03: Bets

To say that Tao was terrible at surfing would have been a major understatement. Time after time, no matter how much Kris assisted him, he fell off the longboard and choked on salt water.

Luhan paddled past Tao, laughed at his sputtering, and hoisted himself onto his surfboard before riding the next wave with grace. Jongdae and Minseok followed soon thereafter and were equally as skilled. Tao felt bitter and cursed at himself for even considering the idea of surfing.

“Don’t let it get to you,” said Kris, paddling up to Tao.

“This isn’t working.” Tao sat on the longboard, legs dangling over the side as he slapped the water angrily.

“It takes perseverance.”

“I’ve been persevering all damn afternoon and still haven’t caught a wave! I . That’s all there is to it.”

“With my help, you’ll get there. Trust me.”

There was that dreaded word again. Trust. Tao bit his lip and looked at the shoreline. The other surfers had decided to call it quits for the day. A glance over his shoulder revealed the sun just slipping below the horizon. He really didn’t want to be in the ocean after dark. Flopping stomach-down onto the longboard, Tap decided to give it one last shot.

“Come on! You can do this!” encouraged Kris.

Tao rolled his eyes. “Just shut up will you,” he snapped while studying an approaching swell.

Tao tried to remember what Kris had taught him throughout the course of the day. His arms were shaky from digging through the water for hours on-end, but he was determined to soldier through it, just so he could prove he wasn’t some wishy-washy mainlander.

He positioned himself in front of the incoming swell and began paddling like a madman. When the moment was right, he stood on his board, wobbled a bit, then found his balance and prayed for a miracle. One second passed, then two, then several more. Tao still hadn’t fallen off of his board. His heart hammered at the thrill of the water crashing around him as it propelled him toward shore. Several times he nearly lost his footing, but he quickly recovered, making sure to keep the shore in his sights until the wave fizzled out.

Tao exploded with excitement. "Hell yeah! Did you see that ! Did you see...” He fell off his board and swallowed yet another nasty gulp of salt water. When he resurfaced, Kris was already there to congratulate him.

“I can’t believe you did it!” Kris beamed.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean! You didn’t think I could do it?” Tao scoffed.

“N-No! That’s not what I meant. I...”

Tao slung water at Kris’ face and laughed. “I didn’t think I could do it either! Hahaha! Guess you’re not that ty of an instructor after all!”

Kris’ smile faltered and gaze narrowed. “Keep on talking Taozi. I’ll sink you to the bottom of the ocean.”

Any bit of fight had fled from Tao due to his current success. All he wanted was to revel in his accomplishment and rub it in everyone’s faces.

“Come on mister hot shot instructor. We’ve got some bragging to do.” Tao started toward the shore.

They made their way out of the ocean to find Luhan cursing into the wind. The bleach blonde had lost his bet by a milestone, and therefore, owed Jongdae fifty bucks.

“I think I’m entitled to half of that since I did all of the work.” Tao flicked his wet bangs away from his eyes.

“Spoken like a true shyster,” replied Jongdae with a rakish grin, “How about some beers at the tiki bar tonight?”

“Yuck. I don’t like beer.”

“You shall be integrated into the world of beer tonight. Either that or some fruity drinks. Your choice.”

Tao debated over Jongdae’s offer before conceding with a satisfied nod. “Done.”

Minseok, Kris, and Luhan exchanged perplexed looks. “Since when did you two decide to be all buddy-buddy?” asked Luhan.

“Since right now. 'Cause it gives me an excuse to go to the bar and get wasted,” replied Jongdae.

“Well damn,” snorted Kris.

“Spoken like a true drunkard.” Minseok chuckled.

“I am not a drunkard. I just have an intimate appreciation for the art of alcohol, so I show my support by drinking it.”

“Pffft... please. Get your to the damn car and let’s go, Jongdae.” Luhan rolled his eyes and headed back towards Lay’s house.

Minseok opened his mouth with a smack. “Well! Guess it’s to the tiki bar we go! Oh joy! This is gonna be fun!” His words sounded enthusiastic, but his face stated otherwise.

As the others walked away, Tao turned to Kris with a questionable expression, to which Kris smiled crookedly before answering. “Let’s just say that Jongdae has the innate ability of embarrassing the out of us when he’s drunk.”

“Oh really..." Tao bit his lip in an attempt to hide an evil smile, which didn’t work, since Kris was scowling.

“Jesus freaking Christ why did I become friends with you?” Kris grabbed Tao’s hand and yanked him toward Lay’s house. “Let’s go, Taozi. It’s time for you to cash in your free drinks. I don’t want to hear you complaining later when you’re drunk as and stumbling down the beach.”

“Why would I get that drunk?” Tao asked, staring nervously at their intertwined fingers. Kris’ hand was warm despite the cool ocean breeze.

“It’s nothing,” replied Kris, “Just a thought.”

Tao didn’t believe the surfer but went along with it anyway. After all, he had free drinks coming. If nothing else making new friends was turning out to be somewhat convenient--free food, free surfing lessons, free drinks. Maybe that's what the beach life was all about. If so he could certainly get used to it.

-

Tao heard the tiki bar before he saw it. Island music thumped so loudly he could feel the beat of the drums reverberating through his chest. Although he was excited, Tao tried not to show it. He didn’t want to seem too eager because he'd never been to a bar before. He had no idea what his alcohol tolerance level was, but that wasn’t going to stop him from enjoying the night.

Jongdae stood on his toes and yelled over the music. “See! What’d I tell ya? This place is great!”

Tao eyed the bar. What should he drink? He didn’t like beer. And he didn’t know much about liquor either. In the end, Jongdae ended up ordering for him.

“I’ll have a mojito and my friend here will take a On the Beach,” Jongdae placed their orders. “Nothin’ like a little in your alcohol for good luck,” Jongdae added.

“What in God’s name are you doing to the poor kid!” Minseok shook his head before ordering his own poison.

“I’m so glad you asked! I’m giving my boy Tao here a bit of liquid courage. 'Cause he’s gonna need it.”

“If you’re doing what I think you’re doing, it’s not going to work, so just drop it and drink your damn drink." Kris forced his way into the spot next to Tao.

Jongdae scoffed over-dramatically. “That hurts my feelings.”

“Good. It should.”

Tao watched the minor exchange between the two surfers. If Tao didn’t know any better, he’d say that Kris was guarded. Were Jongdae’s drunk-a-pades that bad?

The bartender passed Tao his drink. Swirling red melded with sun-shiny orange and was completed with a slice of fruit on the brim with a swirly straw. Taking a careful sip, Tao jolted at how delicious it was. “Wow! You can’t even taste the alcohol!” he exclaimed.

“The fact that you’re saying that now worries me,” said Luhan as he finally made his presence known, casually nursing a Corona with lime.

“Don’t drink it so fast!” fussed Kris while attempting to pull the glass away from Tao, only to be rewarded with a scowl as the younger cradled the drink like it was the most precious thing in the world.

“I’ve got it,” snapped Tao before abandoning Kris to go raid the snack bar.

Kris huffed and turned to Jongdae with a threatening gaze. “If he’s flying like four sheets to the wind later, I’m holding you personally responsible.”

“Duly noted Mr. Surfing Instructor. Duly noted.” Jongdae allowed Kris’ threat to roll off of his shoulders. Nothing was going to screw up the troll master’s night. Nothing.

-

It didn’t take long for Jongdae to unleash his drunken talents, such as dancing seductively on a table while his friends tried to shoo him off, or the game he’d dubbed “Spank the Monkey”, which involved something with a large serving spoon and Luhan’s .

Under normal circumstances, Tao probably would have fled out of embarrassment, but alcohol brought out the worst in people, including himself. He nearly peed his pants before he could make it to the restroom. By then he was so plastered he even managed to get lost in the bathroom. To put it nicely, Kris was not pleased.

The tall blonde had had enough and gathered everyone up. He approached Luhan first, who was surrounded by cougars and reveling in the attention. “It’s past 2am, Luhan. Time to haul everyone out of here before they’re slobbering on the floor.”

“It’s that late already?” Luhan asked. The women around him pouted as he flashed his best cherubic smile. “Thank you for the drinks, ladies. I had a great time.” With that the he left with a charismatic wink and a wave of the hand.

“You sure Sehun doesn’t mind you hitting up women at the bar?” asked Kris.

“First,” Luhan began defensively, “ They were hitting me up. And secondly, what Sehun doesn’t know won’t kill him. As long as you keep your mouth shut.”

Kris snorted at the implied threat but didn’t respond. All he wanted was to get everyone home safely. Especially Jongdae.

“TAO! CHECK THIS OUT!” Jongdae's voice roared over the music.

Kris face-palmed when he looked up. He was hoping Jongdae hadn’t reached his limit yet, but it appeared as though that time had already passed as a white cheek suddenly made its appearance in the very near distance. Kris saw Tao cling to Minseok for stability while laughing at Jongdae's white so hard that it sounded more like hiccuping than actual laughter.

“I’ve got Jongdae and Minseok,” said Luhan, “You take care of Tao.”

“Already on it,” replied Kris as he wove through the crowd. When he reached Tao, the younger was all smiles. “Time to go, Taozi. I think you’ve had enough for the night.”

Tao pouted. “But we were just starting to have fun!”

“I think everyone has reached their limit. Including yourself. We’re all heading back to Lay’s house. We’ll sleep there tonight.”

“Since when did you decide to be in charge?” Tao poked Kris' chest with a heavy lidded gaze.

“Since now.”

As much as Tao wanted to stay and drink the night away, he knew Kris was right. Plus he didn’t want to risk his dad finding out that he’d been drinking. He'd have a lot of explaining to do later, but quite frankly, that was at the very bottom of his give-a-crap list.

“Okay Mr.y Surfing Instructor, where to?” slurred Tao.

A -eating grin worked its way onto Kris’ face. “You think I’m y?"

Tao sputtered and flushed a hundred shades of red. “N-No! When did I say that?” Tao was mortified. Alcohol was all fun and games until you embarrassed yourself.

Kris laughed and ruffled Tao’s frazzled bangs. “Don’t worry about it. Come on, it’s time to get back.”

A strong arm wrapped itself around Tao’s shoulders as Kris helped steady him as they walked. Tao hadn’t realized just how wobbly his legs had become. The room was spinning, the music was running together, and he couldn’t remember where they were going but decided to rely on Kris to get him home that night. Or was it morning?

Somehow, they made it to Luhan’s car, and Tao flung himself into the back seat with Minseok and Jongdae. Luhan spoke just as Kris settled into the passenger seat. “ALRIGHT YOU DRUNKS LISTEN UP.” Tao, Minseok, and Jongdae fell silent. Only the occasional snicker broke the serious atmosphere Luhan was trying to bestow upon them. “FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS. NO SCREAMING. NO PISSING. AND NO PUKING. VIOLATE ANY OF THE ABOVE FOUR RULES AND YOU WILL BE FLOATING ON A DINGGY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ING OCEAN. GOT IT?” threatened Luhan.

Jongdae shot up a hand. “I have a question Mr. Luhan, sir.”

Luhan dropped his head, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed. “Yes, Jongdae?”

“What about pooping?”

Tao and Minseok snorted and heaved with uncontrollable laughter. Even Kris looked to be having some difficulty keeping his chortling to himself.

Luhan’s jaw clenched. “If you on my seats, you’ll be cleaning it up... with your teeth.”

“Whoa!” Jongdae replied seriously, much like a child who'd just been threatened with no ice cream for the rest of his life.

Thankfully, that seemed to do the trick. Other than laughing at every speck of dust that flitted by, the three drunks in the back seat managed to hold together their bodily functions until they reached Lay’s beach house. Although it was late, there were still a handful of people socializing on the back deck.

Lay didn’t seem to be surprised when his five friends came stumbling up the steps. “Have fun?” he asked with a quirk of his brow.

“What do you think?” asked Kris sarcastically.

“Jongdae didn’t take his clothes off, did he?”

“Thankfully...” replied Luhan, “No.”

“Jongdae has the whitest I've ever seen!” snickered Tao as he stumbled into Kris’ side and latched onto the surfer for support.

Lay took note of the slight rosy tint gracing Kris’ cheeks and grinned. “You think that’s bad? You should see his...”

“OKAY! Everyone inside. Go, go, go!” Luhan flashed Lay a please don’t look while pushing everyone through the door.

“Uhhhhggg. Man, I don’t feel so good.” Jongdae was looking pretty green.

“Bathroom. Go puke in there,” pointed Luhan.

Minseok stepped up and linked arms with Jongdae. “Come on, Dae. We can puke together,” he offered as they stumbled to the nearest toilet.

“I’m not sure if I should be moved or concerned,” Luhan sighed while flopping onto Lay’s gray sofa.

“Just be thankful they didn’t puke in your car,” added Kris.

Luhan seemed to accept that bit of advice and stretched out over the cushions.

“Where are we sleeping?” asked Tao.

“You guys can take the guest bedroom at the end of the hallway... but behave yourselves.” Lay added with a pointed look.

“Why would we misbehave?” Tao tripped over his feet as Kris guided him down the hallway.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about," replied Kris, "Let’s just get you some water and put you to bed."

As they entered the small guest room, Tao heard a deal going down over the sound of retching.

“Seventy bucks says they dirty up the sheets in there,” said Lay.

“I’ve lost enough bets for one day thank you very much.” Luhan groaned at the idea of losing more of his hard-earned money.

A flush sounded from the bathroom before the door swung open and Jongdae hobbled into the living area. “Eighty bucks says they don’t even make it to first base.”

“Deal,” Luhan caved.

“Deal,” agreed Jongdae.