Make space for more drinks, king.
I'm still filming Noah when I hear sirens. Flashing blue and red.
I freeze. My brain, fully drowned in tequila and questionable decisions, takes half a second too long to process.
"Oh shit—GUYS!" I turn off the phone, grab Noah by the arm, who screams, and yank Gio away from a group of people chanting his name like he's a Roman emperor.
Lorenzo is holding a cup full of cereal. With no milk. We run. More like chaotic stumbling. I slam into the back of a delivery truck and trip, crashing against Gio, who catches me by the shirt. "Get DOWN!" I hiss, shoving them all behind the vehicle like we are in a war movie.
We crouch. My heart beats like it's trying to escape my chest.
Flashlight and footsteps.
"YOU FOUR. DON'T MOVE."
We all freeze like raccoons caught in a spotlight. The officer steps closer, holding a notepad and an aura of "I hate my job." Gio stands up instantly, arms crossed. "You got a problem?" I elbow him in the gut. "Not now."
"We didn't do shit," Gio adds, rubbing his side.
"We're just... hanging out. Behind a truck. In total silence. That's... that's allowed."
"You're trespassing and breaking noise ordinance."
"Well, technically," I start, standing up slowly and wobbling a bit, "the sound radius at which the bass was operating didn't qualify as—"
I forget the word. Literally just…forget how to talk.
"As…acoustic…terrorism?" Noah offers, smiling. The cop turns to him.
Noah tilts his head. "You look really good in that uniform, by the way, officer. Like, distractinglygood."
I almost die.
"Are you flirting with the police?" I whisper.
"Do you want me to stop?" he whispers back.
Lorenzo groans and clutches his head. "I swear to God, if I get arrested while this human disaster is trying to get laid, I'm throwing myself into traffic."
Gio is leaning back against the truck, legs stretched out, arms crossed, grin smeared across his face. "We didn't throw this party. We're just better looking than the people who actually did, so we got blamed, right?"
"Sir, please," I try again.
"We're leaving. We're literally leaving. You can watch us leave. Watch me walk. It'll be great."
The officer just stares. "You're drunk."
"Well, technically, yes. But spiritually, I'mveryfocused right now."
There is a long pause. A really long one.
Then he sighs. "Get out. All of you. Quietly. Before I change my mind."
"See?" Noah whispers. "He totally likes me."
Lorenzo makes a sound that is either a laugh or a dry heave. Gio grabs my wrist as we stumble away and mutters in my ear."You just talked down a cop while Noah flirted, I almost fought him, and Lorenzo was actively dying. I'm gonna fuck you so hard for that, Ravioli."
I look at him wide-eyed. Still drunk.
