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She threw her arms around me and squeezed.
“I live here, silly.”
“Don’t you have work tonight?”
“Not tonight,” she said, letting go of me. “Don’t you wanna hang out with me?”
“Don’t start,” I warned, walking toward the kitchen.
She followed.
“Have a drink with me,” she said. “We never drink anymore.”
“Because I work and go to school now. You know I don’t have time.”
“You make time for Austin. Why can’t you make time for me?”
I stopped near the kitchen table and turned to face her.
“Okay. I’ll have a drink or two, but I’m not getting drunk.”
She smiled and clapped her hands together rapidly.
“I’ll get the wine.”
With a sigh, I sat down and waited for her to return. She did, a minute later, carrying a box of wine, our favorite brand not because of its taste or quality but because of its low price.
She dumped the box on the table.
“I’ll get you a glass.”
I checked my phone one more time as she got a ceramic mug. She poured it half-full from the spigot on the side of the wine box.
“Whoa,” I said, reaching for it. “Not so much.”
“You need to let loose.”
I lifted the mug in the air while she grabbed her more traditional wine glass, the only one we had in the house. We clinked them together then both took a drink.
“Ugh. Awful,” I said, scrunching up my face.
“Right?” she said, giggling. “To old times.”
She raised her glass again. Reluctantly, I did the same. Two drinks soon turned into four somehow. Before I knew it, midnight had come and gone.
“Shit,” I said, standing up. “I need to sleep.”
“Hey Brooke,” she said, getting serious for the first time all night, “I’m sorry I’ve been such a wreck lately. I shouldn’t have been so cold about Austin. I just want you to be careful, alright?”
I saw sincerity in her eyes for the first time in a while. I nodded before shutting the door behind me.
TWENTY-ONE
Brooke
I usually allowed myself to sleep until I woke naturally on Saturday mornings, but the morning after getting tipsy with Jocelyn, I woke up to her playing music in the kitchen.
I threw the covers back and got out of bed. Jocelyn sat at the kitchen table, staring at her own cup of coffee.
