It’s a solid plan, but it’s easier said than done.
27
Josie
It’s been just over a week since the fire at Van’s house and every day of this week has tried my patience in some way or another. That’s why when Mel and Will showed up at my dorm to drag me over to the Chapel, I went willingly. A night with my friends is just what I need.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed by social events, so I generally avoid parties and clubs, but this is different. Ian is back in Bainbridge for the weekend, so we’re hanging out at with Booker and his roommates. These guys are a lot of fun, and of course it’s good to catch up with Phoebe, Willa, and Lucy. I was welcomed into their fold last year when Phoebe and Mel roomed together and Willa worked at Drip with Ian. It was never my intention to collect a large group of friends, but I’m glad I lucked into this crew. Whit’s playing deejay and Ian’s the bartender. I haven’t been here long, but I’m already on my second drink.
“This is bullshit,” I declare.
“I know you’re not talking about the cocktail I just poured you,” Ian says, his brow raised. He’s right. I’m not a big drinker, but Dirty Shirleys are my favorite.
I shake my head. “Of course not. This is delicious. I can’t even taste the alcohol.”
Willa laughs. “That’s when you know you’re in trouble!”
She’s probably right, so I’ll finish this one and slow down. I skipped dinner, which was probably a bad idea, so I should have some snacks. I hate the way I feel all floaty when I drink. Maybe I’m a control freak, but I don’t like that detached feeling at all. I want to be in charge of my faculties at all times.
“To bullshit!” Knox yells, raising his drink in the air. It sloshes over the sides a little and drips on his shirt and on Willa. Their little girl is with Booker’s mom tonight, and Knox is definitely making the most of his kid-free night. I can relate.
“Babe, we are not toasting to bullshit. Josie is railing against it.”
Knox takes another sip of whatever amber-colored liquid he’s drinking. “Who’s getting railed?”
“Not me!” I cry, and now I’m the one sloshing my drink. Mel hands me a napkin and I’m grateful. The Chapel is the nicest house on campus, hands down. It was literally a chapel back when Booker’s great-great-great grandfather founded the college over a hundred years ago. There might be a few more greats in grandfather. I don’t know. And the room is maybe getting just a little bit fuzzy.
Booker holds in a laugh, making Ian frown. “You,” he says, pointing at Booker, “need to get your teammate in line. You’re the captain, for fuck’s sake. Can’t you make him skate laps if he’s being a shit boyfriend?”
“There is so much wrong with that statement that I don’t even know where to start. Besides, being the perfect boyfriend isn’t as easy for everyone else as it is for you,” Booker tells Ian then plants akiss on his lips. I roll my eyes at their cuteness.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I correct. “Because a boyfriend would finish what he started. And Van most certainly did not. We were just getting to the good part and then…poof! Nothing.”
“Um, I’m not taking sides or anything,” Will says, his hands up in the air. “But Mickey nearly burned the house down that night. I’m all for having a good time, but I think a fire is a pretty solid reason to stop fooling around.”
“I see your point,” I concede. “But then he haunted me.”
Mel takes the nearly-empty drink from my hand and sets it on a side table. “Do you mean ghosted?”
“Yes, exactly,” I nod, reaching for my drink. It’s gone, though, so Booker hands me a glass of water. “He ghosted me. No texts or anything. No calls, no follow-up. No, ‘Hey, remember how we almost got naked in my room last week? Let’s try that again.’ Nothing. He came into tutoring on Monday like it was any other day. It was not! It was day 371 of The Great Celibacy. It was the Feast of the Born-Again Virgin. The Most High Holy Day of Unrequited Lust.”
“Wow. If you’d have told me it was a holiday, Jos, maybe I’d have helped you celebrate.”
I turn to see Van standing in the doorway and the look on his face tells me he heard every word of my tirade.
I settle into the passenger seat of Van's car. He shuts the door, rounds the hood, then takes his seat behind the wheel. I should be buckled in by now, but it seems an impossible task to fit the silver buckle into such a tiny slot on the little plastic clicky part, especially when I can't take my eyes off of Van. His hair is down tonight, falling in loose waves around his shoulders. He's got a BU Hockey hoodie on and soft gray sweats. I doubt he was outat a bar or a party, based on the way he's dressed. But I guess it wouldn't matter. Van could show up to a kegger in a snowsuit and girls would still flock to him. He's classically handsome and it just isn't fair. He's sitting so close and he smells so good, and would it be weird if I crawled onto his lap and decided to stay for a while?
He looks over at me and takes the buckle from my hand. He pulls the seatbelt across my body and clicks it into place. Pressing a button on the dash, he starts the car and backs out of Booker's driveway. "Did you have fun?" he asks.
"No, Van," I answer honestly, since those Dirty Shirleys seem to have erased my reticence. "I haven't had fun in a week. The last time I had fun was in your room. You were kissing me and taking my shirt off and then somebody lit a couch on fire and that was the end of my fun."
Van stays silent as we make our way through campus. Booker's house is on the northwest edge and my dorm is on the opposite end, but since Bainbridge is a relatively small school, the drive doesn't take too long. And that's good because my head is starting to get a little fuzzy. I only had two drinks and they were light pours because Ian knows me well. I'm not a drinker, and I'm not drunk. But I just might be tipsy.
The word tipsy feels funny on my lips. Lipsies?
He pulls up to my dorm and parks. Why is parallel parking so hot? It shouldn't be sexy. It's just a skill. But it's seriously having an unintended effect on me. That one shoulder glance, the forearms, the flat of his hand on the steering wheel as he turns it. This should not be pornographic, and yet...
"If I knew driving turned you on this much, Jos, I'd have insisted we do all our tutoring sessions in my car," he says, turning the engine off.
