Falling Through Portals

Master Games

Chapter 77

From Lorem's first sip, her whole body seemed to tilt a little to the left as she walked. With each drink her head got fuzzier and fuzzier. She didn't know how much of the night had passed before Jack started singing.

It was drunken song, something about a rabbit, while he walked around one of the columns in the room. Lorem laughed at him when he stumbled and slammed right into the column. She moved to help him, but landed face first into the wood.

"Are you alright dear?" Jack said, crawling over to her on the floor. She was laughing even though her head hurt from where it had hurt the floor. Jack couldn't hold his head up without it lolling to the side.

"Fine," she said, trying to flip herself onto her back. It took two tries before she could turn herself over, which sent her into another fit of laughter.

Once she was on her back she found Jack looking down at her from his crawling position at her side. He held up his head long enough to look her over.

"You are . . ." He began, "So beautiful." Lorem began laughing again. She shoved one of his arms, making him collapse next to her.

"That's what people tell me . . ." she told him. Jack rolled onto his back and lay beside her. They said nothing for a little while.

"What are the names of your boys?" Jack asked.

"One," Lorem said, "His name is Percy," her mind blanked. Did she have two men with her? "I can't remember the other one." Jack laughed.

"Is he your lover?" Jack asked. Lorem choked.

"Why does everyone ask me that?" Lorem asked the celling.

"I don't know," the celling replied- or maybe it was Jack.

"He is not my boyfriend," she said reaching up into her hair. It was dry, how nice.

"What," Jack paused, "Is a boyfriend?"

Lorem began laughing again and hit him on the shoulder, "I wasn't supposed to say that."

"Why?" the celling asked.

"Cause you are not from the . . . um . . . what is it called?" she asked. The celling said something between a groan and a moan, "yea, that."

He took another swig of his rum and offered it to her. She took a sip and handed it back. Most of the rum ran out the corners of her lips and onto the floor.

"I would like to kiss you," he said drunkenly. Lorem went into a fit of giggles.

"Never," she said.

"You might like it," he said into her ear.

Lorem pushed herself away from him and tried to stand up. Everything began swimming around her. Stumbling forward, she grabbed a chair to stable her. Her hand missed and she took another dive onto the floor.

"Ow," Lorem said softly.

"What did you do?" Jack asked from the floor. Lorem touched her head and found blood on her hand.

"I am bleeding," Lorem said.

"We must see to that," Jack said and stood up again and walked over to her.

Jack took her by the shoulders and spun her so that he could see her. His eyes inspected her and had to look for ten full seconds before he saw the blood.

"You are bleeding?" he said.

"I know," she said. He reached up and touched the blood with his finger and stared at it.