I rolled over and fell off the couch onto the floor. I grunted and sat up. Had I fallen asleep watching videos? I guess I really did need an afternoon nap since the infection... I reached for my tablet, but it wasn't there, it was still upstairs by my bed. I sighed and trudged up to get it, and pulled my phone out from under the mattress while I was up there. It was just after 6... If Henri was going to show up, it'd be soon. I check my messages on my phone, but there was nothing new. I checked my tablet, and saw that my mom and Appa had apparently joined a class action lawsuit against the government to get me back in the past day or so. My mom said if they won, parents would be allowed custody of their class B children despite their ages. I was pretty sure that wasn't how those lawsuits worked, but I told her good luck anyway.
I straightened my dress and wet my hair down to look a little nicer, and consider texting asking Henri to see if she was coming, but... if she was, she'd already be in the car on her way over, so it wouldn't make much sense to message. I tidied the house up as much as I could while I waited; I put the trash from my food in the bin under the cabinet, I wiped down the surfaces, I put my clothes from the dryer into the closet in my bedroom and I sat at the dining room table to wait. It was now 6:36. I sighed, and considered making the rest of my food from this morning while I waited, but... if Henri did show up, and it was a sleepover, her and Marissa would eat later, and I wanted to be able to eat with them.
I kicked back in the chair, thinking as the minutes tick by. Was the idea of dealing with Marissa too much for Henri? Was this the end of our friendship? Sure, we could chat on the tablet when I was home, but our relationship had never been one where we really texted much, it was usually us making plans, and then doing stuff, going to a cafe or a park, or to see a movie, or just to study. Half the time she'd even eaten dinner with us, as she lived alone in the dorms, and her own family was half a world away. I imagined her sitting at the table in her tiny room with a paper cup of noodles in front of her and I felt bad, selfish, in a way. This was hard on her too, and I kept forgetting that. I made a mental note to text my mom and make sure Henri was still eating with them regularly.
I heard a click, and I rocked forward and out of my chair, running to the front of the house to see Marissa's bedroom door. It swung open, and Henri stood in the opening with the Lund family butler by her side. His name was... Brantley? Broofus? Something with a B... She looked like she'd been crying, and she held a mid sized duffle under one arm, the same one that she'd always bring over to my house when she slept over.
"Thank you, Mister Parker." She said. Damnit, not a B name then. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"No ma'am, just what I mentioned on the way up. I hope you have a lovely evening."
With that he stepped back and gently closed the door behind her. She looked around the room, nervously. I waved to her from my kitchen.
"Henri! Here! Over here!"
She looked over at me, and dropped her bag, rushing over to me.
"Klein fee! I almost didn't come, I was so scared of what she'd do, of what I might do... I'm sorry I am late..."
"No no, I'm just happy you're here! It's good to see you like, one on one. We haven't had that since, like, the gym."
She nodded and grimaced. "Ah, yes... I admit, it is... much harder to go to the gym now, Amber... I kept seeing the TVs, and remembering the news report we saw, and- well..."
"...The stuff I said about wanting her to get infected, yeah. I'm trying not to process that yet. I'm not sure if it's karma or coincidence, but I really don't want to think about it."
She reached out for me then blinked and lowered her hand. "Oh, is it- is it ok if I pick you up? I'm supposed to ask before touching you."
I tilted my head "You're supposed to? Says who, the class you took? I didn't think that was a rule, the government guy and the shop guy didn't ask..."
"No, it's- I have a list of rules I have to follow while I'm here, Mister Parker gave them to me."
"Wait, so Marissa told you not to pick me up unless I said it was ok? She grabs me constantly, I don't... Yeah, just be careful, but sure, pick me up."
Henri nodded and slowly reached out, putting her hand around me awkwardly and pulling forward. Her hand was vertical, like she was holding a joystick, and her fingertips dug into me as I hung in her grip.
"Uh, hey, um." I said, clinging to her fingers "If you tilt your hand a bit, I can just rest on your palm mostly? It's less pressure and it's safer, it's what Marissa does."
Henri tilted her hand back, her fingers and thumb still wrapped around me in a weird position, but at least my whole weight wasn't on my ribcage now.
"Thanks, it's tricky to hold us I think, I saw an entire video on how to do it recently, it went in depth. Marissa is pretty good at it though, I think she's practiced."
Henri looked dejected. "Well, I would have practiced too, little one, if I'd ever known I'd have to hold one of you..."
"Well... Marissa has wanted a class B for a while from what she's said. She got her license months and months ago, and she seems like the kind of person to put a lot of effort into the things she's interested in. I'm like, an expensive status symbol, and you're on an allowance, you shouldn't feel bad that you weren't ready for this one in a million thing to happen..."
She rubbed my head and sadly smiled. "Yes, but... I can't help but feel that I'm losing because I was not well prepared..."
"Losing? Oh, babygirl, you're not losing, you're just in a rough spot. She just had more resources is all. Anyway, what are the other 'rules' she gave you? What are we looking at here?"
"Well, I'm not allowed on the bed. If I break anything, she'll make me pay for it 'by the end of the night', I'm supposed to stay off her computer, and I can't touch you without asking. I'm also not allowed to take you out of the room, I can't hurt you in any way, and if I order food from the kitchen you can't eat any of it."
"Those are... pretty good rules, nothing crazy, nothing I wouldn't say myself if I had a guest over, I suppose."
She walked over to Marissa's couch and sat down. "Ja, I don't like being told what to do though..."
She gently set me on the couch and lay down around me, her body on the outside, shielding me from the edge.
"Hey, only sometimes... Also, I cannot believe you almost told Marissa about that! What were you thinking?"
"Well... Maybe if she thinks you enjoy it, it'll get awkward and she'll stop?"
"Yeah, or what if she takes it as a sign to really ramp it up?... Do you think she heard you?..."
I sat and leaned against her hand "Honestly, yeah, I'm guessing she did, or figured it out. She's pretty clever. Or at least, like, she's not stupid."
"Yeah... She's getting good grades in everything, a B average."
"Well, I mean. She's not earning those Bs, but I think she could, if she actually did the work."
"...oh. I hate her more, now, actually."
"She's... a stuck up rich kid who likes seeing other people suffer, and will do anything to have power over others, but other than that... She's actually not that bad."
Henri scoffed "Oh, other than that? Wow, I can't believe I missed it all these years."
"No, I mean...There's a real human under all her bullshit. I see her sometimes. She's got fears and desires and like, interests and stuff. It's weird almost. I'm not saying that the cruelty is fake, she REALLY enjoys being cruel, but... I think I'm starting to get to know her more and more, and she's getting softer."
"Klein fee, she bought you, she flicked you, she keeps you in a bottle, I'm betting she was the one that put you in the water, too. How are you possibly seeing any softness in her?"
I looked across the couch at her, her face full of care and love, and I tried to find the words.
"Well, it's like. That face, the one you're making? I see it sometimes in her, not on the surface, but... Like she's fighting it off. And she does care, I don't know if it's really because she wants to scare people with me and wants me healthy, but like, she got me vegetarian meals, she stops playing if she saw she went too far, she got me extra blankets when I was sick yesterday, she makes jokes and- I don't know. I don't think I can excuse her actions, but I do want to at least learn to be her friend. It'll make the days easier at least..."
"So... You're just going to try and accept things?" Henri said, rubbing my back
"I think I'm going to try and direct them. Direct them to a future where I can co-exist with the human under the bitch. I just have to do my best to find her."
"If that's your path..." She said, wistfully. "But if you want, I think I can get to the airport with you tonight, it's risky, but... My parents would love to have you stay with us. I can transfer to a German school, and we can be happy, just us. I might even be able to get your dad a job working for my dad, so our whole family could be together!"
'Our whole family'. The words hung in my brain for a few minutes as I thought it over. I'd never gotten to travel, I'd always had to get a summer job when Henri flew back home for the few weeks in the summer each year, so seeing far off lands would be nice. Henri would be a much better guardian than Marissa, even if she couldn't buy as much fancy equipment for me, and I'd see my parents... I didn't miss them as much as I'd thought, but I missed them being there, being in the home, being a presence in my day to day.
"Well... How would you get me through TSA? Aren't they looking for people smuggling class Bs?" I asked.
"They mostly are looking for weapons and drugs, but... they are looking for class Bs as well, yes. Anything that gets x-rayed will show you, so no carry-on, and the cargo hold gets very cold, so luggage is out. You'd have to hide on my person, which I think I could do. It might be awkward, but if I use a private jet I could go through the metal detector instead of the body heat thingy, which would make it hard to find you if we hid you well enough on me."
I thought about it. "What, like, tape me into the small of your back or something?"
She didn't make eye contact "Or something..."
"I... don't like this plan. It involves my best friend almost for sure going to jail forever as an international human traffic-er. They will NOT be kind to you in prison, Henri."
"I just want you safe, Amber..."
I stood up and walked over to her face, giving her a hug around her eyes area. "I'll be ok. I highly doubt I'll be actually hurt for good, and with you here, it's not like she's going to do anything right away anyway, right?"
"I suppose... Amber?"
"Yeah?"
"May I rub you on my face?"
"...What?"
"Oh. Never mind, sorry."
I took a step back, breaking the hug. "You mean like you rub a cat on your face when you snuggle it?"
She nodded "I am sorry, that was a strange request, I know."
"Um, fuck it, go for it, I guess I don't mind."
Her face split open into a smile, and she rose to a sitting position, carefully picking me up and lifting me to her cheek. She cooed as she rubbed me across her face, her skin fairly dry and very warm. I tried to hug her back, but I couldn't quite get my arms untangled. Her breath once again smelled like fruity candy. I imagined she'd been stress eating them in handfuls on the drive over. She pulled me in front of her mouth and let me rest there, against her lips. She sat still, her head lowered as her grip tightened ever so slightly, and she pulled away slowly.
I was overstimulated and flushed, but I managed to get out a small laugh anyway.
"That- that last bit was kinda close to a kiss, Henri. I don't know if there's cameras in here, but Marissa..."
I trailed off as I saw a tear streak down her face, where I'd been moments before.
"I-I just want to have you, all day, every day." She said. I look at her, surprised. She was holding back her tears as best she could, but some were still slipping out and filling her eyes.
"It isn't fair, you're my favorite person in the world, my precious one, and I could have had you, I could have been your savior, I could have gotten to spend every moment with you forever and ever. I could hold you and keep you safe and let you ride with me in my pocket and I w-would be the one who fought the world for you, and instead... Instead, I let you get captured by the enemy. You're in a hell of my failings. If I'd had more money, if I'd g-gone straight to the store instead of to the bank with your parents, I could- I could be the one who has you forever right now."
She was openly sobbing now, her tears dripping down onto the floor as she bent over, holding me in front of her face but not looking at me.
"I want to take you, to hide you away, to murder the person who took you from me. I want to burn this whole place to the ground to get to you, I want to make you mine in any way, at any costs, I need you, Amber."
I stay silent, my heart racing. Her emotions were... Strong, filling her up and overflowing. I hadn't noticed she'd felt like that at all... Or, rather, I'd tried to ignore it when I did. I felt her hands shaking around me, and she slid off the couch to the floor, lowering me to the carpet. Her tears fell around me as she sat slumped, her short straight blonde hair hanging around her face like a hood. I sat down and looked up at her. I didn't know what to say, how to react. I had the feeling this speech, or one like it, had been a long time coming, before I was infected even, but now that there was nothing to be done, nothing to fix, her feelings had just come welling up and overflowed. I did the only thing I could think to do, and I pulled her index finger into a hug, squeezing it as tight as I could.
"I'm sorry little one..." She whispered. "I've ruined what little time we have with each other."
I shook my head "No, it's ok. You needed to get that out. I'm glad you said it."
I stood next to her limp hand, unsure if I was doing the right thing.
"Listen, I'll do whatever it takes to see you, you're my best friend."
"Ha, 'best friend'?" She said wryly.
I winced. That obviously hadn't been what she'd wanted to hear. I was guessing my next line of 'you're family to me' wouldn't go over well either. I didn't want to hurt her, but I didn't see any way to move forward the way she was obviously wanting to without pain and loss. And... an extremely angry Marissa.
"I just want you to know, I'll do whatever I can to keep you in my life, and the fact that you're here shows that you will too. It'll work out, we won't lose each other, I promise." I offered.
She looked up, a slight glimmer of hope "Then, can we try my plan?" She asked, her voice cracking.
"N-no, Henri, if we do... You'll end up in jail. You will never see me again, we can't risk that. YOU can't risk that."
She lowered her head again and breathed out a shaky breath. She reached out both hands to me and I nodded. She picked me up and sat back up on the couch. She put me in the hammock made by her skirt on her thighs and leaned back.
"I'm sorry, klein fee. I need to think about things, and I don't know if I'm ready to talk more, may we please just enjoy each other's company for a while?"
I lean against the back of her hand in her lap.
"Yeah, that's sounds nice, I understand. Do you want to see if we can find out if Marissa pays for whatever service has The Donna Reed Show?"
Henri sniffled and let out a half laugh.
"Yeah, that sounds lovely, Amber"
~~~
A while later, Marissa's door banged open, causing Henri to jump, almost knocking me off her lap. I clung to her skirt and braced myself, but she stopped herself from standing in time to stop me from tumbling.
Marissa walked in with several things, a couple brown paper bags, and a couple plastic sacks that looked like they were from a gas station and slammed the door behind her.
"Ok, pets, who's ready to fucking worship me?" She said loudly, holding her arms out to the side.
I was a little scared, she was intense, and so full of energy, her eyes were all the way open, and she almost never did that. She looked almost manic, and younger somehow? I thought she was angry at first, but looking closer, she seemed to be more... Excited? She kicked Henri's bag out of the way and pulled a cubby open in the wall next to her door. A refrigerator? I hadn't seen this hidey hole either, I was wondering if her whole room was a series of hidden storage areas. She tossed the bags in and marched over to us on the couch. Henri was shaking, and her hand was hovering over me, in her lap, her fingers in the air just around me. Marissa reached down and plucked me off her lap before she could move.
"Ah ah ah, I didn't hear you ask permission, Bludsauger, I'm here for less than a minute and you're already breaking rules?"
Henri looked stricken "No, I was- I was protecting her, I didn't touch her, I swear!"
Marissa held me up to her face and looked at me with exaggerated concern. "Oh my pet, did she handle you without asking? Did she use her big clumsy hands to squeeze you without your consent?"
"No no no, she asked!" I say quickly. "Even after I told her it was fine and I didn't care, she still asked, she followed the rules!"
She had followed the rules, technically. I don't think that face rubbing thing counted as a kiss, and... the rules for tonight didn't explicitly say no kissing anyway.
Marissa smiled at me, a strange joy behind her eyes. "Well, we'll just see how she does for the rest of the night then!"
She turned to Henri "Hey, your birthday was a couple months ago, right?"
Henri frowned. "How did you know? It was, yes, I had a chocolate cake with dark chocolate sea salt ganache on top with strawberries, at Amber's house."
"It was in the school records, dumbass. I just wanted to make sure, because I bought, like, a ton of drinks on the way over, and YOU are going to drink with me."
"Drink? I- I'd really prefer to be my usual self tonight, I'm already not doing well, and we shouldn't drink around Amber, she could get hurt..."
Marissa leaned over the couch into Henri's face and her smile got bigger.
"Well, I say you're going to drink, and you agreed to do what I wanted, right? I mean, if you didn't, you'd never get to see the Rat again, and we wouldn't want that, would we little Rattie?" She said, holding me up to face Henri, wiggling me back and forth.
"Henri, it's ok, you don't have to do it, we can figure out-" I start.
"Ok, I'll play your game, I'll drink with you." Henri said, suddenly hard and cold. "But I do it under one condition, got it?"
Marissa laughed. "The 'condition' was that you got to sit there and have fun with your friend for an hour, but ok, I'll hear you out."
Henri squared up, and took a breath. "Her name is Amber. Amber. Fucking. Park. I want you to start using her name, not 'rat'. She's a full person, and she is just trying to get along with you, she deserves a name."
Marissa frowned. "No, see, the name is part of the fun. It lets her know that I see her as less than human, that's the point, Bludsauger."
Henri stood and stomped her foot. "And that. That has been bothering me since I moved to this stupid town, it's not even correct, you're not even saying it right."
Marissa looked confused "What? Like, Bludsauger?"
"Yes." Hissed Henri.
I knew what she was going to say, she'd been complaining to me about this for years.
"It's Blut" she spat, emphasizing the 't' harshly. "saugerin. Not 'blood sawger' like you and your little minions have been saying. You're not even using a real word, did you even look it up? It's not even in the right gender the way you say it. If you're going to insult me, do it right."
She huffed, her face red and her hands balled into fists. The heightened emotions from earlier were giving her strength, for all the times she'd brought it up to me, I never imagined her actually confronting anyone over it.
Marissa looked at her, taken aback at the outburst. "Uh, wow, yeah, ok. I don't actually know German, and-"
"Obviously" interrupted Henri
"...I don't know German, so I was just going off what one of the other girls said. I didn't even come up with it."
"So you've been calling me that all the time without ever looking it up? Without ever getting creative with your insults? Never thinking outside the box past what some... hanger-on said?" Henri said, still hot.
Marissa held up her hands in a calming motion, me dangling from one as she spoke.
"Listen, I don't really care that much anymore. The name calling thing has kinda worn off on you two anyway, it's like the R- uh, Am-amber, doesn't even notice I call her that, and you- I mean, I'd feel stupid calling you something wrong, and I'm NOT about to explain to the girls at college that I'd been using the wrong term all this time, so yeah. I'll use your names, it's not a big deal."
I was stunned, Henri was too, she deflated and stared, unable what to do next. I try to think if I'd ever heard Marissa say my name before, and I couldn't think of a single instance. It sounded... wrong coming from her, like I didn't want her to dirty my name by saying it, but also like she was embarrassed to say it too. Henri swallowed, her anger mostly gone, looking for something to say.
"Well, that was my condition, so... I guess I'll drink with you, Marissa."
"Hold on, nope, I said I'd use your names. I never said you could use mine. I go by Lady M, Mistress, whatever, both are good, but you can get creative as long as it glorifies me as above you, got it?"
Henri wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, I got it."
"Yeah you got it what, Henri?"
"...Yeah I got it, Lady M."
I nodded. "That's my preferred too. It makes me feel more like a noble person on a lower social tier instead of a slave."
Marissa glanced at me, then set me on her shoulder. I gripped her loose knit coat and lay down for safety.
"You aren't a noble woman or a slave, Ra- Amber, you're a pet. If it wasn't so weird and gross to have someone call me master, I might have you call me that. It's what dog's owners are called after all."
"Wait, isn't mistress just the same thing but feminine?" I said.
"Uh, no. I mean. It's not the same, it's like, a mistress is like, a dom, or like, a woman so desirable that someone will cheat for her. A master... That's just wrong on a lot of levels. You know what I'm saying, right?"
Henri shook her head. "I am confused as well, I don't see the difference, but I'll call you Lady M to avoid any sort of unpleasant notions."
Marissa looked frustrated. "No, mistress is sexy, it's different, it's got a different social connotation, it's- ugh. Whatever, I'm so done with the names thing, just shut up, call me Lady M, it's fine."
She sat on her bed.
"I want to get some stuff cleared up here, before you start drinking. I don't want any kind of mess where you don't know what's going on and you end up doing stuff while drunk you wouldn't usually have agreed to."
"Like, consent stuff? Gods, Marissa, what are you planning?" I say, incredulously.
"Oh, hush. I'm not going to- I'm just covering my ass here, it's not like that, I'm not going to do that kind of thing with a drunk girl, just, like, play around a little."
"That's still shady, Lady M." I said "I don't think you can agree to stuff before you get drunk, right?"
"It's not shady, it's- Just hush, you." She pulled me off her shoulder and shoved me under her pillow. I could still hear, but it was muffled. I had air, but it smelled like Marissa and sweat, so I started army crawling out as I listened.
"I can agree to stuff ahead of time I guess, as long as it's not... sexual." Henri said, and I groaned. What was sexual to a normal person and what was sexual to Henri or Marissa were two different things.
"Yeah yeah yeah, clothes on, no swimsuit areas, nothing like that. I'm not a monster. I just want to play with my new toy without being worried you'll freak out tomorrow and sue me."
"Ok, so... nothing sexual. What do you want me to consent to?"
"Stop calling it consent, it makes it sound gross. I need you to agree to non sexual physical contact, consuming non toxic food or beverages intended for human consumption, mild infliction of pain without any lasting marks, and lastly, I need you to consent to wearing non sexualized clothing of my choosing. Oh, and you still have to follow all the rules I set up, of course."
"That sounds like a lot of red flags, Lady M." Henri said, unsure. "I can't think of anything you could feed me that would be too bad though, I already tried durian at the Park's house, and Casu Martzu is banned here, so..."
"I have no idea what those things are. You're not a veggie person too, are you?"
"Me? Oh, no, Amber is, but I'm only vegetarian around her, I eat meat at home or when she's not around. She knows, she doesn't mind." Henri said.
"If she minded, I think she'd be an asshole to be entirely honest." Marissa said, unimpressed.
Truth be told, I did mind, it hurt to see people killing things for food when they didn't need to, but I'd learned early on that actually saying that led to angry people and arguments.
"So, do you agree to those things, Henri?" Marissa made sure to use her name, to drive the deal in further.
"I... Yes, I agree to those terms. It sounds good to me. But if I wake up and you've done something bad to me..."
"Gods, I'm not going to do anything like that, ask- ask Amber, I've had her for days, nothing like that."
"She tried to get me to ride in the bottle in nothing but a towel!" I shouted, my voice muffled by the pillow.
"What- NO. That was just- I did not! You weren't ready, and I fucking waited on you to get dressed, you're re-framing it!" She smacked the pillow, smushing me against her sheets for a second.
"And the part about the bunny outfit?~" I said, taunting. This felt good, I was protected by a wall of fluff, and by Henri, who would instantly report any abuse.
"Shut UP, I swear I'll lock you in your house for the night, it was just an example, a hypothetical bunny suit at best." She growled.
"So... Did she or did she not sexually assault you, Amber?" Henri asked, her voice on the edge of a knife.
"...No, I'm just being a dick, she was just sort of rude." I said. Taking it further could result in Henri making false allegations, or Marissa getting actually mad.
"Ok then, please let me know if anything changes, Amber..." Henri said, still tense.
"Alright, enough with the stupid stuff, Henri, I have an outfit I want you in before the night starts, you can change in the bathroom."
I saw Henri's face fall at that. I had the feeling despite the promise of it being non sexual, it still wouldn't be something Henri would appreciate...
~~~
Henri stood in the bathroom door, the maid dress puffing out just over her knees, the headband keeping her hair out of her face, and the tall white socks ending just under the knees. She was blushing, and had an angry glower on her face as she looked at the floor.
"For the record, I think maid outfits are pretty sexualized in today's culture..." I said to Marissa.
"I think it's subjective, really." She replied.
"Well I think it's objectifying." Henri muttered.
"Well, yeah, you're mine for the night, so... that's as objectified as you can get, right? So the costume fits." Marissa said, pulling her phone out.
"Wh- no, no pictures! That is horrible!" Henri said, covering her face.
Marissa rolled her eyes. "Calm down, this is just for my own records, it's not going to be posted anywhere."
"What records?" I asked from atop her shoulder "Why do you need a picture of maid Henri on record?"
"I'm not going to ask you to shut up again, Rat." Marissa said, holding up her fingers as if to flick me.
"AMBER." Henri said angrily pointing at Marissa. "You promised, it was part of the deal."
Marissa sighed. "Ok, sorry, yeah, Amber, I won't tell you to shut up again. Got it?"
"...Good. So, Henri, your first task... is to do a shot with me." Marissa said, going over to the hidden fridge.
She pulled out a bottle of vodka, and pulled a couple shot glasses out of yet another cubby on the same wall.
"I swear you could have a whole body chopped up in your hidey holes and detectives would never be able to find them..." I mused.
Marissa grinned. "Yeah, right? These are in the house blueprints and building permits though, so they're not as secret as you'd think."
Henri wrinkled her nose. "I'll never understand the way you think, Amber. You see a hidden door and think 'oh, I could hide bodies in it!', it's just unsettling..."
"Well, I appreciate her out of the box thinking, Henri. I guess that means I'm a better friend to her than you, hm?" Marissa shot back smugly.
"Well, I guess it'd be more inside the wall thinking instead of outside the box thinking..." I said, mostly to myself.
Henri and Marissa both giggled slightly at that, before stopping to glare at each other. They weren't playing tug of war with my body yet, but I could tell they were trying to play tug of war with my emotions. It wasn't much of a contest though, one was my best friend, and the other was someone abusing me to get clout. So why did it still feel like I was being pulled in two directions?
"I take it you've done shots before, Henri?" Marissa said, putting the little glasses on the table in front of the TV and pouring the liquid into them.
"Well, no, I've only had fancy mixed drinks mostly, and Mister Park gave me a bottle of soju as my first official drink. I think it's like wine? It was strawberry flavored..." She said, unsure.
"I have no idea what that is, but shots are super easy, I've been doing them since high school. You just dump it in the back of your throat, and open your neck hole like you're gulping, don't even let yourself taste it."
She handed Henri one of the glasses. I noticed Henri's glass was only about half full, and wondered if Marissa had done that intentionally.
"Ok, ready? Go."
She tossed the drink into her mouth and gulped, the sound loud in her throat next to me. Henri tried to do the same, but ended up with her cheeks puffed out, and her eyes watering instead.
"Ok, just, get the air out of your mouth, keep your head back, try to keep it off your tongue, and swallow." Marissa said gently.
Henri tried, and with a lot of effort, managed to swallow, gagging and her chest heaving in the process.
"Mein götter..." She choked out. "You do that for fun?!"
Marissa laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "It gets easier, trust me, we'll have a lot more practice by the end of the night. But now that you've got a shot in you, it's time for you to start earning that little visit you and Amber got..."
I hug Marissa's shoulder tighter. I wasn't looking forward to seeing what she had in mind, but I was so, so glad it wasn't me this time.
~~~