Dan was only three drinks in when she said, “I haven’t kissed a girl since fifth grade.” Allison, who was considerably deeper into her fifth of Grey Goose, shook her head and waggled a finger in Dan’s direction. “That’s not true. You told me all of your stage sisters--” “But that’s for a sho-ow,” Dan said, wrinkling her nose as she drew the last word out. The zig-zag of freckles there folded like a drawstring waistband, and Renee was simultaneously too sober for this conversation and glad that she didn’t drink anymore. “It didn’t mean anything.” Allison rolled her eyes at Renee. Renee smiled, and hoped it didn’t look as sickly as it felt on her face. If it did, Allison didn’t comment on it. “She’s the prude-iest stripper I’ve ever met,” Allison said in an easily overhearable whisper. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. It’s just mouths. Just bodies. Oh sorry, does that offend Jesus?”

“No,” Renee managed. She took a sip of her un-spiked soda to wet her throat. The artificial orange sweetness shocked across her tongue, the flavor loud, unsubtle. The exact opposite of who Renee was trying to be. She tucked her skirt more firmly over her knees. “Not for me,” Dan protested. “I mean, yeah. But there’s a kiss and there’s a kiss. Her name was Abby. I liked her because she gave me her favorite pokemon card. It was Vulpix. So.” 

Dan’s thumb and forefinger were passing back and forth over her mouth, thoughtfully. Her other hand was still in Allison’s grasp as she applied the top coat of polish, but the blue on the fingernails near Dan’s face were an electric contrast to the brown fullness of Dan’s bottom lip. The cupid’s bow above was perfectly shaped. Renee hadn’t noticed before how much it looked like it belonged in a magazine. Good girl, be a good girl, you’re a good girl, Renee thought with an edge of hysteria. “Abby? Like our Abby? Ewwww,” Allison said, gagging through a laugh. She rocked forward and hit Dan in the arm. “Okay, you’ve got to do better now that I know that. I can hook you up.” She arched a suggestive eyebrow, which was actually quite cruel of her. Renee was already emotionally compromised. “Eh. I don’t have time for dating.” “I didn’t mean dating. I mean getting you some pussy, girl.” “Allison!” Now they were both laughing, swatting at each other with floppy hands. Allison shrieked for the integrity of Dan’s still-drying nail polish and tackled Dan to the floor.  “We’ll start you slow, I got you, come on. Just a little kiss? Just a little girl smooch?” Allison smacked her lips obnoxiously near Dan’s ear.  “I spent like thirty minutes doing your lipstick, no way!” Dan wiggled to throw Allison off her, and Allison let her up-- only to grab her again around the waist from behind and set loose another squeal of giggles. “Off! Off! Renee help!” There was a fuzzy static feeling in Renee’s stomach, climbing up through her chest. It felt wonderful; it felt like flying; it felt like maybe she was about to fall off a cliff. She got to her knees and crawled across the floor to try to grab Allison’s wrists. “Now, children,” she said, adopting the voice of a dissappointed schoolteacher, “we don’t fight each other to solve our arguments.” “We do in Exy!” Allison whooped and let Renee pull Dan free. Dan immediately latched her arms around Renee’s neck, climbing into her lap. The fuzzy freefall feeling had spread to Renee’s head. She found herself giggling as well, and couldn’t seem to stop it. Dan was very, very warm, and very, very pressed all against her. To prove that she was some sort of trickster demon sent to overturn Renee’s good intentions, Allison clapped her hands in delight. “Now’s your chance, Dannie! Kiss for the heroic rescuer!” Renee felt her eyes go wide. She glanced frantically at Allison over Dan’s shoulder. Dan was going to know. Allison grinned and toasted Renee with her Goose.  Maybe Renee could stop being a good person for one night. One murder wasn’t all that bad, right? The problem with having lived her life-- Renee’s-- was that she was absolutely sure it wasn’t going to happen. She could feel Dan’s puffed breath on her cheek, and she had the painfully physical weight of Dan under her hands as Dan squirmed around to keep her balance. This was a ridiculous situation, right out of one of the movies Stephanie liked to watch, and Renee knew like she knew the feel of an old shoe that this would end with nothing more than a laughing attempt to detangle. She should ask Dan if she needed to drink some water, Renee thought, as Dan’s face got closer. She opened her mouth, and, And, And? As kisses went, it was...wet. Renee frowned, not entirely sure what she was feeling. Her brain did not seem to be inhabiting the same space as her body. Dan’s hitching laughter spilled out over Renee’s collarbone as Dan slumped down to bury her face there. “Terrible,” Allison said, swallowing another sizeable measure from her bottle. She fell to her hands and knees and crawled forward. “Da-an, watch, look.” What? Oh. Dan really had put a lot of lipstick on Allison, Renee thought, and then Allison sucked at Renee’s lower lip, just a little, and it turned out Renee’s brain was in her body because it was leaking out her ears. I think I’m dead, Renee thought, and then felt the buzz behind her teeth that let her know the words had slipped out into the air where other people could hear them. Allison looked shocked for a moment, and then amused. Dan blew a raspberry against Renee’s shirt. “Outside judge says that’s a no for you too, Allie.” “No, I mean, no, it was-- they were fine,” Renee said. Her throat felt like it was sticking together. Her face was so warm she wondered if her head might pop off and go drifting about near the ceiling lamp, to fizzle out there like the dead bugs.  Allison put a hand to her chest, remembering a second later to gasp. “Fine, did you hear that? For shame.” Dan snorted. She was latched on to Renee’s shirt with a powerful strength. “Just wait until we’re sober like you, Miss Renee Walker. Then we’ll show you.” “Ah,” Renee said faintly. “Well then.”