Page 45 of Best Vacation Ever

“Tonight’s gonna be fun.”

—

After those first two tequila shots, I have another two, and now I’m done with tequila, maybe forever. I just can’t get over that aftertaste. And the burning on the way down. And the smell. I could gag just thinking about it.

I switch to some fruity drink and nurse it for a while as the guys do some more shots. Adam leaves after his fifth shot in a row to “find Kellan,” and reappears a bit later.

I’m having a lot of fun with the guys. I’m a little tipsy—we all are—but that’s not the only reason. The guys arefunny. We’re sitting around a small table, and we’re laughing and trading stories and enjoying ourselves. It’s also the first time I’ve hung out with Adam and Dylan not as Faye’s friend, but as Lori. It’s a cool feeling.

Eventually, Faye finds me at the bar and asks me for the room key. She seems upset but says she’s okay. I don’t fully believe her, but I think she can tell I don’t really want to leave yet and tells me to stay and have fun. I wonder what she was up to all night. It must’ve been something good if she was missing her bikini top.

“Four more tequilas for my four amigos!” Dylan says as he comes up to our table with a little plate of four shot glasses filled with that burning liquor, limes resting flat on top of each. I’m surprised he could carry them over here without spilling any; he’s a little tipsy.

“There’s three of your amigos here. You don’t normally count as your own amigo,” I laugh as he sets the plate down.

“Huh? There’s four of us here.” He points at each of us, ending with himself. “One, two, three, four. Four of my amigos!”

“But that’s not—”

Dean leans in closer to me, laughter on his lips. “You can’t beat him with logic. I’d just let it go.”

I giggle until Dylan removes the shots from the plate and sets one down in front of each of us. The smell wakes up my gag reflex instantly.

“None for me, thanks.” I push the shot back into the middle of the table.

Dean follows my lead and gestures at his beer. “I’m okay for now too.”

“Looks like it’s just you and me!” Dylan slaps Adam on the back. Adam looks like he’s going to puke on the spot.

“Man, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Adam says, his words slurred.

Dylan ignores him as he puts two in front of Adam and the other two in front of himself. “We’re on vacation!” he exclaims.

“Plus, you just got dumped by your girlfriend. So, if anyone needs these, it’s you.”

Adam sighs, probably thinking about Jenna, his total witch of an ex. I can’t stand her. When Faye told me they broke up, I basically jumped for joy, and not just because I’ve always pined after Adam.

“All right.” Adam picks up a shot in each hand, and Dylan lets out a drunk “Whoop!”

I lean over to Dean as the other boys clink their glasses together and take the shots, one after another. “Do you think we should cut them off at some point?”

Dean shrugs. “They’re big boys, they can make their own decisions.”

My gaze goes from him to something over his shoulder, and I gasp like it’s the most spectacular thing ever.

“What?” Dean asks, turning around to check out what I’m so happy about.

“They have face painting!” Emboldened by the alcohol, I grab his hand before he can react and pull him from his chair, forcing him to follow me.

Obviously I’m not strong enough to pull Dean, so he allows me to drag him over to the face-painting station. There are workers supervising the paints, but you can paint your friends yourself. One station opens up almost immediately after we get there, so I pull Dean to it and force him down in the seat.

“You’re painting my face?” Dean chuckles, looking at the paints laid out on the table.

“Yup. Then you’re painting mine,” I state, picking up a brush. “What do you want?”

“Surprise me.”

Since it’s a pink party, most of the paints are pinks, but there are some other colors too. I pick up a palette and focus on making sure my painting actually resembles what I want it to.