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What was going on?
The buzz felt good, and Tom had already told me I was crashing here for the night, which was fine. I didn’t want to take my drunk ass home to see my dad’s drunk ass, which would remind me that my home life was still shit.
I walked up to Brian, who was talking to Chris about video games, and Chris was doing what he did best—listening. I joined the two on the couch in the living room, and they welcomed me into the conversation as if I’d been there the whole time. Chris patted me on the back and gave me a half grin.
I glanced at their costumes. Chris had cat ears on and a collar. “Tom from Tom and Jerry?” He nodded and puffed out his chest with a big smirk, proud that he was recognized. I looked over at Brian, who dressed as a train. “And Tom the Tank Engine?”
“Choo-choo, motherfucker!”
The three of us hung out for a while, discussing everything. It felt like the first time we’d sat and engaged in over a year. Or at least, it was the first time I was engaged. Even without many words, Chris interacted more than I’d been over the past year.
“It’s good to have you back around,” Brian mentioned when we went to get more drinks.
“What do you mean? I’ve been around every weekend.”
“Yeah. You’ve been there, but not really.” He patted my chest. “It’s good to have you back,” he repeated.
I smiled, knowing what he meant.
He brushed his thumb against his nose before patting down his big Afro. “Maybe someday you can stop by and play games with us guys again like we used to. Tom is an awful gamer, so it would be nice to have some real competition.”
“I’d like that,” I told him. I meant it, too.
Around one in the morning, the party was still going on, yet I was ready to check out. I knew it was time to head to the guest room I was staying in because all I could think about was Starlet. My drunken mind belonged to her, but that wasn’t very different from my sober mind.
After one last shot with the birthday boy, I headed to the guest room and shut the door behind me. Before climbing onto the bed, I removed my shoes, T-shirt, and jeans. I pulled out my cell phone and called her when I got comfortable.
I shouldn’t have called her, but I did. I needed to hear her voice. I always wanted to hear her voice. Who was I lately?
“Hello?”
Her voice was soft, as if she were waking up. That wasn’t shocking. It was after midnight.
“Hey, Star.”
“Hey. Are you okay?” she asked, yawning through the phone.
I smiled as I lay on the bed because she asked if I was okay. “Yeah, I’m good. How are you?”
“Sleepy.” She yawned again. “Are you intoxicated?”
“I might be intoxicated.”
“Happy intoxicated or sad intoxicated?”
“Happy.”
“Mmm. Good. Happy is good.”
I turned onto my back and stared at the ceiling. “Star?”
“Yeah?”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.” She paused for a minute and asked, “Are you alone right now?”
“Yeah. I’m crashing at Tom’s. It was his eighteenth birthday party tonight.”
“Happy birthday to Tom. Don’t tell him I said that, though.”
I laughed. “I’ll keep it between us. It was a costume party. We were supposed to dress up as different Toms.”
“Who were you?”
“Tom from Myspace.”
“That’s very vintage of you. And somewhat lazy.”
“What can I say? I’m a lazy dude.” I cleared my throat. “Hey?”
“Yes?”
“I miss you.”
She chuckled lightly. “You said that already.”
“I know, but it’s true. I miss your eyes. And your lips. And your curves and—”
“You’re horny.” She cut in.
“Only for you. Is your roommate home?”
“No. It seems everyone has a social life except for me.”
“I can come over and be social with you.”
I listened to her turning in her bed, and I could almost see her bashful smile in my mind. “No, you can’t. You’re drunk. Besides, you coming to my dorm room is strictly off-limits. It goes against the secret friends rule.”
“I don’t think that was a rule.”
“It is now.”
“So we can add rules whenever?”
“Only when they are needed to remind you why you can’t come to crawl into my bed in the middle of the night.”
I groaned. “But I want to crawl into your bed in the middle of the night.”
“Two and a half more months.”
“That sounds like forever.”
“And some change.”
“Star?”
“Yes?”
“I had fun tonight.”
“That’s good. I’m glad.”
“I didn’t know I could still have fun until I found you.”
“Oh, Milo…” Her soft breaths were heard through the cell phone. “Be careful, or you’ll make me fall in love with you.”
If only she knew how much I wanted that to happen.
“Say something to make the butterflies go away,” she ordered. “Say something to make me roll my eyes.”
“What are you wearing?”
She burst into laughter. “That will do it for me.”
