Like a Best Friend | ✓

chapter twenty-six

The High Roller happy half hour tickets are not cheap but Kitty and I are determined to get our money's worth. No shots allowed, but by the time we're at the highest point over the city and it's glittering below us, we've knocked back four drinks each from the bar cart in the middle of the pod and we're only halfway round.

"I'm gonna have to pee so bad when we get off," Kitty yells over the music. It's a very different vibe in here from our daytime jaunt, more people and way rowdier thanks to the music and the flowing alcohol.

"Hold it together, Cohen. We've still got fifteen minutes left." I finish my last sip of vodka lemonade and dance across the pod to get a refill from the amused dude manning the cart. Kitty downs the rest of hers and follows suit and I tap my plastic cup against hers a little too hard, losing an inch of my drink. They're not strong, more lemonade than anything else, but I'm pleasantly buzzed.

"Vegas, baby," I say. "Here's to us and our weird fucking honeymoon."

"Weird fucking honeymoon!" a couple of nearby strangers cheer.

Kitty laughs and says, "Cheers to that. This has been a trip and a half."

"I don't wanna go home tomorrow."

"Me neither." She sinks against me as she sips her drink and together we gaze out at the skyline. "I am not ready to explain everything to my parents."

"So don't. They can get with the program at their own pace, figure it out for themselves," I joke. Drink number five is stronger than the last few. I can actually taste the vodka in this one. "It'll be fine, your parents love me."

"They really do. I just don't think they'll see this coming."

"Are you worried how they'll react?"

"I don't know. I don't think so," Kitty says, shaking her head. Our parents couldn't be more different in general, but in that respect they are similar: they are cool people, open and loving and generous and understanding. "I'm more nervous about how many questions Mom's going to ask and how long it'll take her to ask something that makes me spit out my drink."

"Top tip: make sure you're well hydrated before you tell her that you're fucking your best friend."

Kitty salutes. "Noted." Her arm slides around my waist and she plants a wet kiss on my lips, her breath hot on my cheek when she says, "Maybe we can just make out in front of all of them until they piece it together."

"Yeah, sure, the first thing I want to do when we get back is put on a smooch show for our parents." I put on a showman's voice to say, "Gather, one and all, and watch us kiss until you figure out that we're more than just friends!"

She grins, her lips against my jaw. "Okay, maybe not."

"We'll just tell them," I murmur. "It'll be fine."

"I know."

By the time we get off the High Roller, we're lightheaded and our feet are a little loose and if we don't find a bathroom in the next five minutes, there's going to be a problem.

"God, Fliss, I need to pee so fucking bad, my teeth hurt," Kitty whines as we stumble out of the pod and the bar cart guy directs us towards the restrooms in the main building. We make it just in time, judging by the sigh of relief that Kitty lets out the minute she locks herself in a stall. I lean against the sink and laugh.

"Bad move, Cohen. It's only, like, six thirty and you've already broken the seal. You're gonna be peeing all night."

"Are you gonna miss the opportunity to empty your bladder? Who knows how long it'll be before we find another bathroom?"