Chapter 18
Hypocrite. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Marissa told me dating your roommate was a bad idea, and here she was, making out with her roommate. I was too tipsy to get annoyed, and instead humor overtook my mouth. “Ha!” I nudged Jaime in the side. “Look at that!”
A sly grin spread across his face. “I wondered. They’re both beautiful and they’re always together.” He raised his beer to his mouth and swallowed, and his eyes remained on the two women in the corner. Their heads bent close in conversation and as we watched, Zoey reached out and touched Marissa’s hand.
“Let’s hide.” I pulled him back to the bar. “They need their privacy. Let’s pretend we didn’t see that.” I pulled his face close so my voice wouldn’t carry through the packed pub. “We’re not even supposed to be here.” Each word took its own final punctuation, like I was sharing the world’s secrets that no one else could hear.
His glassy eyes pulled away from mine, and he greeted a couple also pushed up against the counter.
“Who’s that?” Whispering into his ear and nodding at the couple, I squeezed my way into his world.
“Not sure.” I focused on the lopsided smile hiding behind his beard, and admired his confidence. The crowded pub encouraged us to be close, and I took advantage of the rowdy drinkers occasionally bumping into me and pushing me closer to Jaime.
At eleven o’clock, I turned to face the door because that was the time we agreed to meet. Marissa and Zoey walked toward us. Marissa’s rosy face and hunched posture reminded me of when I went to a frat party, spent the night, and walked back to my dorm in my crop top, short skirt, and heeled boots. At first, I had regretted that decision, but bad choices led to learning good judgment, so I gave myself a pass and told myself never to get that drunk again.
“Hi,” Zoey shouted over the chatter. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Jaime leaned down so his mouth was next to her ear. “Yeah, we got here at half-ten.”
Marissa’s shoulders pulled back sharply, and she raised her head. Her smile vanished and creases appeared between her eyebrows as her eyes dated between us. I kept my expression carefully neutral, and as quickly as her posture had stiffened, it relaxed again.
“How was the party?” Zoey asked.
“It was fine,” I said. “Lots of people I didn’t know.”
I exchanged curious glances with Jaime and noticed Marissa and Zoey did the same. I was dying to know what had transpired a few minutes before, or even days or weeks, but I couldn’t bring myself to address the elephant in the room.
“Marissa, I’m gonna grab a beer. Do you want one?” Zoey nodded to the bar.
“Yeah, I’ll come.”
The two girls left Jaime and me alone, and I word-vomited all my thoughts. “Do you think they’re together? It’s so weird. Marissa told me the other day she would never date her roommate. Maybe they’re not dating. Maybe they’re just hanging out….like us? I don’t know. I kind of want to say something, but I don’t. It’s none of my business.” I glanced at the bar, and Marissa and Zoey were still waiting. Jaime checked his phone. “Jaime.” I widened my eyes at him and lurched my head forward.
He looked up. “Sorry. I wasn’t listening. Are you okay if I head back to Owen’s?”
“What?” I threw my hands up in the air. “You weren’t even listening?” I took a sip of my water and gently placed it on the table.
“Sorry. Owen needs some help.” He stood, shoved his phone into his pocket, and kissed me. “I’m crashing there. You’ll be okay, right?”
I glanced at my two roommates standing inches apart near the high-top table behind the bar. “Sure.” Grabbing my drink, I said, “Let me check and see what they’re up to.”
As I approached, Marissa and Zoey were speaking with their heads close together. I knew whatever they were discussing was special to them because they stopped and looked at me when I walked into their space. Zoey jumped up and hugged me. “I love you,” she said. I smelled the alcohol on her breath and heard it in her slurred speech.
I was more alert than her, and dread consumed me as images of the long walk home galloped across my mind. “I love you too, Zoey. Is it cool if I hang with you? Jaime’s going back to the party.”
“Ooh! Jaime, can I come?” Zoey stumbled over to him.
He scanned her slanted body, pressed against the wall, and grinned. “I think the party’s over. He needs help cleaning up.”
Zoey pouted, exaggerating her bottom lip. “Okay, Jaime. Maybe next time.” She returned to Marissa, staring at the musicians. Sounds of flute, fiddle, and accordion transformed the tiny pub into a rollicking party.
“I’d like to stay and listen to the music,” I said.
Jaime said goodbye and made his way toward the door. His short stature, by American standards, bobbed away from us until he disappeared into the sea of people.
Always the responsible one, I sipped my water, praying my roommates would sober up before the pub closed. Someone needed to navigate through the twisty residential streets of Galway to the safety of our apartment, and I was the best choice.
Like waves in the ocean, people came and went, but we swayed like seagrass on the ocean floor. After the music ended, a bell rang and the lights clicked on, signaling closing time.
