To Shot or Not to Shot?

Dear M and M,

Recently, I was at a bar with two girlfriends. We were having a great time, enjoying each other's company and singing along to the music at the bar. This group of clearly intoxicated boys wearing Slipknot sweatshirts (does anyone actually listen to that band?!) decided to sit down at the table next to us. This usually would be fine because my friends and I are very open to talking to new people and making friends. Well, instead of introductions -- which usually is how one begins a conversation -- these boys decided to ask us if we wanted shots. Clearly we weren't going home with any of them but, to be honest, we love shots - especially free ones. Do we take the shots, knowing full well that this night is going no further than shots, or should we have turned them down as to not lead the boys on?
Sincerely,
Shot Lover Who Hates Heavy Metal

Dear Shot Lover,
Maude: This was certainly a disturbing visual before my first cup of coffee. Three lovely young women sitting at a bar enjoying the company of their own little group when disturbingly-dressed boys invaded their space. "Well, what’s done is done, they have ruined our ambiance," you thought amongst yourselves, "Ah, the offer of free shots seems to be good payback." Perhaps the boys were hoping for a different type of currency to be exchanged later in the evening. But where, I wonder? Do you take drunken men to your own apartment and risk upsetting your super with a mess in the elevator? Or do you go to this stranger’s apartment and risk all sorts of unimaginable issues such as mold in the bathroom and toilet seats being left up?
At any rate, letting them pay with shots for your loss of privacy and disturbing the visual surrounding seems fair all around. They get your sober company and the vain hope of a later soirée and you get free drinks. To make this scene a bit more fair, should that be your concern (although when it comes to sober vs. drunk it is pretty clear who has the upper hand), you could simply tell them that each on of you is engaged but would be glad to accept their offer as your fiances are currently unemployed. You could also mention that you are hungry.
Mod: Ah, the free drink question, one nearly as old as the chicken and the egg. No one likes to feel indebted, but times are tough, and shots are expensive. I’m not sure the gentlemen in question saw their offer as compensating for invading your privacy (one doesn’t typically go to a fun bar when they want to hide from the world), however, that’s not to say you can’t take those shots with semi-open arms. Those boys were paying for your company (in their own abrasive, drunken way), and, as long as you didn’t throw back your shots and run away, they were probably happy to drink with you for awhile. Now, if the drinks continued coming, a little damage control (you girls buying them a round, casually slipping in that your boyfriend loves this bar and how much it sucks that he’s at home with the flu, etc) may be in order so that things don’t get awkward. Overall, be nice, make sure those boys don’t empty their wallets on you, and have fun with their drunken selves.
P.S. If your group had been able to convince any of them to burn their Slipknot sweatshirts, drink all you can: no bar tab is too high for that life-changing advice.