Tequila burns all the way down.
Alice doesn't ask her what she likes, it's not her style. Instead she takes a long sip from the cherry slushie she insisted they stop for and pulls a bottle of tequila from under her bed. She fills the plastic cup to the brim and stirs it sloppily with the straw, unbothered when a few drops spill to the cheap carpeting of her room. She licks cherry slush from the palm of her hand and raises the cup.
"Bottoms up." She gives Penelope the second straw, the one tucked behind her ear. It's pink, same color as Alice's, even though she knows the gas station they bought it at keeps them in an array of colors.
Alice's tongue - shameless piercing and all - is already waiting on her straw by the time Penelope sticks hers in. She smiles as they sip at the same time, a few beads of condensation dripping to the floor between them.
Penelope takes the cup with both hands when Alice shoves it at her. It's cold and she sneaks a another sip as Alice shrugs her jacket off and plops onto the bed. The tequila is cheap, harsh, but it mixes surprisingly well with the sugary drink.
"Thanks for the ride," Alice mutters, kicking her heavy boots off. "Turn the stereo on if you want."
Penelope's eyes comb the room until she spots it. The stereo is no more than a radio with a single cassette deck, but she hits play and delicately sits on the edge of Alice's bed. A rock song she doesn't recognize fills the small room. She's pleasantly surprised when she realizes the jarring music is being sung by a woman and not a man.
"I like your room." Penelope regrets the words immediately. Alice snorts and pushes herself up on her elbows.
"You don't need to be nice." There's no malice in her voice for once, just amusement. "Just say you're shocked I don't live in the trailer park."
A lump catches in her throat. "I just mean it - it isn't what I was expecting."
"Yeah, you were expecting a trailer." Alice's voice is lined with a tease. "Believe it or not, the Southside is more than just Sunnyside Trailer Park."
"Maybe," she admits. "But it is nicer than I thought."
Alice looks to the watermarked ceiling. "You must have been expecting a real shithole then."
Penelope takes another sip, unsure if Alice didn't mix it well enough or if she's just getting used to the burn. She clears her throat.
"What I mean is, your room is - it's lived in. Comfortable. It belongs to a teenage girl." Her eyes travel, taking in a small stack of tapes and books, the posters on the wall, a contraption that looked like a bong or perhaps an incense burner, although neither seemed Alice's style. "You can come in here and kick your clothes anywhere, jump on the bed, not worry if you need to put anything away." In a mesh laundry bag she spots a few pieces of Alice's unmentionables and swallows. "My room is nothing like this."
Alice shifts her weight between her elbows and pulls her feet onto the bed. "What's your room like?"
"A museum," she blurts out. "Always ready to be shown off. I decorated it myself, but there was a very limited number of things I knew I would be allowed." She slides her feet out of her Mary Janes and wonders if it would be too forward to lay down as well. "No posters on the wall. Nothing on the floor. Clothes hung in the closet or put with the laundry after each wear." She holds up the slushie. "Definitely no food or beverages."
"Your parents sound like real pains in the asses." Alice is smiling again. "Is there where you got it from?"
Penelope laughs in spite of herself. "Yeah maybe." She finally turns and looks to the other girl. "You can come over one day."
Alice feeds her a sad smile. They both know it's an empty offer. "Yeah maybe." She blows a loose strand of hair out of her face. "Thanks for today by the way."
Penelope feels the heat rise to her cheeks. "It was nothing, please do-"
Alice sits up all of a sudden and places her hand on Penelope's arm. "No, really. Thanks."
"It was just a ride." Penelope's eyes go down to the carpet. She can't even tell where the slushie dripped anymore. "I am never in a rush to get home from school."
"Not just the ride home. Defending me." Alice lets go of her arm but Penelope's skin burns where her hand was. "To Hermione and your other cheerleader pals."
"Oh, they are not my pals." She lets out a nervous laugh. "Trust me. They are just as nasty to me. They don't consider me a friend." She stretches her legs out straight, wiggling her toes through her stockings. "I don't think I have any real friends."
Alice touches her arm again, the burning sensation coming back. "It sucks not having friends."
When she looks her way she realizes it's not a barb, but Alice speaking about herself as well. Penelope looks to Alice's soft hand on her skin and mutters, "We could be friends."
Another sad smile. "Friends. Yeah, maybe."
And another empty promise.
Their eyes meet. Alice juts her chin towards the cup. Penelope holds it out to Alice but the other girl just puckers her lips. She moves it slowly until it reaches Alice's mouth and watches as she takes a slow sip, their gaze not breaking.
"It's tasty, right?" she asks slowly when Penelope finally pulls the cup away.
She nods curtly and turns her head. She looks at the bookshelf, the clothes hanging from a rack in the corner, the fishnets balled up on the floor, the open pack of cigarettes on the desk. Anything to avoid looking back at Alice.
"Surprisingly so." Penelope takes another sip, this time out of the straw laced with Alice's lipstick. She licks it off her lips and hopes the other girl doesn't notice. "I never - I don't believe I've ever had tequila."
Alice laughs. That loud, contagious, throw-your-head-back kind of laugh she was famous for. Penelope feels the mattress shake as Alice lays back down. A rush runs through her at the thought of Alice flat on her back. Her thoughts wander to laying on top of her, pinning her down, leaning over her, but she shakes it away.
Another sip from Alice's straw and she puts the cup on the bedside table. She lays back so she's next to Alice, both their socked feet hanging sideways off the bed.
She turns to look at her, to really look at the loud-mouth girl from the Southside of town. The one with the leather and the curls and chewing gum and the clothes that showed just the right amount of skin. The one who licked her lips ever so slowly to show off the tongue stud Penelope fantasized about when she was alone.
Alice stops laughing but the smile stays. She turns on her side to face her and Penelope follows suit.
"What are you thinking about?" Alice asks, her blue eyes dancing.
Penelope tucks a hand under her head. "I'm wondering why you invited me inside when you don't like your own home."
Alice shakes her head, a few pieces of hair falling in front of her face. "What are you really thinking about?" Her hand reaches out and she slowly pulls Penelope's glasses off her face.
Maybe it's her blurred vision or maybe it's the tequila ripe in her mouth, but she feels bold for the first time in her life. "I'm wondering what that tongue stud feels like." She lets out her breath slowly. "What are you thinking about?"
The blonde girl leans in. "I'm wondering if you taste like cherries."
Alice's touch burns worse than the tequila. It sets her whole body on fire.
Their lips meet and Alice wastes no time pressing her tongue roughly into Penelope's mouth. She flicks her own tongue against the small metal bar and, in a moment of daring, tugs at it with her teeth. Alice gasps into her mouth and Penelope uses the moment of surprise to climb on top of her. She pins Alice's legs together with her own and runs her hands slowly up Alice's arms until she pins her wrists right above her head.
She breaks their kiss to gauge Alice's reaction. She struggles her wrists a bit, but smiles up at her.
"Losing your nerve?" The tease is back in Alice's voice. Penelope presses their mouths back together before she can get another word out.
Their undressing is sloppy, their coordination off, but they laugh their way through it. Alice lets Penelope take charge even though she's the clueless one. Neither talks until Penelope is crawling up Alice's body. Alice's hand comes out to stop her as Penelope is perched above her chest.
"You're full of surprises," Alice mutters as she thumbs the delicate piercing in Penelope's navel. She presses her lips to it and Penelope's legs shake as she moves her belly against Alice's mouth. "Relax," Alice's breath burns against her skin too, "we've hardly begun." With that she links her arms behind Penelope's thighs and draws her closer.
Alice's tongue stud, she learns, feels even better in other places.
They lay with their faces inches apart afterwards, the melted cherry slushie leaving a ring on the sheets between them. Alice lights a cigarette and after two puffs, hands it to Penelope without asking if she wants it. Her mouth is already a mixture of cherry, tequila, and Alice - the nicotine only enhances it.
Penelope takes a puff as Alice strokes her cheek. She swallows the cough itching to come out. "Still think I should come over your place sometime?"
Her mouth opens and a noise somewhere between a cough and a laugh escapes her. Alice takes the cigarette back before the ashes fall to her bedspread.
"No," Penelope manages a smile she didn't know possible, "I like it here actually."
"Yeah." Alice leans in and presses their noses together. "I like you here too."
Alice's kiss burns her in the best possible way.