Out for the Night (Browerton University #4)(12)

"I'll have orange juice. And just orange juice."

"Not a problem." Coop unscrewed the cap and poured Matty a cup full of juice. "See, fun without alcohol. How am I doing on time?"

Matty took the cup from the register. "You have thirty-one minutes."

"But we just got here. You started counting as soon as we left the library? Damn. I should've added a clause to our agreement." Coop shot him a half-smile that Matty wanted to remember forever. He turned to say something to Rafe, but he'd already flitted off to talk with some girls.

"So what now?" Matty asked. He felt like a person in a foreign country.

Coop surveyed the scene, searching for something.

"We're going to do ice luge shots." Coop rubbed his hands together. He picked up his cranberry and vodka and took a hearty drink.

"I told you I don't drink."

"Matty, trust me, okay?" Coop said, a little annoyed. "I didn't bring you here to trick you into getting wasted or to embarrass you. I want you to have a good time."

Matty followed him to a display table that had at one time showed off fall sweaters. Now, two girls were on their knees as a guy poured a shot down a twisty, icy trail, straight into their mouths.

"He's next!" Coop pointed at Matty. The shot pourer got out of the way.

"What? I can't do that," Matty whispered to him. He was still adjusting to the space, and Coop wanted him to do shots?

"We only have twenty-seven minutes. Now get on your knees."

Matty was a little turned on by his stern direction. He didn't want to be laughed at by everyone, but Coop's encouraging gaze told him that he wouldn't let that happen.

"Don't switch out my drink with someone else," Matty warned.

"I won't. Promise."

Coop pointed to the spot at the end of the ice luge. Matty handed Coop his drink and got on his knees. He avoided looking at anyone around them. Coop took the shot pourer position.

"Is that just a screwdriver?" A girl who just did the ice luge asked.

"You wish," Coop said. "This is a … sunshine bomb. It's vodka, whiskey, sprite, and a splash of orange juice for color."

"I've never heard of that," a guy in a pink polo said. "That's not a real drink."

"It is now. Matty over here is a chemistry major. He devises drinks in his spare time, using the properties of science to design the perfect combination. He spent all week crafting the formula for the Sunshine Bomb. He is the first bartender chemist in the world." Coop took a sip of Matty's orange juice. "Whoa! That's some good shit right there."

Matty wanted to give Coop a death glare, but he found himself smiling. He was the cool chemistry major with the sunshine bomb.

"Now, don't try to ask Matty what his formula is," Coop warned the smattering of watchers. "He's getting a book of them published this fall. You can find out all his secrets then."

A girl ran over and brushed Matty's hair from his forehead. She kissed him on the cheek. "I think that's so cool. My name is Margo."

"Margo," Coop said, holding up the drink. "We're in the middle of something. Are you ready, Matty?"

Matty nodded, feeling his Catan confidence in his bones. He pressed his lips to the ice. Coop's eyes lingered on him for an extra moment.

"And away, we, go." Coop poured a sample of the orange juice down the luge. It flowed around the bends and curves and hit Matty's mouth. A rush of sugar breaking through the cold. The onlookers cheered him on. Matty got into it, swallowing his drink with glee, adrenaline taking over his motor functions.



       
         
       
        

Coop kept pouring. Matty kept drinking. The crowd kept cheering.

Matty slurped every last sip. He leapt up and wiped his lips off. He didn't know what was so funny, but he couldn't stop giggling. Coop whooped and cheered, and the crowd that formed followed suit.

"And that's how you luge!" Coop yelled out to rabid applause.

Matty ran to Coop and pulled him to the safety of the wall, where people stacked empty cups on shelves.

"Your first ice luge," Coop said. "See? Not so bad."

"That was … "

"Fun?"

Matty processed the moment. Yes, his brain computed, you really just did that and it was enjoyable.

"And yes, I did embarrass you, but it was a good kind of embarrassment. Not pig's-blood-on-prom-night embarrassment." Coop leaned against the wall and drank his alcohol.

"People were cheering! To watch me drink! At a party!" Matty was still catching his breath and laughing. He felt a little tipsy and giddy, as if he really did have a sunshine bomb. It didn't matter because Matty was … bouncy!

"I can't believe I drank that whole thing." But then panic shot into his eyes. "What if people start asking me about my drink mixes and what if they ask if they can pre-order my book?"

"Just direct all inquiries to your agent." Coop clapped him on the shoulder, a welcome tactile sensation. He peeked out in the crowd. "You want me to find that girl Margo for you?"

"No. I'm not into girls. I'm gay."

Matty put on a calm face for the world but was melting down inside. Did I just come out?! The words slipped out with no hesitation after years of clinging to the roof of his mouth.

Coop gave him the best reaction of all. He nodded nonchalantly, as if Matty told him the weather. He toasted Matty's empty cup. "Great minds think alike."

"Yeah." Matty pretended to drink from an empty cup.

Something about tonight felt different to Matty. He was in an abandoned store with a gay guy who he kinda liked at a party he was kinda enjoying. There was magic in the air, some extra chemical aside from oxygen and nitrogen, one he couldn't decipher and probably was outside the realm of science. He breathed it in and tapped Coop on the shoulder.

"What's up?" Coop asked.

"When I told you I was gay, that was the first time I ever told someone that."

"Ever?"

Matty nodded. He wasn't sure what would come next, but he didn't expect laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"You just … came out! That's one of the biggest milestones of your life, and you were like totally chill." 

"I don't really see the humor in this." Matty feared there was another trick. His paranoia came at the worst times.

"I'm not laughing at you," Coop said. "It's this huge event, and you were so whatever about it. That's great. You have balls, man."

That was one compliment Matty had never received in his life.

"When did you come out?"

Coop took a swig of his drink. "Last fall, my first week here."

"Wow! Right away. So nobody back home knew?"

"I came out to my parents right after I got accepted to Browerton last spring. My parents said they loved me and that they hoped this meant I'd be better about keeping my room clean now. We all had a good laugh." Coop's thin lips stretched into a floppy smile, like they were yawning. "How much time do I have left?"

Matty checked his watch. "Six minutes."

"This party's kinda lame," Coop said.

"Well, where to next?"

Coop arched an eyebrow. Matty shrugged his shoulders, waiting for an answer. "I have an idea. I don't know if you can handle it, though."

Matty clapped a hand on his shoulder. "We have five-and-a-half minutes to find out."





Chapter 11





Coop





Every store downtown was closed for the night. Coop savored the quietness of their surroundings. He kept looking over at Matty, who was all smiley and giggly and staring around in wide-eyed wonder. Matty was living proof of the power of the placebo effect, and damn was he cute. It was another Matty layer that Coop got to experience.

Ten minutes later, Coop brought them to a cupcake store named Dollop, which was closed. Bright pink, purple, and yellow chairs were stacked atop equally bright tables.

"A late night snack?" Matty asked.

"No. Not there." Coop pointed to a creaky brown door next to Dollop. It could have been one of the many nondescript front entrances that lead to the upstairs apartments in downtown Duncannon, but the window of this door was covered with duct tape.

Coop pushed it open and led them inside the narrow hall. At the end was another door, just as sketchy as the first one. Black paint chipped off the wood. The ruby red shined in the dull, yellow light.

"Where are we?" Matty asked, no longer a giddy fake drunk. "Is this some kind of sex dungeon?"

"No, Anastasia." The door creaked open, and they walked down a short flight of stairs that led to a small concert space. Coop breathed in the familiar musty smell mixed with sweat.

Two rappers battled on a stage made of wood pallets. Regular basement junk like bikes and cardboard boxes was pushed to the corners of the room. There was not a chair in the place. The small crowd mashed up to the stage to watch two rappers perform. Matty banged his foot on a washing machine.

"This is an actual apartment basement," he said to Coop.

"Most nights of the year, yes." Coop led them to the side of the room, where gasps of moonlight slipped in through the dusty windows. "But once a month, it becomes Squadron, where rappers can battle it out."