Spilled Ice

Tess was high--high on the noise, high on the crush, high on the energy that coursed through the hall and kept her writhing with the nearest body to the music.

She flowed her way over to the bar and ordered a drink, wishing the nice boy who had purchased her drink earlier was still around. Maybe he'd come back. Maybe they'd meet again on the floor. Or not, it didn't matter. She had enough.

Trembling, she raised the glass to her lips and chugged.

"Hey," she heard the voice in her ear, and her fingers slipped. The drink spilled down her dress, ice cold and shocking. It numbed her high.

"Sorry, babe, let me buy you a new one."

She glanced up at the voice. He had come back. "No, it's all down my front. I have to go clean up."

"Can I help?"

"Not unless you have a spare dress in your car," she said.

He shook his head, smiling. "But I can give you a ride home."

It wasn't a good idea. Janet, her own ride, was somewhere canoodling. Stack had ditched them both up front to play cards in the Circle. That left no other options. She'd just have to show some self-control. She'd promised herself a whole month of living clean. She still had twelve days to go.

But he'd just dowsed her high.

"Try me," he said.

"All right, then. It's your funeral."

"I don't mind a little peace and quiet after this place."

"It is loud," she agreed, happy. For an Exo or extrovert, leaving early was a dirge. For an Ino aka introvert, it'd be the opposite. Either was fine with her, but what you kept your eye open for were the Inos that Exos brought with them. Exos offered more energy in a group, but Inos were deep wells when you got them alone. When they passed out, you simply blamed it on overexertion at the club. Maybe she could just start over after this one.

He smiled and helped her scoop the ice from her lap. He really was sweet. And something about him made her think that there was lots more sweetness inside him, just waiting to be tapped.

She allowed him to take her arm and keep her close, weaving the two of them through the crowd, finding the empty threads of space like he depended on them. A blast of chill night air blew the hair from her face and the remainder of her exhilaration vanished. Her companion waved down the valet and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, rubbing at the goosebumps along her skin.

"You have friends here?" she asked, leaning into him. She toyed with the energy he offered. Sometimes, you could get Inos to offer it up without sucking.

"I came to meet someone but they took off." He shrugged and winked at her. "I confess I found someone I like better."

The car came around and he opened the passenger door for her. She slid inside and relaxed into the leather. So far, so very good. Her companion tipped off the valet and pulled away from the curb, guiding the car under the flashing lights of the empty street.

"Where is home sweet home?" he asked.

"Not too far," she purred. "In Lambton."

"Lambton's a nice place."

"What about you?"

"I'm from Belmont."

"Belmont's a long ways away." That made it better.

"My friend lives closer."

"You must be a good friend, then," she smiled at him.

"Sometimes you have to have excuses to get what you need. I imagine he found it."

"Are you okay with that?"

He nodded. "Everyone needs relief once in a while."

She laughed. "He sounds like me."

He glanced over. "Maybe. Maybe not. Are you disappointed? I really was sorry."

She shrugged. "Not a lot I can do about it now." True enough, even if not strictly true.

The darkness wrapped around them as he pulled onto the freeway. The freeway was the long way home, but she didn't mind. The farther Inos got from civilization, the more they opened up. She had to get him to talk about himself. "So what do you do in the sunlight?"

"I do research at the university in Belmont. I'm a grad student in psychology."

"Psychology?" she cooed. "Tell me about psychology."

"More particularly, I study energy flow."

She stiffened but made herself laugh. "What kind of energy flow? Chi, or whatever it is the Buddhists believe in?"

"Something like that. Mostly, I look at where people get their energy from. Do they get it from other people, or from the natural world around them?"

Maybe he hadn't been the best ride to take, after all. Her mom had warned her about Inos who could take out Exos, leaving them high and dry. She had to know what he intended and try to talk him out of it. "Sounds interesting, but I don't believe in energy flow."

He looked at her curiously. "You don't?"

"My dad ridiculed anything that wasn't scientific. How do you prove chi? But maybe you know something he doesn't."

"I'd have to talk to your dad."

"He'll be up waiting for me," she said.

He smiled. "You have a good dad. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be seeing him tonight."

She cursed both him and her wet dress. The cold wouldn't help her to get home. "You don't understand," she said, "I'm clean. It was my goal. Only use the energy from group gatherings."

His smile lengthened. "I thought you didn't believe in that stuff."

"Yeah, well," she muttered, "kids often find their own paths when they don't meet up with their parents' expectations."

"I felt your buzz. Was it your mom who taught you what you know?"

"A little bit. Mostly just experimentation." Maybe there was still a way to get the upper hand. She reached out with her remaining energy to keep him talking. "What about you? Was it your friend?"

"My friend," he grimaced, "got sucked dry. They left him out on the freeway."

The freeway. She withdrew and sank low into her seat. "It wasn't me," she said.

"How do I know that?" he asked.

"They leave an aura. You have to know that from your research," she said. "They remember what the person felt like, if you can get them to meet the right person."

He smiled and parked the car on the side of the road. He slid to her side of the vehicle and pressed her hard against the door. "That's why I took him to the club," he whispered loudly into her ear, running his hand down the back of her neck. "He remembered you."

He yanked on the door handle and shoved her onto the street.

She rolled to her feet in the wake of his dust and sighed. She didn't regret last month's binge nearly as much as she thought she had.

If she could get home without expiring, she was going to have to find this hottie again. It sounded like they had a lot in common, and a lot to even up on... least of all, his friend.

___

Please forgive my absence last week--instead of composing flash-fiction, I accomplished the unthinkable... I finished the draft of my novel!! Yes, the last page reads "THE END OF BOOK 1." It took a year-long revision after workshopping it in WIFYR 2013's full novel course (with a spectacular Mette Ivie Harrison as teacher, not to mention brilliant classmates), and it's now getting reviewed by writing buddies for a last revision or five. Wish me luck!

Meanwhile, my visiting sis-in-law and I were discussing extroverts and introverts this week, and the relative benefits of each. Which category to you fit in, Ino or Exo? How do you recharge?