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“You could find me a time machine and go backwards in it and stop your stupid best friend from being stupid infinity times and stop yourself from being a trickster liar.” I give him a short smile.
“I could try.” He grimaces. “Or could I not just buy you a bag or something?”
“A bag?” I stare at him, horrified.
“A car,” he says quickly.
“You used to buy me a bag every week on Baggy Tuesday — that’s why you called it that.”
“That— It actually wasn’t— That was something else that you hijacked.”
“Hijacked!” I growl.
“Made better!” He shakes his head. “Made so much better. Your bags are… better. Healthier! For me. Maybe not on the cows—”
I frown at him, confused, and Jonah nudges me. “Go on — be my friend again.”
I move in close to him, right into his ear and whisper, “Do you like her?”
He pulls back a little, looks at me amused. “She’s alright.” He shrugs, indifferent. “Nothing on you though.”
Jonah carries the shots back to our roped-off area and we all drink them, but I drink two because I know Jonah’s tricks — he’s been ordering me water shots since I was fifteen.
BJ’s girlfriend is sitting as close to him as she can get without actually being on his lap. She’s touching him — his wrists, his hands, his hair — and each one tears me up a little — the only okay part is the part where his eyes are just on mine.
She’s whispering things to him, and he’s looking at her quickly, acknowledging what she’s saying, nodding, barely paying attention, I think, because he’s paying attention to me.
I give him a little smile from the other side of our table.
He licks his bottom lip. Smiles a tiny bit back. Swallows nervously. Glances back at his girlfriend.
She slips her hand onto his lap and catches me looking at him.
I glance away quickly, casting all my attention instead to Henry.
“Why are you this drunk?” he asks, amused.
“Bad day,” I tell him. “Bad week, actually—”
He tilts his head, all sad for me, my old best friend. “Yeah? You want to tell me what happened?”
I give him a tired smile, because I think I’m tired of all of it now. “I can’t.”
“You can’t tell me?” He sniffs a laugh. “Magnolia, you tell me everything...”
I shake my head at him. “Yes, except this one specific thing because BJ and I said we would never tell anyone, literally no one, which even means you, did you know? Which was very difficult for me as I’m sure you could imagine because I am a blabber mouth to you—”
“Yes, you are.” He nods, curious.
I give a big shrug. “But a promise is a promise, isn’t it? And I promised, even though it was the worst, which was good of me I think, do you?”
He nods, barely concealing a smirk.
“But then—” I consider. “I guess he breaks promises a bit, doesn’t he?”
Henry nods. “He’s been known to...”
“I suppose there was no outward promise that he wouldn’t cheat on me, but in my naivety I just assumed it was a tacit agreement.”
