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“Yes!”
Before the song is even over, I’ve managed to help all my friends down from the bar. We decide to walk. It’s a little less than a mile, and there’s street lamp lined sidewalk the entire way there. In the daylight you can see all the fir trees behind the lights, but right now you can only see the stars above us. It’s perfect, minus it being so cold I’m shivering more with every step. We can make it there before an Uber would get to us in this Halloween traffic though, so no reason not to walk and make the best of it.
“Oooh, grab bag, please!” I squeal at the lady behind the pink and black striped counter at Voodoo Doughnut. After 1 a.m., they toss all the leftover donuts into bags and sell them for a couple bucks each. It’s perfect, especially when we are all too drunk to care what kind we get.
I wrap my arm around Avery as she practically holds me up, her go-to vanilla scent washing over me. “Thanks for being my best friend,” I tell her, while simultaneously shoving a donut in my mouth.
“You’re stuck with me forever you weirdo. Mixing your alcohol makes you so mushy,” she laughs.
“I know, I knooooow. I just want you to know that I love Miller so much, even when he takes you away from me.”
“I already told him the guest bedroom of our future house is basically yours.” She stops walking and turns toward me. “You know you’re going to find someone too, Mace.” Her arms wrap around me again as I pull the bag of donuts out from between us to do the same.
“I hope so.”
CHAPTER NINE
TodayisNovember9th.It’s also my 21st birthday. I probably don’t feel any different because all that’s changed is I can legally get alcohol in public. I don’t drink very often, but it’s never been an issue to get it while in college anyway. It wasn’t hard to sneak into the bar on Halloween, and since Avery turned 21 a few months ago, we can make margaritas at home on taco night if we feel like it. The happy hours at the college bars are good deals, but I still doubt I will go often. Avery and I have a pact to save as much of our money as possible for the trip we want to take someday, even if it isn't as grand as we used to dream.
We do have plans tonight. I’m excited, even though going to a bar where I’d get carded isn’t part of the plan.
Once I get home from my last class of the day, I get ready. I touch up the waves I made earlier in my long, brown hair and add mascara and lip gloss. It won’t stay on long, but surely we will take pictures for the memories. I pick out my favorite swimsuit–black bottoms, and a black top with neon pink straps. I jump into my jeans, put on a pink tank top, and grab my black Northface jacket since it’s freezing outside. It is the beginning of November in the Pacific Northwest after all. Luckily, there isn’t rain in the forecast tonight, but it wouldn’t matter anyway.
“Avery! Are you ready?” I call around the corner as she walks out of her room at the same moment, nearly crashing into me.
“Ready!” she chuckles, tying her hair back in a low ponytail. She’s in black leggings and a matching long sleeve shirt with her red bikini strings poking out the top. As we are sliding on our flip flops, our front door swings open. Alexis, Kylie and Taylor come bouncing in carrying four bottles of wine between them. Luckily, I’m not worried about us drinking too much because we can walk nearly everywhere in this town. Class might suck tomorrow, but that’s okay.
I spin them all around to head right back out the door before they talk me into shots and we never get where we are going. The sun starts to set as we find our way to the cross walk around the corner from our apartment. Three more corners down, we giggle our way into Track Town Pizza. This is easily my favorite pizza place in town, mostly because of the vibe. It’s cozy, the tables are light cherry wood, and the cushions in the seats alternate green and yellow. Old photos of past track stars and both running and football memorabilia hang on the wood panel covered walls between each booth. This entire town has so much school spirit, and I love it. The five of us squish into one of the booths, each of us hiding a bottle of wine inside our jackets.
We practically inhale our BBQ chicken pizza once the server drops it off, anxious for our next stop. Tonight’s events might feel lame for a birthday, especially a 21st, but we can go to a bar any time. It’s almost completely dark when we walk outside. Despite it being only a two block trek, Avery pulls out her phone to play music.
Taylor Swift’s “22” starts blasting as we skip dance our way to the wooden shack. We’ve already reserved a room, so Alexis checks us in and gets the key. As I walk by the stand, I catch a glimpse of messy, sandy blond hair out of the corner of my eye. He might be cute, but I can't really tell because it’s dark. My attention falls back to my friends ahead who are already yanking off their sweaters. Avery is almost down to only her swimsuit already, hopping out of her leggings as she takes off.
This place is cool. It kind of looks as if you were to take a hallway of hotel rooms, rip the roof off, and place the whole thing in the middle of an oasis. There are rows of doors on either side of us, made of the same wood used for saunas–but instead of beds behind the doors, there are hot tubs. Alexis slips the key into the first door on the right. The ceilingless room is small. There’s a hot tub ready to go with the cover already pushed back and steam coming off the water. There are a couple of plants in each corner, a chair for us to set our belongings on, and that's about all the space there is. We make a pile of our clothes on the chair, and Taylor starts pouring wine into the paper cups she swiped from the pizza place earlier.
With taco Tuesdays being the only time I drink, I’m fairly drunk by the time 9:30 hits, three Dixie Cups of wine and a half hour into our hot tub party. I haven’t known Alexis, Taylor and Kylie that long, but I really like them. It’s been nice having them around. I don’t want to be one of those girls who studies her entire time at college and doesn’t make any real memories, although that seems to be what I’ve done for the last three years. These girls thrive in social situations, and they’ve proven a few times now that I’ll always have something fun to do if I want to go with them.
We’ve been in the warm bubbles for nearly an hour, and our time is ending. It’s late enough now that the stars above us stand out brightly, and it’s so peaceful I could stay here all night. Mostly we’ve been joking around, the girls sharing about what parties were epic last weekend, and who hooked up with who. I haven’t tried talking to any guys since my date with Troy a few weeks ago. I cringe, pondering for the hundredth time what the heck happened there. I should put myself out there more, but it makes me nervous, especially with the last time being an epic disappointment.
“You know what sounds good right now?!” Avery exclaims out of nowhere.
“What?” I laugh, questioning my best friend.
“Ummm, the cookies ‘n cream ice cream cake that is waiting in our fridge for you.” She smiles, knowing it’s my favorite flavor.
“Why are we still here?!” I immediately stand and step out of the tub, my friends following closely behind.
Realizing we forgot towels, we all try to shake ourselves dry a bit, but are drunk enough we mostly just laugh, knowing it’s pointless. I zip my jacket and toss the cups in the small trash can next to the door. My hair is now pulled back into a low messy bun, with the kind of frizz that only comes from hair that has dried after chlorine steam has been soaking into it.
We walk through the small oasis entryway of the place, surrounded by twinkle lights I must not have noticed when we came in. Stopping by the stand to pay on our way out, once again I notice the sandy blond haired man. Now that I’m on an active search for a boyfriend, I’m surprised he hasn't crossed my mind in the last hour. His eyes are as brown as mine, maybe even darker. They look almost black. His skin is barely tanned, like it’s trying to drag out the summer sun as long as it can. He’s sitting on a spinning bar stool in a navy Carhartt jacket and dark dusty blue swishy looking pants that I swear are the kind that zip off at the knee. I had no idea they made those anymore or that anyone over the age of nine wore them. Despite the pants, I feel my cheeks heat slightly because I have never been more attracted to someone in my entire life. I’ve never considered myself having a “type,” but if I do, this man in front of me is exactly it.
I’m frozen, paralyzed as I can’t take my eyes off him. Alexis is distracted by something Taylor is saying as she hands over the room key and starts to walk away. I somehow will my feet to move in her direction and beg my eyes to follow, but an urge washes over me, and I turn back around. A rare boldness bursts out of me.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” I practically blurt out at this guy, who has flipped open a book and is staring down at the pages. I’m surprised I can hear the reggae music playing softly from somewhere behind him. I'm surprised I’ve noticed anything because it feels like someone I don’t know, someone braver and more impulsive than me, has possessed my body.
Silence.
If I wasn’t already soaking wet, I would probably notice I’m sweating. I’m sure it’s only been a few seconds, but it feels like so much longer waiting for him to respond.
