AllFreeNovel
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“Honestly, it’s fine. You forgot to tell her. No big deal.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep,” he said, but there was hesitancy in his eyes. “I’m starving. Can we eat?”
“Okay, I’ll, uh…I’ll get Ronnie.”
Silence hovered over the table as we took our first bites of piping hot garlic sticks, dipped in the ranch that had been warmed by the hot dough.
“Holy crap,” Ronnie said. “These are amazing.”
“Right? They’re the best.”
“So, who’s coming tonight? You know, from the store.”
“Naomi and her boyfriend, Ben, are definitely coming. I think you’ll like Naomi—she’s a drama major and has an opinion about everything, but she’s awesome. We’ve gotten pretty close. And Dutch is coming, too. He’s the resident stoner of the group.”
“Ew. Stoners gross me out.”
“Dutch is sweet. And aside from the patchouli smell, he’s a good guy.”
Ronnie didn’t look impressed, taking another sip of her pop. To fill the space, I kept talking. “I’m pretty sure Emmett and Marley are coming by later, too. They’re adorable. I think you and Marley would get along great.”
“Cool,” Ronnie said, looking unconvinced. And I knew she was still trying to get past what had happened earlier.
“No Sully?” Wyatt asked.
“He’s working tonight; so is Hannah. They both said they’d try to stop by after they close the store.”
Wyatt nodded, eating another pokey stick. The silence I was trying to avoid came crashing back in a haste. And so, I did what any other college student, who was desperate to get everyone to lighten up, would do: I hopped up from my chair and ran to the fridge.
“Who wants a Jell-O shot?”
“This is the most delicious thing I’ve ever had. What is it?” Ronnie said, her words starting to slur. We were in the sixth apartment of the party—one more to go before we would end up at my own and could finish the Jell-O shots. Luckily, the three of us only had a few each, just to loosen up. But now, we were in my neighbor, Henry’s, apartment, and we were drinking a bright green drink that he’d poured from the biggest pitcher I’d ever seen.
“Midori Sour,” I said, taking another sip. “Fizzy melon deliciousness is what they should call it.”
“I hope Henry’s gonna make some more,” Ronnie said. “By the way, he’s super cute.”
“Go for it, girl.”
“Nah, I’m leaving in the morning. What’s the point?”
“Um, to have fun!” I could feel the buzz pulsing through my body as we talked. Wyatt was across the room talking to Emmett and Marley.
“Yo, wassup girls?” Dutch said, coming up from behind us and placing his arms around our shoulders. Dutch’s eyes widened when his eyes met Ronnie’s. “Whoa. Who’s the hottie?”
“This is Veronica, my best friend. She’s visiting from out of town. Ronnie, this is Dutch, one of my coworkers.”
“Good to meet you,” Dutch said, tilting his forehead up before taking a sip from his cup. “This drink is insane!”
“I know, right?” Ronnie said, tucking her hair behind her ears and smiling at Dutch before pounding the rest of the liquid in her cup. Dutch grabbed her empty cup and winked. “I’ll fill it up for you, Veronica.”
“Thanks,” she said, biting down on her lower lip.
“Dutch? Really?” I asked, shocked. “You said you hated stoners.”
“What? I never said that. Besides, he’s cute.”
