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“Brooke!” Will waves at me from the table, where he has an arm resting on the back of his boyfriend Jon’s chair. “I saved you a seat.”
Grinning, I join them. Most of the people around the table are college friends who stayed in town for the summer. We’re not all best friends or anything, but I grew super close to Liling and Imani since freshman year, and we all hit it off with Will last year.
“You’re coming with us later to the club, too, right?” he asks, smacking a sloppy kiss on my cheek. “Imani had to deal with some wedding shit, but she’s meeting us there. And I have plans for you.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Plans? That doesn’t sound good.”
He leans in closer. “I’m gonna find you the hottest guy there, and then you’re gonna get laid.”
I can’t help myself—I laugh. “Are you drunk already?”
“What? No!” Will exclaims. When I glance at Jon, he just shakes his head in amusement.
“We’ll see about the getting laid part, Will. Give me some time.”
His smile fades for a moment. “Of course.” And then he’s back to distracting me, catching us all up on what he and Jon have been up to over the summer.
I listen to everyone’s stories since I don’t have much to show for my summer of misery. I’m on my second drink when Will finally turns to me.
“What exactly have you been up to?”
“Moved in with my mom, moved back out. Cried a lot.” I shrug. “Just trying to survive.” With a sigh, I look at all the smiling faces at our table, grateful Will asked me his question discreetly.
“Well, tonight is all about fun,” he says, grabbing his beer and holding it up. I raise my drink, clinking it against his glass.
“To fun,” I shout, and everyone joins in. Downing the rest of my drink, I gaze upward. The sun has already set over the lake, leaving behind a sky of dark blues. It’s truly breathtaking, especially when combined with the twinkle lights from the deck of the bar and the music wafting from the speakers.
A perfect night.
When we head out, Will and Jon join us in the car. Liling is giggling at everything Will has to say, swaying with every movement of the car. Sighing, I grab a water bottle from the stash under the seat, uncap it, and shove it into her hands.
“Drink up, buttercup.”
Thankfully, she listens without complaint, chugging the water until it spills out of her mouth.
She coughs before exclaiming something that sounds distinctly like one of the Mandarin swear words she uses often.
“Easy there,” I say, pulling the water bottle out of her hands.
She keeps coughing, but after Will slaps her on the back, she wheezes in a breath and gives us a thumbs up. “I’m great,” she croaks.
“Good, because we’re almost to the club.” As I say it, I grab the bobby pins that are practically falling out of Liling’s black hair and re-secure them. She’s such an animated talker, I’m surprised her bun stayed up this long.
Liling squeals in excitement. “Yes, yes, yes!”
Leaning over her, I grab Will’s attention. “How many drinks has she had?”
He shrugs, grimacing a bit. “I only saw her have two. But, you know, there’s not much to her. Don’t worry, we’ll all look out for her. You, on the other hand, will do nothing but have fun.”
The car pulls over, and I look up at the entrance to the club. The line isn’t terribly long, although Will said he knows the bouncer and can get us in faster.
As we walk past everyone, I keep my head lowered. It feels weird to cut everyone in line. But the thought of dealing with Liling while she whines that she has to pee is enough for me to shove my feelings aside and step into the club.
It’s already pretty full, since it’s getting late. Liling makes a beeline for the dance floor, and I follow closely behind. When Will and Jon catch up to us, they’re carrying enough drinks for all four of us.
“I got you a nonalcoholic one,” Will says in my ear. “I figured you were done drinking for the night.”
With a grin and a nod, I take a red-colored drink from his hand and slowly sip. He’s right—most of my memories that include alcohol are of the variety I’d like to forget. Obviously I drink, but not a lot.
