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towards the store with more steam pouring out of his ears. I laughed again.
    “I’m thirsty,” I whined again as I watched Emmy stumbling around inside the store. She was trying to get a Super Big Gulp and failing miserably.
    Emmet finally hung up the phone and rushed into the store to get his sister. Tack pushed me back into the car and shut the door. He leaned against the door so that I couldn’t get out, like I couldn’t just climb to the other side.
    “Hey,” I said, smacking a hand against the glass. “Tack!”
    He looked at me expectantly.
    “Emmet stole my first kiss!”
    “What?”
    “Emmet stole my first kiss!”
    He looked confused. I motioned for him to open the door. He opened the door and leaned down to see and hear me better.
    “Emmet stole my first kiss,” I said one more time.
    He raised an eyebrow. “You’re drunk.”
    “No, listen, listen, listen,” I said, waving a hand and swaying in my seat. “Jorge was about to kiss me. His lips were on my lips and Emmet punched him. Gave him a bloody mouth. I didn’t want to kiss a bloody mouth, but then it didn’t’ matter because Emmet got all caveman on me and dragged me out of the party.”
    “Uh,” Tack said and scratched his head. “Isn’t Jorge a little old for you? I mean, you’re Tabby’s age.”
    I rolled my eyes. “We’re all about the same age,” I said. “You’re not that much older than me. I’ll be fifteen in days. We’re all still in high school. It’s no big deal that he’s a little bit older. What I’m trying to say is you can kiss me instead and make up for my lost kiss.”
    Tack looked very uncomfortable. He backed away from me and closed the door.
    “Aww,” I whined and rested my head against the cool glass.
    After some more random driving around, we drove towards Emmy’s house. Emmet had spoken to Fred and told him that he and Tack ran into me and Emmy at the mall and that they were taking us with them and not to wait up. Sam apparently was already in bed.
    The guys helped us get into the house and up the stairs. Emmet’s hand clamped over my mouth so many times, I started to like the taste of his skin. I licked his hand just to be bratty and then giggled at the faces he made. We were deposited into Emmy’s room. We both crashed onto the bed, giggling.
    “I’m taking Tack home,” Emmet whispered. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t. Leave. This. Room.”
    “Whatever, Kiss Ruiner,” I yawned.
    After one more warning, the guys left. Emmy and I lay on her bed laughing about nonsense for a little while. Then we were both pretty quiet.
    “I feel sick,” she said.
    “I think I’m going to hurl,” I said and clumsily rolled out of the bed. I stumbled over my own feet and fell to the floor a few feet away from the bathroom. I crawled the rest of the way and made it to the toilet just in time. I puked Aftershock and meatloaf and mashed potatoes and string beans until I thought my head would cave in.
    With much effort, I pulled myself to my feet and grabbed the toothbrush I kept at Emmy’s. I brushed and rinsed and brushed and rinsed until I could only taste the mouthwash and toothpaste. My head was beginning to pound and everything seemed off kilter. I slowly sloshed into the bedroom and found that Emmy was out cold and stretched diagonally across the bed, leaving no room for me. I tried to wake her, but she just groaned.
    I felt like crap. My head felt like it was going to explode and my stomach was still churning even though there was nothing left to puke up. My face was a little sweaty, but I was shivering uncontrollably. I thought I was dying. If this was what it was like to be drunk, I vowed to never drink again.
    I stumbled into the hallway and closed Emmy’s door as quietly as possible behind me. It was still a slam to my sensitive head. I put my hands on my head and dropped to my knees. I was going to go sleep in Lucy’s old room, but I wasn’t going to make it. It was all the way down