Oh no, Niu Nai thought, I've been good all night - why now? Her mind started to drift. Zi Lun noticed Niu Nai's eyebrows tighten and her gaze glaze over, but simply giggled. In the blur of giggles and beer, Niu Nai imagined Zi Lun crawling into her lap and whispering, "More, please."

Niu Nai buried her hand in the bag and pulled out a random nut. She couldn't be bothered to look which type, because she preferred to watch Zi Lun as her eyes got dangerously close to her own.

She held the mystery nut in front of Zi Lun's mouth. This time the snapping turtle was gentle and slow. She closed her lips over Niu Nai's fingers more deliberately. Niu Nai's dizzy head swam as she drank her second beer. Zi Lun dug her own hand into the bag of nuts. Fishing around, she brought out a pecan and placed it about an inch from Niu Nai's nose.

"Nom!" the tipsy girl barked.

Niu Nai laughed.

"Nom! Nom!" Zi Lun swung the nut in a circle near her friend's nose. As Niu Nai lunged for it, Zi Lun devoured it herself.

"Hey, I thought that was supposed to be for me!" Niu Nai continued laughing.

Zi Lun pulled out another nut and held it between her teeth. She put her face right up to Niu Nai's.

Niu Nai thought her heart had stopped. What to do? She stared at the nut in those pink, teasing lips, and then she glanced up at Zi Lun's eyes. They seemed to be daring her, coaxing her to make her move.

Looking at her target, she hesitantly bit the nut. There, she held still. She moved her eyes from the nut back to Zi Lun's eyes.

Their lips brushed as Zi Lun relinquished possession of the nut.

"Nom nom," she said, softly. Her giggles seemed to be on hiatus. "More," she requested.

Niu Nai wasn't sure if she meant more nuts, or more...

She hoped she was choosing wisely. She brushed her lips against Zi Lun's. It seemed to be the desired reaction, as Zi Lun kissed her. It only lasted a second, but it felt like they were stuck like that for several minutes.

Zi Lun smiled and whispered, "Nummy." She leaned her head on Niu Nai's chest, and started to nod off. She felt warm and comfortable.

* * * * *

An hour later, Niu Nai groggily opened her eyes and was startled not only by the living room lighting, but also by the small sleeping girl on her chest. She was confused. She remembered they had kissed, but was certain it was part of her girl-crazy fantasies. Now seeing the cute tomboy dozing in her lap made her question reality.

"Oh ," she uttered, looking at her wristwatch. Eleven PM. The others would probably be home soon. They couldn't find her and Zi Lun like this. Gingerly, she tried to edge herself out from under her friend. She didn't want to wake her, but noticed how hard she was breathing and managed to roll off the couch without much hassle. She sat on the floor and observed her for a moment. Asleep, she was calm and angelic. So different from the hyper tip-see laughing Zi Lun of a few hours earlier.

Niu Nai couldn't avoid smiling. She collected all the beer bottles, three, four, five...uh, six? When did they drink all this? And who drank what? She only remembered her second bottle. Had Zi Lun downed the rest, or was it an even split between the two of them?

Oh boy...

She tidied up the living room, and flicked the light switch off. Though her brain was fogged, on the way to her bedroom, she remembered the hall closet had extra bedding. She pulled out a comforter and returned to the darkened living room. She gently covered her friend. Zi Lun didn't even stir. Niu Nai's instinct was to kiss her forehead goodnight, but then second-guessed herself. Maybe it had only been a drunken fantasy. If so, she had no right kissing her.

I'm drunk, she decided. Bed. Now.

She stumbled her way to her room and hopped into bed, fully clothed.

What seemed like only a few moments later, she sleepily heard the front door click shut. The girls were home.

* * * * *

Qiao was first to enter the house, quickly followed by An Na. The entrance hallway lit the living room just enough for the leader to make out a heap of fabric on the couch. Straining her eyes, she realized it was Zi Lun.

"Shh," she pointed at her, to avoid having to speak.

"Ehh?" Qiu Qiu whispered, "Zi Lun?"

"Yup. Don't wake her," An Na told her bandmates.

They tiptoed past the living room and found their respective bedrooms without turning on any lights.