“Damn,” I hear one of the guys say, but I’m not sure who since it was so low.
I look over and see Liam eyeing me up and down. If I had to guess, I would say that it was him who gave me the compliment…I suppose it was meant as a compliment.
“Let’s go,” Sam says, ushering us out of the house. Since we are all going, we have to take separate vehicles. We all climb in and head to our destination.
It doesn’t take as long as I thought it would, but as soon as we get there, we are seated at a table near the back. You can still see the dance floor but are far enough away to have a little privacy if you want. The waitress walks up and takes our drink order. I try to order just an iced tea, but they all order a little something extra for me.
“I don’t know about this.” I try to put up a fight, but no one listens. Maybe one drink won’t be so bad.
“Just one,” Jen says, winking at the other two in the process. I’m gonna have to keep my eye on them tonight.
The waitress returns a few minutes later with our drinks, my extra drink, and takes the rest of our order. After she leaves, the conversation picks up between Liam and Brendon…arguing about something that was left unsettled earlier.
Liam’s voice raises just a bit, “Nope.” He shakes his head. “I’m telling you the answer is no.” He looks me directly in the eye when he says this, even though I know he’s talking to Brendon.
“There’s no way you’re right, Liam. What do you wanna bet?” Brendon states, looking directly at Liam, who is still staring at me. I should look away, but I can’t.
Liam doesn’t respond, so Brendon keeps going. “How ‘bout I find out and let you know?”
That seems to get Liam’s attention, because he finally looks away and directly at Brendon. “Don’t even think about it.”
Why do I get the feeling that they are talking about me? The girls start laughing like they know what he’s talking about. Hell, they probably all know what he’s talking about…everyone but me. I’m glad the waitress picks this particular moment to bring our food and place it in front of us. At least I can focus on something else right now…like how in the hell am I ever gonna eat all this food in front of me. Everyone seems to calm down once the food in front of them. They all sit and watch as I have my one drink. I don’t know what in the hell that was, but it was good, and man…powerful. Of course, I’ve never had anything to drink, other than a bit of that beer the other night. After I take a few more bites, I look up and see that my ‘drink’ is filled again. The girls snicker and carry on like I’m not supposed to realize that they had another one brought to me. Have I been that engrossed in my food that I didn’t even notice them tell the waitress to do that?
Sam smiles and waves her hand at me. “Loosen up, Haley. Have some fun.”
Have some fun. I can have some fun…I think. I reach for my ‘drink’ and raise the small glass. “Here’s to making new friends.” Everyone raises their own glasses and echoes what I said. With the tilt of our heads, the strong, colorful liquid goes down smooth. I can feel it warm my body on its path to my stomach. Our empty plates are taken away, the lights in the entire building are dimmed, and the music is turned up to a decibel I didn’t even know existed. Jenny grabs my hand and encourages me out on the dance floor. I try to protest, but Sam and Kaylee are behind me, shoving me further and further away from the comfort of my seat. Why are they doing this? Okay, so I know why they are doing this. I’m supposed to be having fun or learning how to have fun, I should say. I finally relent and take the last few steps out onto the dance floor. I watch and learn the way the girls are moving and try my hand at dancing. I’m not sure if they realize it or not, but they are teaching me a lot. How to dance. They taught me how to apply makeup. They taught me how to dress when we go out, and I must say, I don’t look half-bad. They have given me such a boost of confidence in this short amount of time.
I couldn’t tell you how long we stayed out there and danced. We only took a couple of breaks to use the restroom and to get another drink. It seemed the longer the night went on, the larger the drinks got. They seemed to be changing colors, too. I know one was called Sex on the Beach. Who in the hell came up with that name?
We hear the bartender yell for ‘last call’ and decide it’s time to head home. Brendon helps Jenny out to the car. I didn’t see Kaylee drink very much, so hopefully she’s sober enough to drive home safely, but Zach walks with her. And Liam…Liam has to deal with me. I’m not sure he can understand what’s coming out of my mouth when I talk. I know what I’m trying to say, just not sure if I’m saying it right.