Page 75 of The Genius
“I’m not sweet.” Tristan objected. “I’m tall, strong, the son of a Northlander, and I curse, eat meat, and get drunk on occasion.”
Willow tilted her head and smiled at him. “Tristan, you’re the sweetest Nman I know.”
His shoulders sank. “I can be tough for you.”
Willow leaned in and placed her hand on top of his. “You’re my friend, Tristan, but it’s never going to be you and me as a couple.”
“You sure?”
Willow nodded. “I’m conditioned to like large brooding guys. I can’t help it.”
Hunter rubbed his forehead. “Can we talk about something else?”
“I could tell you some fascinating facts about what happens when we drink alcohol. Would you like to know?”
“No, Shelly,” Tristan said and waved a hand in the air to stop her, but Willow gave her all the encouragement she needed when she sat back in the couch and looked at Shelly with admiration. “Yes, tell us. God, you just know everything, don’t you?”
“Of course not, but I do know that our liver can only metabolize fifteen milligrams per deciliter per hour, which means that if you drink more than one drink in an hour it will lead to alcohol accumulation in the bloodstream, which will lead to intoxication.” Shelly spoke a little slowly, concentrating on pronouncing all the words correctly.
“I had three drinks, does that mean I’m drunk?” Willow asked with a snicker and ruffled Storm’s hair, with a grin. “I feel great.”
Shelly intertwined her fingers and continued her small lecture. “Me too. That’s because the alcohol will decrease activity in certain areas of our brains, one of them being our prefrontal cortex where our inhibitions and self-control are located. Alcohol also increases our production of dopamine, which is our feel-good neurotransmitter.”
“Whoa, slow down, Professor.” Hunter laughed. “I wish I could swap brains with you for one day and experience what it’s like to be a walking library.”
“No, go on, Shelly. What happens if I swallow this drink? It’s my fourth.” Willow poured herself a mix of whiskey and soda and held it up to her mouth.
“Well, side effects would start to show such as problems with your balance or coordination, slurred speech, and if you continue to drink the symptoms will be vomiting, nausea, and blackouts. Of course, alcohol is poison, so if you drink enough you would eventually pass out and die.”
“Die?” Willow’s smile turned downward.
“Don’t worry, sis.” Hunter touched Willow’s shoulder. “I’ve seen a lot of men drunk, but so far none have died.”
“That’s not true. Ronaldo died a few years back, remember,” Storm said.
Hunter scrunched up his face. “Because he fell asleep in a pile of snow. He died of hyperthermia.”
“Yeah, but he passed out because he was drunk.”
Willow put down her drink on the table. “Maybe I should stick with the weed instead.”
“Sorry, but we’re out of weed.” Tristan held up both hands.
“Then maybe we can do some of the party games we play in the Motherlands,” Willow suggested.
“I’m not doing a fucking love circle,” I said. “I have enough of those at work.”
“A love circle isn’t a party game, silly.” Willow grinned at me. “We could do the connection game or the ‘secrets are better shared’ game.”
“I’m not sharing my secrets.” Hunter leaned back. “That’s a stupid name for a game.”
“Then let’s do the connection game.”
“What is it?”
“Okay, so two people have to sit and stare into each other’s eyes for two full minutes. One of them has to focus on a message he or she wants the other to know, while the other person has to receive the message. When the two minutes are up the receiver has to guess what it was.”
“I’m game,” I said. “Let’s see if Brainy can read my mind.”
