A twinge of guilt ran through Brin as she watched Drew carry him off, but the sound of Smith beginning to count down backwards from five drew her attention and she shrugged the feeling off. She needed to get in the zone. The alcohol that she had already ingested flowed through her body, making her feel warm and calm. Brin knew she could beat Caleb in her sleep, but better make a show out of it.
The shots were lined up in a row before Caleb and Brin, and when she heard Smith's voice say "go!" over the noise of the crowd, her reflexes kicked in and her arm snapped out to reach for the shot, the second one in her other hand and ready to go before she'd knocked back the first one and set it back down on the table. She finished the line in about twenty seconds, just after Caleb finished his. Ian and Smith each had a sharpie, which they used to draw a line on the back of Brin and Caleb's hands.
Two girls from their group, whose names. Brin believed to be Ava and Kate, both wielding bottles of vodka, refilled each shot glass messily, and before they were even done the two competitors were back at it. They finished line after line, and the crowd grew louder, most people in it having continued to drink more as they watched. Most of the guys were cheering for Caleb, but the girls were rooting for strange new chick who dared take on the shot king, and was clearly holding her own.
Maybe ten minutes later, Caleb looked like he was struggling to keep going. He was going a bit slower, and had a pained look on his face. He refuse to lose to a girl though, so he continued to down shot after shot. Brin, however, was doing fine. Albeit, it wasn't quite as easy as it had been when they'd started, but she hadn't eaten all day and besides the fact that she was drunk as fuck now, she was managing. "You ready to back out now?" She called across the table to Caleb while her glasses were being refilled, as he finished a line.
"Fuck no. I can do this all night." His face said otherwise though. He was beginning to look queasy, and most everyone could see that he wasn't going to last much longer. Brin's name was being chanted louder now, some of the guys having turned coats and joined with the girls. About a minute later though, his drinking having slowed significantly, Caleb downed a shot, placed the glass on the table and shook his head. "Fuck it. I'm out."
"I'm sorry," Brin said, cupping her hand to her ear as she used the other to take another shot. "I can't hear you?"
"I'M DONE!" Caleb shouted, before turning and being violently I'll on the shoes of someone standing next to him.
Brin threw her arms up in the air. "Fuck yeah!" she screamed. "Are you not entertained?!" She stood up from the bench and slid out, but her foot, the same one that she'd hurt earlier, got caught and she fell forward, right into Ian's arms. "Oops, sorry," she giggled. "My foot got caught."
Ian smiled at her drunkenly. He'd been taking swigs of vodka from the bottle he refilled her with during the contest, so he was just about as drunk as her. "No problem. You okay?" Even though she was clearly upright, he kept her held in his arms.
"Yeah," she replied. The crowd had begun to thin, but people were coming up to her and congratulating her, either saluting her with their drinks or slapping her in the back. She acknowledged them, but didn't really engage. She was focused on the guy who's embrace she was wrapped in. "You know," Brin said, "it may be the booze talking - actually, I know it is - but you're really handsome." She trailed a finger lightly across his jaw.
"So are you. Not handsome, I mean," Ian clarified, looking sheepish, "but pretty. No, not pretty, beautiful. Gorgeous. Absolutely breathtaking."
And then his hands on her back tightened, pulling her into him. And then her hands were tangled in his soft hair. And then they were kissing.