulders and giving me a gentle shake. He let go when I started to gag. "Stop being a wuss. It's your birthday."

"No it's not," I grumbled. "It's past midnight. Not my birthday anymore."

"Jennings, talk some sense into the man."

Parker glanced at him before raising a shoulder. "I mean, I'm not opposed to heading back to the house."

Good man, Jennings, I thought, flashing him a thumbs up.

"You guys suck." Carlos turned to Corey and Phil. "How about you two? Lucas? You in?"

To absolutely no one's surprise, Lucas was the first to nod, though Corey and Phil quickly followed suit. "There's no point," Parker said. He pocketed his phone. "Last call is in thirty minutes. We won't get in anywhere."

"Why'd we go to a club that closes so early?" Carlos asked, and my stomach churned when I saw Parker visibly stiffen.

"I'm sorry," he said coolly. "I'll be sure to tell Sophie that you didn't approve of her venue choice. Alright?"

Carlos cringed, his expression turning sheepish. "I didn't mean it like that."

Parker pushed himself off the wall that he'd been using for support. "How did you mean it?"

"I know a place," Lucas piped up, and, grateful for the escape route, Carlos spun to study him.

"Where?"

"It's a block from here." Lucas hesitated. "It's... Not the nicest bar--kind of a dive--but they always take my I.D."

"There's no way they'll let me in," I said. Another glob of my saliva hit the pavement. "No way. I'm wrecked."

"They let everyone in," Lucas offered. "Honestly, you're not even that bad compared to some of the people I've seen there."

Parker snorted. "We need to have a talk about the kinds of places you hang out in."

Ignoring Parker's comment, Phil clapped me on the shoulder and said, "Come on, Scotty. At least give it a try, huh? And, if you don't get in, you'll get to go home anyway. No harm, no foul."

"Exactly." Carlos wiggled his eyebrows at me. "So, are you coming?"

"Do I have to?" I asked, but even as the words left my mouth, I'd already begun to follow him down the street.