Chapter 5: Ice

"Ander!"

He heard Lu calling out to him. Then he felt strong arms pulling him back up to a standing position.

"My friend, let's get you to a more comfortable place to collapse," Christian said close to his ear.

"You're okay, yeah, Ander?" Guzmán said from Ander's other side.

"Mm," Ander grunted, incapable of speaking actual words just then.

He was soon led to a soft, velvety sofa. Someone tried to offer him a glass of water but he waved it away. He just needed some time to relax and ride out the worst of the alcohol effect. He sat back and let his eyelids flutter shut.

He heard Lu talking furiously to Christian. Guzmán and Carla were trying to calm her down. He couldn't concentrate on what they were saying. The whole world was slipping away...

"Ander, drink some water. Please."

He opened his eyes reluctantly to see Carla staring down at him with deep concern.

"Okay." Ander took the glass from her and sipped.

"You were out cold on this sofa for half an hour," Carla informed him.

"Really?"

Carla nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel..." Ander exhaled. "I feel like I need to pee, really badly."

Carla let out a laugh. "I think you should be able to manage that on your own? Or do you need help?"

"I'm fine." Ander slowly got up. "I'll be right back."

After relieving himself at the washroom and giving himself a good splash of cold water to the face, Ander felt better. What a night. Second crappy Saturday outing in a row. He just couldn't catch a break.

As Ander exited the men's bathroom and made his way back to his friends, someone emerged on his path.

His eyes locked with Reina's eyes. If she was startled, she didn't show it.

"Hey," Reina said briskly. She had a glass of cocktail in one hand – it looked like gin and tonic – and her voice was as frosty as the icy drink she held.

"Hey," Ander echoed. He stepped aside to let Reina walk by him.

As she passed him, Reina mentioned, "You didn't win, by the way. In case you passed out and missed the memo."

Ander furrowed his brows. "But Matteo didn't take his last shot, did he?"

Reina rolled her eyes. "Well, no. But neither did you. So the final judgment was – nobody won. It was a tie between you two losers."

Ander groaned. "So all of that torture with whisky and tequila and B-52s... They were for nothing?"

"Matteo should've won. If we'd given him a new shot glass, he wouldn't have any trouble downing it," Reina declared confidently.

"I recall seeing him collapse on the floor though," Ander pointed out wryly.

"And you collapsed right after he did," Reina shot back, more than a little defensively.

Ander noticed that Reina hadn't moved past him yet. She was, in fact, standing dangerously close to him.

"So you're not leaving yet?" he prompted, looking at the full glass in her hand.

"Soon. We're waiting for some friends to arrive, then we'll cart the Matteo and the other two out of here."

Ander nodded. "I'll see you around then."

"Wait."

Hmm. What did Reina want? Ander looked at her inquisitively.

Reina bit on her lower lip before she continued, "Is it true... that there's a secret VIP room here at Studio54?"

A curious cat. Ander found it cute. "Who wants to know?" he teased.

Reina rolled her eyes at him. "Show me," she demanded.

"And what do I get in return?" Ander went on teasing.

Impatient, Reina punched his arm. "Lead the way please. Now."

This girl was determined. Okay.

Ander signaled for Reina to follow him. He walked extra slowly because he was still woozy from the alcohol. The two of them passed the edge of the dancefloor and soon reached the other end of the club, where there was a corridor with a nondescript door that said 'STAFF ONLY'. On the door was also a metallic keypad that glinted in the semi-darkness.

"Hang on." Ander took out his phone and opened up an app. After a few taps, four digits appeared on his screen. He pressed accordingly on the keypad and the door clicked open.

"Ladies first," Ander indicated, stepping back to allow Reina to go in.

Reina gave him a half-smile. "This is it?" she said as she got to the center of the room and did a slow twirl to take in everything.

The VIP room could hold approximately ten people at a time. Black walls, illuminated by the glow of red LEDs. Silver metallic sofas and one massive mirror wall. Soft house music floated from speakers on each corner of the room.

"I guess San Patricio people are not easily impressed," Ander quipped.

"Of course," Reina replied haughtily.

Ander paused, wondering if he should say what was on his mind. But what the hell... It wasn't like he had anything to lose.

"You should've told me you had a boyfriend," he spoke.

Reina glanced at him, her expression blank. "Not that it's any of your business – but Matteo and I were on a break the night you and I... met."

Ander shrugged.

"And you should've told me you were from Las Encinas," she remarked.

"School rivalry is stupid to me. I didn't care."

"Can you afford not to care? Especially now that there's an official clash between our schools, and you're at the very center of it?"

Great. Nice going, Ander. That'll teach you to think twice about kissing girls you don't know.

Ander shrugged again. "It's over, isn't it? It was a tie. Nobody gets punched."

A loud laugh from Reina. "You can't possibly be that naïve. Matteo will not settle for a draw." From the sound of it, Reina would not either.

"Whatever. Count me out. I'm done with this," Ander told her. His life sucked enough without all of this additional shit to make it worse.

Reina smirked. "Ander – either you hunt, or be hunted."

"I definitely feel like some wounded animal right now." Ander pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt the beginnings of a massive headache. And a wave of nausea washed over him.

She held up her glass of cocktail. "Drink?" she offered with a wicked grin.

"Don't even joke about it," Ander groaned, staring at the drink in disgust. "I can still taste the burn of the flaming B-52s."

"Then this ice-cold gin and tonic should be the perfect antidote..." Reina took a step forward.

"Get away from me," Ander warned her. "I'm this close to puking."

Reina chuckled. Before she could say anything else, her phone beeped. After checking the message that came in, she muttered, "That's my cue to go."

She finished up her drink in two gulps. She then used the straw to fish an ice cube from her glass, which she popped into her mouth.

Ander stared as Reina chewed on her ice. "Hey, can I have one? Ice cube, I mean."

Reina obliged and passed her glass to him. For a few seconds, they stood there without saying anything, eating ice cubes together.

"I want the last ice cube," Reina broke the silence, verbally staking her claim.

"Nope, it's mine."

"Don't be childish," Reina scolded with a roll of her eyes. "You can just go out to the bar and ask for more ice. I need to go already."

Ander smiled, knowing that he had the height advantage over Reina's petite self. He held the glass high and said, "Come and get it."

"Seriously?" Reina threw him a nasty glare, her hands on her hips. "Fine. Go ahead and take that goddamn ice."

Well, at least he won at something tonight. Ander continued smiling at Reina as he retrieved the last ice cube and ate it slowly, savoring this mini victory.

But what happened next nearly made him choke – Reina came close, yanked hard at the front collar of his shirt, and brought her lips to his.

Ander felt her tongue flicking around, and soon they were French kissing, their tongues locked in a playful duel. Which was nice, until he felt the ice cube sliding away...

"YES!" Reina exclaimed triumphantly, pulling away from Ander and showing off the ice cube that was now in her mouth.

Ander furrowed his brows at her. "You're crazy, you know that?"

"All part of my charm," Reina responded with a wink. "Goodbye, Ander."