The four of us were all together for Jeremy's 18th birthday. It was me and my boyfriend Ryan, and my best friend Allison and her boyfriend Jeremy, who is also Ryan's best friend. My name is Sarah. Each of us are 18 and in our last year of high school.
Jeremy's family is real wealthy, they're the most respectable people in town, so we were allowed to have a celebratory sleepover at Jeremy's mansion. Jeremy's father reassured our families that he would supervise the whole thing, and that the boys and girls would sleep in separate rooms, so nothing would get out of hand.
Jeremy's dad Bill Jacobs is some big-time lawyer with his own firm. He's gotten many members of our community off from tough cases, so he was very trusted and well-respected by everyone. He's an older man, grey-haired and in his late 60's, but surprisingly spry for his age, as he does competitive bicycling. Thin, but wiry and fit.
Of course, my friends and I were excited to stay together at Jeremy's mansion, even with the restrictions. We all knew Bill as the cool old guy and figured he would let us have fun and drink a bit. It was Jeremy's mom Mary who was the real hard ass, but she was away on a business trip.
The mansion was a big, confusing thing with many rooms. It was also strangely built. Many of the door frames were ornately designed to look like the columns of some ancient Greek temple. They looked nice, but the frames were too large and meant a lot of the doors couldn't quite close properly. They'd do that thing where when you think you've closed it it would bounce back slightly and remain open a crack.
We were sitting in the parlor. Or maybe it was the home bar? Or the game room? Mr. Jacobs gave us what he called the "rapid tour", which somehow still lasted about an hour due to how sprawling the whole place was. Eventually we all settled in this kind of entertainment room that had drinks and games and was nice and large while also being cozy for us to hang out in.
Mr. Jacobs was supervising us, but he was also acting as bartender and host, providing drinks and making sure we all knew about the various entertainment and gaming options around. Even Jeremy didn't know all the stuff they had despite living there.
"Thank you, Mr. Jacobs!" Allison said sweetly as Bill handed her a drink. She and Jeremy were sitting comfortably on one of the couches, Ryan and I on another, with Bill wandering around and checking in.
"Yeah, thanks Dad," Jeremy said, as Bill handed him a drink as well.
They each took sips and both immediately started coughing.
"Oh, wow that's strong Mr. Jacobs!" Allison said surprised.
"Yeah, holy shit!" Jeremy agreed.
"HA! Well, this is the time to explore right? In a safe environment," Bill said, with a kind of nervous excitement that I couldn't place. He was probably just happy seeing his son become an adult, and he wanted to make the night fun for his son and his girlfriend.
"Drink up you two! Come on, time to learn, ha-ha!" Bill said, with an odd laugh.
Wanting to have a good time, and to show they were adults now, they both struggled through their drinks.
"I'll take a drink too Mr. Jacobs, if you have time!" Ryan said politely.
"Oh right, of course," Bill said as he turned to Ryan and I, sounding surprised. He seemed to have almost forgotten we were there, focused as he was on Allison and Jeremy and their drinks.
Mr. Jacobs quickly made and handed us each a drink. While they were strong, Ryan and I didn't have the sort of reaction that Allison and Jeremy did, our drinks didn't seem to be as strong for some reason.
For the next few hours, we all laughed and drank, and played games and drank, and watched TV and drank. Mr. Jacobs mostly hung in the background, but always made sure Allison and Jeremy had drinks in their hand and were sipping regularly, even as they coughed and struggled to finish the stiff drinks. He didn't seem as focused on my or Ryan's consumption. Although Ryan was eager to keep up with Jeremy, and always made sure to ask Mr. Jacobs for another when he forgot.
After a time, Allison, Jeremy and Ryan all looked totally plastered, barely aware of their surroundings, nearly drifting off into unconsciousness. I was exhausted too and pretty drunk, although not as out of it as they were. It must have been 2 or 3 am.
"Well, about time to get you all to bed, come on," Bill said quickly. None of us really reacted much, sloshed as we were, and Bill let out a chuckle. "Okay Ryan you first, I'll show you to your room, come on up."
Ryan didn't seem to hear, although I knew it was late and we ought to get to bed, so I got his attention and helped him up.
"Come on Ry, bedtime baby," I said softly.
"Thank you baby," Ryan slurred, "I like you so much," he babbled, giving me a hug. I beamed happily, held him close and gave him a goodnight hug and kiss.
"I like you so much too!" I said happily.
"Very sweet," Bill said kindly. "Okay, come on Ryan let's go." Bill patted Ryan on the back and led him out of the room towards one of the guest rooms.
Allison and Jeremy were cuddled up on the coach, they both seemed to be passed out. I found myself nodding off as I waited for Bill to come back.