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grows, and I decide to give in. “Just give me my ticket already. How fast was I going anyway?”
Apparently, that wasn't a good thing to say to him. His eyes narrow, his lips a flat line. “Seeing how you're already having a bad, pants-less morning, I was going to give you a warning. But since you are obviously hungover, even though you've yet to reach the legal drinking age, and since you asked for a ticket, I'll surely give it to you. Stay put.” And then he walks back to his car.
What? Can this morning get any worse? Let's hope not. I wait rather patiently for Officer O'Connor to return with my ticket, a rock song about American boys playing quietly on the radio. When he does, he hands the piece of paper to me with a gleaming smile.
Bastard.
“Here you go, Ms. Kavanaugh. Stay out of trouble, will ya?”
I glare at him before looking at my ticket to see how fast I was going. 73 in a 55. “Can I go now?”
“Certainly. Have a good day.”
“Whatever,” I mumble as he walks back to his car.
With a sigh, I toss my violation into the seat and head home once and for all. The first thing I do is go to the bathroom for a shower. Stray pieces of my hair are sticking out, and I look terrible to say the least. No wonder he didn't let me off easy, even with a look at my ass. One measly ticket to tarnish my previously spotless driving record. I can deal. I'm sure once my parents find out, they'll add speeding maniac to my list of traits that further disappoint them.
I decide that I don't want a shower, but a bubble bath. I need to chill for a bit and not worry about anything else. While the tub is filling with water and bubbles begin to form, I plug my cell into my speaker system, open it to my playlist, and hit shuffle before undressing. The water is the perfect temperature as I submerge my body. This is what I need to cure my hangover, my bad morning, and fleeting memories of a hot cop who turned out to be an ass. Sundays are my lazy days, so this bath is the perfect way to re-start my morning. I'll just hang out here, rejuvenate, and I'll be ready for the new school week tomorrow.
I'm wrinkly and almost asleep to the sound of a deep voice singing about slow kisses when my best friend, Vivian, barges into my bathroom.
“Thank goodness you're in the tub,” she says with relief as she puts the toilet seat down and sits on it.
“Why are you in my apartment and in my bathroom?” I close my eyes again, not caring in the least that she's in here right now.
“I need to talk to you. You gave me a key, so here I am. I know today is your alone day or whatever the hell you call it, but this is important.”
“Well, it's not like my day has gone as planned so far. What's up?” I ask.
She jumps in to complain about her boyfriend. Viv suspects he's cheating, and she wants me to go with her to spy on him. She begins to tell me her elaborate plan of how we can do this. It makes me wonder how long she's thought he was cheating.
“So what do you say?”
I peek an eye open. Viv looks nervous, probably thinking I'm going to say no. “Why are you with him if you don't trust him? What's the point?”
Viv frowns. “It's not that I don't trust him. I'm a little insecure, I guess.”
That makes me feel bad. “Sure, I'll go with you. Let me know when, and I'll be there.”
“Thanks, Ryan. I better go. Catch ya later.” She stands and leaves me be.
She's ruined my bath for me, though. I drain the water and then take a shower. The rest of my day is spent relaxing with a little homework mixed in. My mind wanders to my parents. They are probably at church doing holy activities. If I walked on the same side of the street in front of a church, I would probably catch on fire. Religion and I don't really get along. My parents have always tried to force it on me and being the little rebel that I am, I dug my heels in, full force. I rather leave that aspect of life alone until I want to deal with it and discover just what I do believe.
Back to my parents, I haven't talked to them in a month. They've called, but I haven't answered. College has freed me of them and the massive failure that I am every time they see me. But that's not what today is about. Today is for me to relax, and that's just what I'm going to do.
* * *
Viv meets me for our first class with my favorite drink, Sunkist. I don't question her kindness. As usual, I'm running behind. The orange drink fuels me, so I'm thankful for it, no matter why she brought it.
“Thanks,” I say, holding up my bottle.
“Welcome. I asked him to go out Wednesday, but he gave me some lame excuse about needing to study. I figured that would be a good day to see what's really going on.”
I nod, not able to say more because our professor walks in to begin his lecture. Part of me wants to tell her to confront him or break up with him already. She obviously doesn't trust him. Viv can say it's because she's insecure all she wants, but it can't all be her. What the hell do I know anyway? I'm the single, wild girl who sleeps with frat boys and gets a speeding ticket while pants-less. No wonder my parents think I'm a disappointment.
Later, during lunch, I tell Viv that I'm thinking about getting another tattoo.
“Are you trying to cover your entire body, Ryan?” She asks with a shake of her head.
