It was 8:00 and Cissnei's windows were once again wide open, letting the early Midgar summer in. Rude lit his cigarette as Tseng shuffled the deck. Cissnei's apartment was also filled with the savory smell of a baking lasagna.
"Seven card stud, kings are wild, high low." Tseng said taking a drag on his cigarette before dealing out the hand.
"Seven card stud and a round of straight whiskey I say." Cissnei said lining up the shot glasses before her and pouring them. "For you." She said shoving a shot glass toward Reno. "You and you. And here's mine." Her phone dinged as she picked up her cards and her cigarette. Tseng threw his bet into the middle of the table. "To another shit-faced Friday night." She said holding her shot glass to the middle of the table.
"Another shit-faced Friday." Rude agreed with her. Four shot glasses didn't make much of a clang.
"One of these days…the four of us are going to wake up in the same bed or half naked passed out on each other or in a controversial cell phone picture and that will make for some good Shinra rumors." Rude said before swallowing his double-shot. Cissnei texted something all the while holding her cigarette and throwing her shot down at the same time. Reno watched Cissnei as he blew a cloud of smoke before him. He threw his bet in the center of the table as Tseng did and laid down a card. His phone bleeped at him.
"Honey, I just can't believe it hasn't already happened." Cissnei said.
"Please tell me that lasagna is almost done." Reno asked.
"Five more minutes. Here we'll have another shot in the meantime." Cissnei said. Reno winked at her as Rude's phone dinged at him.
"Oh what the hell, Tseng you did not just lay that card down. Bull shit…" Reno complained knowing that he couldn't do much with his hand. Cissnei passed another round of whiskey around the table. Her phone chimed at her.
"You can handle it." Tseng told him as he flicked his cigarette in the bowl beside him and stared at his thigh.
"That lasagna smells so fuckin' amazing. I love you for your lasagna, Tseng. And the fact that you give me Midol during that special lady time every month." Cissnei said. Reno laughed at her.
"You're welcome." Tseng said not entirely paying attention to her.
"Tseng, why the fuck do you have a bottle of Midol in your desk?" Rude asked. It was a fair question.
"For Cissnei, apparently. But you should know that I also have a toy wiggly worm in my desk, a full cartridge of shells and an orange that's been in there for about a week.." Tseng said still not looking up from his thigh. The oven beeped.
"Oh my god! The lasagna's done!" Cissnei said excitedly. Reno's phone chimed as she laid her cards face down and ran into her kitchen.
"You know you have to let that thing cool before…" Cissnei interrupted Tseng.
"Shut up! It's done!" she insisted.
"We're gonna take a shot while you do that." Reno said.
"I have a better idea. You pour me a shot, bring your shot over here and help me." Cissnei said.
"Okay, fine I will. Reno said pouring the third round of shots.
"So, Tseng while they are doing that let's you and me talk about the academy student you're fucking." Rude said.
"I'm not fucking an academy student." Tseng said incredibly straight-faced as he lit another cigarette. Reno joined her in the kitchen.
"Yeah, okay." Rude said laughing.
"So, what is it that you're doin' Sunday night since Monday is a holiday?" Reno asked reaching over her head and pulling plates from the shelf above her.
"I'm going to Zack's because he and Angel and Kunsel are doing some stupid thing." Cissnei said. Reno sat the plates down and stared at her.
"You're…you're going over there Sunday?" he asked. She reached in a drawer for her spatula and a handful of forks.
"Yeah…I am….do you…have with a problem with that or something?" She asked him scraping a steaming wad of cheese off the spatula.
"No, no…I don't have a problem with it. I guess…I'm a little surprised that you'd go over there. Especially…." Reno paused and looked at her longer. "…never mind." He said. He seemed a bit on the irritated side.
"Hey…" she said rather seriously. There was something about the look in her eyes. It was hard to pinpoint but there was just something…different…about it. Reno smiled at her and took another drag on his cigarette.
"Cut me a corner piece, will ya?" he insisted punching her arm.
"I guess I can do that for you. Tseng, I'll bring this baking dish back to you Tuesday, okay?" Cissnei asked before taking a minute to shoot the shot that Reno had brought her.
"Okay." He answered her as Reno handed him a plate, careful to not mess up the hand of cards laying on the table. He handed a plate to Rude as well. Rude's phone chimed at him.
"Thanks, man." Rude said taking a plate from Reno.
"Do you all want something to drink that isn't alcohol?" Cissnei asked opening her refrigerator. She handed Reno a Wildberry Capri-Sun knowing good and well that's what he wanted.
"Do you have any tea?" Rude asked her.
"Yeah, you want a glass? Cissnei asked.
"Sure." Rude told her.
"Tseng, you're texting and not saying anything. What do you want?" Cissnei asked him.
"Tea's fine if you have plenty." He said not looking up from his lap. Cissnei took her plate over to the table.
"Tseng, please. You're the only loser texting underneath the table on your stupid Blackberry. First, get a phone like ours, and second we know. We all know that you have yourself an academy student on the side." Cissnei accused him. "Rude wanted to discuss it and so do me and Reno."
Reno returned to the table with his cherished Capri-Sun and lasagna. He sat a glass of tea in front of Tseng while Cissnei brought her own glass along with Rude's. "You know we don't give a shit if you're fuckin' her right? In fact, we'd all be like oooh shit our boss is fuckin' an academy student, god he's so fuckin' cool." Reno said stabbing a fork into the lasagna.
"You know what…okay….what if….what if….I said yes, I'm fuckin' her?" Then what?" Tseng asked.
"We'd drink to that." Cissnei said. "Granted…we all have tea and sugary kids juice drinks right now but after we're done inhaling your lasagna…we'd totally drink to it." Tseng poked around his own cooking for a moment and sighed. He placed his phone on the table as it vibrated again.
"I'm fucking an academy student." He admitted calmly. "For three months, I've…" he couldn't finish that sentence for all the cheering. "Would you three shut the hell up! Here…since I've opened a can of worms here's her picture." He said flipping through his phone and pushing it to the middle of the table for Cissnei, Rude and Reno to fight over. Rude was the quickest.
"Holy shit….I hope she doesn't hear this, but not even my girlfriend looks that good in ripped jeans. I know I'm making a really rash judgment but…she's a wild one isn't she?" Rude asked handing Tseng's phone over to Reno. He poured another shot of whiskey as he examined her.
"She'd make Cissnei look like a sweet church going girl." Tseng said. Cissnei gasped.
"Oh, if I didn't like you so much I would knock you in your crown jewels right now!" she said punching him instead.
"Shit…yeah she's hot. But…I've seen hotter…and believe me Tseng…I'm sure I've fucked better." he said looking over at Cissnei and swallowing the next shot. He handed Tseng's phone to Cissnei. She wasn't about to let Reno one up her on shots so she poured another one for herself after taking Tseng's phone.
"Tseng! What the hell! You must be a freakin' animal in bed. How else would you get a girl that hot to sleep with you?" Cissnei said handing Tseng's phone back.
"Listen, you three can't say a damn word, okay? She's next to join us and if any of you open your mouth immediately the president will think 'oh well, she fucked her way in'. And that is not true! This girl has five Elite Emblems. She was handpicked a year ago as the next in rank." Tseng explained.
"We're not gonna say anything!" Reno insisted.
"Okay, okay…after this lasagna we start in on Jager Bombs to our boss fucking an academy student! You know what…two Jager Bombs! It sounds so dirty doesn't it? 'Yeah, my boss is fucking an academy student, what of it? Oh, Tseng please tell us you've been lying and that she's really underage. Oh god, yes! Yes! She's like fifteen isn't she?" Cissnei asked dreaming far too much up in her head.
"Oh my god! What kind of sick son of a bitch do you think I am! She's twenty-eight! Annnd I just gave you her age. I blame the liquor and the lasagna for that."
"I think you should bring her to the next Poker night." Rude said.
"No!" Tseng insisted.
"Why? Will she not smoke or drink her ass off? Does she only fuck you, is that it?" Cissnei asked scraping her plate clean.
"Oh she will but…no, I'm not bringing her." Tseng insisted as his phone vibrated again.
"Yes you will. We'll have you talked in to it by then." Rude said. Cissnei's phone dinged as she stood up and sat her plate on the higher part of her counter near the table.
"I need to get the Jager Bomb stuff." She said grabbing a bottle from her counter and a six pack of Red Bull from her kitchen floor. "Hey…" she looked at Reno with a wondering look in her eyes. "Where are those plastic Jager Bomb…thingys?"
"Oh…they are…" Reno thought a moment. "…in that cabinet above your fridge." He finally said. Cissnei pulled her little step ladder out from under her counter top and stepped up to the cabinet that was normally out of reach for her.
"Who the hell put these up here…RENO!" Cissnei accused him.
"Hey, I can't help it that you're short. That was a good place for them." He said sitting his plate on the high counter as Cissnei had. Once she had what she wanted she threw his plate and hers into her stainless steel sink.
"Someone finish that whiskey bottle off so I can open another one after the Jager Bombs." She said. "Wait! NO! Me and Tseng are gonna go shot for shot with it!" she quickly changed her mind. Reno was the lightweight and he was always drunk first then it was Rude. Cissnei and Tseng could keep up with each other pretty well. Although, all the alcohol hit Cissnei at once and when it hit, it hit her hard.
"There's like, what four double shots in there?" Tseng commented as he looked at the bottle.
"So, do 'em with me!" Cissnei said taking Rude and Tseng's plates from them.
"We'll finish this hand then I'll do you." Tseng said. "Shit…you know what I mean." Tseng shook his head knowing good and well he had messed that up as Rude laughed at him.
"Oh god, Tseng. I can't fuckin' wait! Oh, daddy yes!" Cissnei said as passionately as she possibly could.
"What the….oh my god…you are so…fuckin' sick, Cissnei. Just for that I'm gonna win this hand."
"I love to screw with you." Cissnei said through her laughter. Her phone dinged again.
"That's so embarrassing that we can't even drink and play cards without texting." Rude said. Cissnei looked up at Reno and licked her lips before lighting another cigarette.
"Rude, come on man if we didn't text, talk, drink, smoke and play cards at the same time….we'd be SOLDIER." Reno said. It was completely meant as a slam judging by the collective 'ooooooh' around the table.
"Oh shit, you're so mean but oh god that's funny." Tseng admitted as he laid down his hand.
"What the fuck, Tseng….I can't beat that hand! Stop laying winning hands down!" Reno said as his phone chimed.
"You can't but I can." Rude said laying down his hand.
"Silly, silly boys. Suck on this." Cissnei laid down her hand and took the money in the middle. "Wait, wait, wait….here…you two split this part 'cause you had low hands." Cissnei said shoving some of the money back into the middle of the table. "Okay! Time to bomb!" She said excitedly as Rude, Reno and Tseng shoved their cards toward her. It would be her turn to deal and choose the next game. "Oooh my god, Reno this song reminds me of the time we…." Rude cut her off.
"Oh my god, you two have too many Lady GaGa experiences together!" he insisted. Reno laughed at her.
"Yeah…yeah…this was a good one too." Reno laughed again. Cissnei opened a Red Bull and poured it into the plastic containers accordingly. She followed it up with the Jagermeister. She shoved one toward Reno first. Neither Rude nor Tseng waited on her to pass the shot glasses to them.
"Okay, okay here we go. To our boss and the fact that he's getting laid by some cute little blonde slut!" Cissnei announced excitedly.
"She is NOT a slut!" Tseng insisted with wide eyes.
"Mmm….don't care we already drank to it." Reno said swallowing it down I one gulp. Tseng just drank the shot in front of him and gave up arguing with him.
"We do one more and then me and Tseng finish the whiskey." Cissnei said.
"I wonder what would happen if I mixed the Capri-Sun and the vodka?" Reno wondered out loud.
"Do it, man! Do it!" Rude encouraged him. Ah, Rude…the best bad influence of a friend anyone could ever have.
"Yeah, that seems….shit I think I'm a little drunk right now." Reno admitted.
"That means you can have two more drinks before you're actually drunk and like…ten more before you're shitfaced." Rude said pouring the second Jager Bomb for Cissnei
"Tseng, you may not wanna get too shitfaced tonight. You wanna be able to perform after your woman picks you up tonight." Reno said holding his plastic cup towards Cissnei even though Rude had taken the liquor from her. "Make it strong, babe." He told her.
"No! You get the regular strength! You have to be able to perform just like Tseng." She winked at him. "Now Rude, well his girl is at a beach volleyball tournament in Costa. Rude, honey, you can have yours as strong as you want!" Cissnei said.
"I hate you all." Rude said.
"Wait a minute! How do you know she's picking me up tonight?" Tseng asked Reno.
"Dude, I read your text." Reno said. "Yeah, you'll wanna make sure…you can rise to the occasion." Reno said.
"I hate you…I can't believe you doubt me. And by the way I thought you and Geralyn broke a while back so why the hell do you need the ability to salute?" Tseng demanded of him moving his phone to the other side of the table. Reno laughed at him.
"Yeah, we broke up like a month and a half ago." Reno never actually volunteered any more information. Perhaps he still didn't want to talk about her after everything that had happened. Cissnei laughed stupidly.
"Oh god, you boys and…everything in your pants that doesn't work with too much alcohol. See, that…is the beauty of being a woman because all the liquor in the world wouldn't make us unable to fuck you." Cissnei said.
"Shut up Cissnei! You just keep that in mind later when you're so ass-trashed you can hardly see straight!" Reno winked at her. She just laughed at him wildly. She was feeling the liquor hit her.
"I believe in you boss. Have another shot with me." Rude said.
"No, right after he gets his head out of your ass he'll have a shot with you." Reno said as Cissnei poured the rest of the whiskey out for she and Tseng.
"Here hon' let's do this." Cissnei told Tseng.
"I have a super girly question." Rude said.
"Reno has a super girl answer." Cissnei said as seriously as she could before taking the next shot with Tseng. He motioned at her with his hand.
"Believe me Reno, if I had the parts to jerk off right now…I probably would just for the hell of it." She said 'packing' another pack of cigarettes. "Oh damn it, I'm supposed to be shufflin' that deck. Here, Tseng pack this. Rude what's your girly question?" Cissnei asked.
"Why the fuck do you girls have to have the 'where is this going' talk?" he asked as Reno went to raid Cissnei's fridge of Capri-Sun and grab the vodka bottle.
"I've never had that conversation with any boyfriend I've ever had. Most of the time it was just sex and hangin' out…a few were actually fairly serious….granted I haven't had that many boyfriends either."
"Damn it Cissnei." Rude said. "Okay, Tseng…how many times have you had that conversation?"
"Never. I believe that if you sleep with 'er, you better be pretty damn serious about her." Tseng said opening the pack of cigarettes
"Shit…sometimes I wish you weren't so in touch with Leviathan or whatever." Rude told him. "I'm doing all I can to avoid that talk. Hell, we've been together for two years! Why the fuck do I need to have that conversation with my girlfriend!" Rude demanded.
"Because she's looking for you to pop the question." Cissnei said leaning forward for Tseng to light her cigarette.
"Are you serious? Believe me…we are totally not ready to get married. I love her so much, I do….but we are not ready for that." Rude admitted.
"Rude, honey, I love you but save it for after this round. I double the bet." Cissnei said throwing her bet into the center of the table. She looked up at Reno again as her phone dinged. This night was just getting started and it would end in debauchery…as always.