Cheryl Tan - Sarong Party Girls

For the guys in the group who were less successful—they never said who exactly these were but I suspect Kelvin was one of those of course—Louis also had a backup plan. He had a list of KTV-like bars—but with high-quality local girls. So, worst comes to worst, everyone in the stag party also had someone to party with each night.

I tell you, when I heard this, I wondered why I was so unlucky not to be born a guy! My life where got so easy—having hot people to sleep with me just handed to me on a plate?

Since the guys had disappeared, Imo and Fann both came back to the booth and sat next to me. Imo grabbed the Glenfiddich and poured three full shots, picking one up then pointing at the two of us to fasterly pick ours up.

After we bottoms-up, I was starting to feel quite happy. But Imo’s face was damn sour. She had poured a second round of shots for us but instead of downing it she was just sipping—sipping and staring, sipping and staring. But no matter how hard she stared, Louis never looked over at her. I could hear Fann giggling now and then next to me.

“Eh—guniang, you possessed by love magic, is it? Whole life texting Melvin!” I said. “Can you pretend a bit that you actually like hanging out with us?”

Now Fann was also sour-faced, but at least she put away her phone.

I regretted scolding her lah. I know I should be happy for her. And I’m sure she thinks that I’m just jealous or some shit. In fact, I think Imo was also thinking that I’m jealous of Louis and her lumpar bouquet of flowers. Which only made me feel like telling her, “Hallo—he was only sending you flowers because he was feeling guilty for forcing your best friend to fuck him.” But then, when I think about it more, doesn’t the fact that he feels guilty mean that he’s maybe getting serious with Imo?

I guess they were right perhaps. Maybe I am just not being a very good friend to them.

“Eh, guniangs,” I said, grabbing the Glenfiddich and topping up all our glasses before holding mine up. “I think we should do a cheers.”

Imo and Fann looked a bit confused. I guess they were still a bit unhappy, wondering what kind of cock thing I’m going to say to make them snap out of it. Even so, they followed me, picking up their glasses and all.

“I’m really happy for you two,” I said. “I know these few weeks without Sher—it’s been a bit weird lah. But you two are doing so well. Look at Fann—so fast and you’re so close to having your mission accomplished! And Imo, aiyah, we just want you to be happy. I’m damn proud, you know. Come… cheers! Cheers!”

“It’s true,” Imo said, smiling for the first time since the Japanese girls appeared. “Bottoms up!”

So we quickly bottoms-up and then hugged each other tightly. “Come,” Fann said. “Now let’s just heck care all the boys and have fun with each other. Let’s dance!”

And actually, after that it was damn fun. We laugh laugh, dance dance, even sing sing a bit. In fact, we were having so much fun, heck caring the boys and the Japanese girls, that at some point they noticed what a happening time we were having. So they came over to join us!

In between all that we bottoms-upped now and then of course. It was good to be able to forget everything for a while, all the cock things that happened so recently. At one point Fann had had so many shots she had to go to the loo and vomit. But it was good. After that happened, she was not only all OK—she was feeling even better than before! “Why are you girls so lazy, sitting down and all?” she said, poking me and Imo in the back when she came back. “Come—bottoms up!” Good times lah—in fact, it was almost like secondary school days. Carefree and all.

My feet were hurting by the time Louis started looking like he was getting ready to make a move. Most of the night, even though he came over to say hi hi a bit with Imo now and then, he was mostly talking and rubba-ing a bit with one of the Japanese girls. (I forget which one—you know how it is lah; Japanese names all sound alike.) And we could kind of tell it was getting to be that time of the night where he has to make a move already. It was now four-something—if Louis leaves now, he can still squeeze in a quick stop and make it home at a decent hour so Mary doesn’t spend all day tomorrow throwing tantrums and making him take her shopping at Paragon. That’s when I noticed Imo getting a bit sour again, staring at Louis wrapping his arms around the Japanese girl, dancing and rubba-ing.

“Imo,” I said. “You OK or not?”

She just blinked and nodded, but her eyes were a bit angry. Actually, not just angry. I’ve known her for how many years already. I know that when she looks like this, very soon, waterfalls will happen. After the bouquet and the drinks date, I guess maybe she thought tonight would be different.

At this moment though, we noticed Louis breaking away from the Japanese guniang. Imo quickly turned her face away and very fasterly wiped her eyes, then turned back to look straight ahead, as if nothing happened.

“Imo,” Louis said, smiling and pinching her cheeks when he came over. “You ready to leave or want to stay some more? I send you home?”

I tell you—Imo’s face transformed! One minute she was trying to purposely put on a stone face, the next minute she was practically jumping up into Louis’s arms.

“Great,” Louis said, pointing at her to grab her handbag. “Come—I’m sending Akiko home also. We’ll all go together.”

Aiyoh. Aiyoh-yoh. I looked at Imo, whose face was a bit less smiley now. But she just nodded and followed. Before she left, I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, feeling her squeeze it back. I was about to suggest that she and I leave together instead, and maybe grab supper on the way home. But before I could, Imo used her hand to make the telephone sign near her ear and mouthed, “I’ll call you.”

Fann had gone to the loo again, I guess. (And I guess it was another productive round because she came back looking less mabuk and much more energy than before.)

“Eh,” she said. “Where did Imo go?”

“Louis,” I said.

Fann smiled and gave me two thumbs up but I just shook my head.

“See how lah,” I said. “Louis is sending her and that Japanese girl back also. Aiyoh.”

Fann rolled her eyes and pointed her third finger toward the club exit.

“Um, Jazzy,” she said. “I make a move first… OK with you?”

I looked at my phone. Aiyoh, it was almost 5 A.M. already.

“Of course, of course,” I said, waving her to hurry off.

“Thank you,” she said. “You’re going to be OK right? If I wasn’t meeting Melvin…”

“Aiyoh, please!” I told her, whacking her arm one time. “Guniang here is how old already? You go and get laid lah—do it for the two of us!”

Fann stuck her third finger at me then grabbed her purse and hugged me goodbye.

I was thinking that maybe I would share a taxi with Kin Meng—he’s usually quite good about making sure I get home OK. But tonight, I forgot—with Japanese girls around, confirm is a different case. Just when I was going to ask him about sharing taxi I saw him put his arm around one of the girls and wave goodbye to me and Kelvin. Andrew also did the same with the other girl.

Kelvin and I looked at each other. Kani nah. This wasn’t happening.

Now, how?

I had never spent any time alone with Kelvin before and now he was kind of in the position to at least be a gentleman and send me back—unless I opened my mouth to say I was going to leave first. But guniang didn’t feel like going home yet. The thought of it, being alone in that room, that bed, tonight, was too sobering.

Luckily, Kelvin spoke first.

“Jazzy—boring now, right?” he said. Which was very true. Barracuda is one of those gigantic clubs where it’s only fun if you go with a big group. Plus, since it was almost five, the club was starting to wind down a bit, so you could see big empty spots here and there on the damn bloody huge dance floor—something like the dance floors in those loser nightclubs where everyone’s too shy to dance so they just hang around and be wallflowers.