She pouts, but pauses in her weak wrestle with his shirt and concentrates, trying to tabulate. “I mean, not much? Tequila at home—notgood tequila, either... then Jamie got us another round of actually good tequila when we got out, Lower East Side, and he was paying—or Hassan? Whatever, I wasn’t going to say no, obviously—then rum and Cokes, but I don’t support Coca-Cola, their unethical practices? Crazy. And Jackie got margaritas, but all the salt made me thirsty, so I drank some more—Jan knew the bartender, too, had an open tab—he works in, like, spirits distribution, so he knows everyone, like a giant cartel—so I got thishugemezcal Negroni, absolutely fucked—ugh, then Tommy made me try a Manhattan, what hisdaddrinks, all those old Upper East Side guys—oh! And Hassan found Jell-O shots, but then Amina—brilliant, she’s brilliant, we actually first met partying downtown freshman year, she was an NYU kid—met in, like, the bathroom line, she’s my soulmate—anyway, she had the idea ofbodyshots—”
“Jesus,” he mutters, running a hand over his face. She frowns, grabbing his wrist; she likes his face, wants to see his face.
“Oh, no,” she giggles, swinging their clasped hands together. “Unhappy Aleksandr. I didn’t do too many—I mean, I didn’tdoany, except off Amina—it was more other people doing them off me.”
“Are you joking?”
“Well, I’m actually really quite funny. People think I’m all serious, but I’ve got a great sense of humor!” Displeasure is clear on his face, eventhrough her haze. She doesn’t know why; she is funny, people just don’t immediately see it—she’s funny, and also a genius, because if he’s unhappy, she knows exactly how to address it: her dress, she should takeherdress off—
He grabs her wrists, which is rude. She tries to squirm out of his grip.
“Lili—Lili, stop—” He squints down at her face. “Do you have glitter on you?”
The struggle with her dress forgotten, she throws her arms up in celebration. “Yes! It’s my birthday! I turned twenty-three!”
His long stare makes her wonder if she’s counting time a bit slowly.
“Jesus Christ,” he mutters, almost to himself. “Twenty-three? Alright, come on.”
Motion, he’s walking her backwards, and Lili clings to him, keeping her balance. “I know, I know—I’m a Gemini. But I think Geminis get a bad rap? Not Gemini men, obviously, they’re psychotic. But I think my Leo rising balances it out, plus Sag moon? Don’t tell anyone about my Venus in Capricorn, though, that’s a secret—”
White-blue light spills into the kitchen, making her eyes hurt. She buries her face against his chest, but it’s just the fridge. Against her cheek, his shirt smells good, the fresh, clean scent of a recent shower, slept-in bedsheets, and crisp night air.
“Do you want water, or tea... milk or something—”
“What is that?” she yells.
Aleksandr nearly drops a carton of milk. “What is what? Jesus Christ—”
“Is thatdairy?”
“Yes?”
She grabs the carton from his hand. The milk sloshes in its cold, sweating container. “This is murder! Murder and rape, the dairy industry is aslaughterindustry! Calves get torn from their mothers the day they’re born, how can you support that? Cows are raped for this, it’s violence—there’s literally blood and pus in milk, it’s horrible for you, horrible for the planet—”
The carton’s taken out of her hands, placed back in the fridge. “Got it, no dairy.”
“No, no, no,” Lili says, shutting the fridge with all her weight. “No. Come on, let’s find Oreos.”
“What?”
“Do you have Oreos?”
“Oreos?”
“Oreos!” Honestly.
“No, I do not haveOreos. I might have some bread in the freezer.”
Lili points an accusatory finger at him. “You’re trying to make me like you.”
“I’m trying to keep you from drowning in a pool of your own vomit.”
She cranes her head back, grasping at his forearms to stay steady as she looks up at him. “You’re very tall,” she observes.
“Yes.”
“How tall are you?”
