They'd been swing dancing all night, and Vince had taken them to a grassy knoll on the edge of the city. This girl, Adrienne, boy could she drink. She'd become fast friends with his moonshine hip flask. Asking around with the other guys, Adrienne wasn't the courting kind, just a friends. Vince liked to take her out dancing - she was good. But he'd never seen her drunk before.
The silver filigree on the side of the flask shone in the moonlight.
"Andrev was the best kisser," Adrienne said suddenly. "So he was a little less than a tough guy - he was an amazing kisser. By the goddess, what a mouth." She giggled, tossing her hair, or trying to. She had a page-boy, like any city flapper, curls plastered to her head. "And Chadstone was beautiful. A man doesn't get much better than that, I'll tell you."
Vince blinked. Adrienne was talking about men the way men talked about women. But I thought she didn't court...
"Christian was the sweet one, mind you that," Adrienne went on. She took a generous swig of the moonshine, the liquid slinking as it sloshed inside the flask. "A real flowers-and-chocolates kind of boy, not that I really cared for either. And Gabriel gave nice hugs. So, yeah, all of them were nice." She cast a glance at Vince, winking bawdily, clearly drunk. "You asked if I courted or was courted, and I was, but not anymore. Not allowed."
Had she read his mind? Vince was sure that he hadn't spoken aloud.
"Of course you did," Adrienne scolded lightly, giggling. She leaned forwards and offered the flask. "I'm sorry, did you want some? It is yours, after all."
Vince looked at her oddly. Maybe he was more drunk than he thought, speaking his thoughts aloud.
When he didn't take the flask, Adrienne shrugged and drank some more. It was a wonder the blasted thing wasn't empty by now.
She tilted her head back to gaze at the stars, and he caught a glimpse of her pretty slender throat. She was so small and delicate, so fragile...
"I've never been drunk before," she was saying, and he snapped out of his daze. "I mean, of course I've had a few drinks in my time - well, more than a few - but I never let the alcohol affect me. I want to try it, just once, even though I'll never get a hangover. Ah, the perks of being me." She took a small, delicate sip, licking her lips to savour the taste.
He drew back suddenly when she turned her too-bright golden gaze on him.
"Have you ever been in love? Really been in love?" she asked.
He shivered in spite of himself. The air was cool, but not cool enough to make him shiver. There was a slight inflection in her voice, a small nuance that was like that of a small child about to burst into tears. The alcohol was really getting to her, wasn't it?
"I don't think so," he answered cautiously.
She sighed, shoulders slumping. "I've been in love, more than once, but I guess that's all right, considering how long I've been around."
He arched an eyebrow. She was seventeen, if not a day old.
"None of them lasted. I wasn't allowed to let them last," she rambled on. "But I loved each of them so much that it hurt, just to breathe, you know? Stuff like that never lasts. Nope, not for me, whoever I am. Y'know, sure I understand that the rules are for my safety, but sometimes I wonder if the risk isn't worth it..."
She gazed into the distance, hand wrapped tightly around the flask. Vince wondered if it was empty.
When she looked at him again, her eyes were clear, face sober.
"We should go."
Vince agreed.
Adrienne stood up without waiting for him to help, dusting blades of grass off her skirt. They walked back to Vince's car in silence.
Adrienne stopped at the passenger door, flask hanging in her limp hand, winking in the moonlight as it swung slightly.
"It's not completely empty." With an apologetic smile, she handed it to him. He noded his thanks, slipping the flask into his jacket.
As he drove her home, she stared straight ahead, face tired. Her eyes were darker, too old - or ageless - in her face.
She smiled whimsically.
"Isn't it a strange law, forbidding one to fall in love?"