"So what's this film about?" Grace asked, drying her hair in front of the bathroom mirror. She'd just showered with her friends and no, you fucking perverts, nothing kinky or even sexual happened as they cleaned themselves off. They spent most of the time talking and laughing about what happened in the previous few chapters.
"I don't know," Bree replied, dabbing some special moisturizer under her eyes. "Kayla just saw it with her cousins in Brazil. She says it's a must-see and that we'd really like it."
"So what's it called again?" Hannah asked, checking the bruise on her cheek.
"The Lure," Bree replied.
"The Lure," Hannah repeated, stretching out the 're' sound. She began drying her hair. "Sounds rapey."
Bree grabbed the hairdryer from Hannah's hands with and began drying Hannah's hair herself. "It probably is," she said, her brows lifting as she gave Hannah a pointed look. "The director and writer is a woman."
"Really!"
"Thought you'd come around to it, you secret lesbo freak."
"Hey, I'll meet you guys in bed, okay?" Grace said, hanging her towel on a rack.
"Yeah, we'll be right there," said Bree, shutting the door.
Bree pointed with her head toward the door. "Hey, are you two ever going to be a thing?"
"Nope, we like it just the way it is. Best friends with secret benefits," said Hannah, her hair flowing all over the place. "Besides, we're about to head off to college, and her parents are Vietnamese, my mom is born-again ever since the miscarriage. And deep down, she's into guys, even though she never talks about them. I don't want to hold her back."
"Aw, that's so sweet of you. Hey, how come you don't hang out with the lesbo crowd?"
"Half of them aren't actual lesbians, they're just scared of guys. The other half look like guys, which defeats the purpose of being a lesbian."
"Yeah, I don't get it," said Bree, squinching her face as she aimed the dryer at herself. "It's like being with a guy with a small dick."
"Exactly. And they don't shave, they think it's cool to smell like ass. I'd rather be friends with women I find feminine and attractive, not women who look and act like men."
Bree turned off the hairdryer and kissed Hannah on the head. "Thank you for the compliment, my secret lesbo friend."
Hannah smiled, watching Bree hang her towel. "I'll be in bed soon, I just need to moisturize." *** "Movie night!" Bree shrieked, throwing herself backward onto the center of the bed, arms and legs splaying out in a dramatic V.
"Ow, Bree, watch it," Grace said, flinching as a hand smacker her thigh.
"Sorry!" Bree said, craning her neck to look at her. "Ready to watch some fucked-up shit?"
"Mm," Grace murmured, finishing a text to her mom before putting her phone on the nightstand. "Are you sleeping naked?"
"Absofuckinglutely, my dear Grace," Bree declared, finding her way under the sheets. She kicked around for a moment before pulling them up to her chin. "Every inch of me is about to bask in these divine, five-star sheets."
Hannah pulled back the bedspread and slid in. "Bree, move over so I can be next to Grace."
"Secret lovers, that's who we are..." Bree sang in an exaggerated falsetto, scooting over as Hannah climbed over her.
"Shut--up," Hannah said, settling in beside Grace.
Grace pulled off her shirt. "Well, since you're naked too, I guess I might as well."
"All of it, Grace," Bree said, making a 'come on' gesture with her fingers.
Hannah rolled her eyes. "Bree, you'd totally be a creepy dude if you were a guy."
"You betcha," Bree shot back, "with a nine-inch cock and a fan club."
"Here you go, creepy dude," Grace said, tossing her panties at Bree, landing them on her face.
Bree took an exaggerated sniff before flinging them aside. "You smell amazing, Grace."
"What do I smell like?"
"Mint?"
Hannah groaned, sliding deeper under the covers. "Alright, you two. Let's get the fucked-up movie of the year on."
The room dimmed as the TV lit up, the opening credits of The Lure playing over an eerie, dreamlike synth melody.
"Okay, so... are these mermaids or sirens?" Grace asked, pulling the blanket up to her chin.
"Both," Bree replied, twisting the cap off a tiny bottle of vodka. "They lure you in, then eat you. Like my ex."
"Your ex didn't eat you," Hannah said flatly.
"Not the way I wanted, anyway," Bree quipped, tossing an empty bottle onto the nightstand, grabbing another one.
The girls watched in silence while Golden and Silver--the mermaid sisters--emerged from the ocean and joined a nightclub act. Bree interjected.
"Okay, but why does the guy just... accept that they're mermaids?" she asked, pointing at the screen. "If I saw a fish tail, I'd call Animal Control."
"It's Poland in the '80s," Grace said, cracking open a tiny bottle of whiskey. "They probably have bigger issues than magical fish women."
Hannah chuckled, tearing open a mini tequila. "Like mullets and bad neon fashion."
The film went on, diving into the sisters' transformation into humans. The nightclub scene launched into a sultry musical number.
"Wait, it's a musical too?" Grace said, sitting upright. "This is so weird."
"Yeah but look at her!" Bree exclaimed, motioning toward Silver's glittery dress as she danced. "If I was a guy, I'd totally risk getting eaten."
"Bree, you are that guy," Hannah teased, downing her tequila. "You've said it like ten times tonight."
"Fair point," Bree said, grabbing another mini bottle.
As the mermaids seduced their victims, the violence became more graphic. Silver ripped open a man's throat with her teeth.
"Holy shit," Grace said, wincing. "That's intense."
"I love her," Bree said, eyes wide, taking a sip from a tiny rum bottle. "She's my idol."
"Your idol is a man-eating mermaid?" Hannah asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Duh. She knows what she wants and takes it. Can't fault her for that."
Grace shivered. "I don't think I'll ever look at seafood the same way again."
The film shifted as Silver began falling in love with a human boy, while Golden grew jealous and violent. The tension in the plot mirrored the haunting music playing in the background.
"Wait, is this turning into a love triangle?" Bree asked, sitting up. "I thought this was about eating yummy people."
"It's an artsy European movie," Hannah said. "There's always a love triangle."
Grace frowned, swirling the last drops of whiskey in her bottle. "He's kind of a dick, though. Why does she like him?"