SIX DAYS (6 page)

“What do you mean?
Since what?” I turned to look at her directly, instead of her reflection in the mirror. Hazel made herself busy, cleaning the vanity top, putting her makeup away. “You know how guys are,” she shrugged.

“Hazel,” I said, attempting to coax her to look at me.

“It’s no biggie.” She waved a hand in the air as if it was nothing. Then she finally made eye contact with me. “Kasey got hung up on this girl—it didn’t work out—he’s had a hard time moving on from her,” she said nonchalantly.

I knew how rough getting through a breakup could be. I hated the way my breakup with Derrick still made me feel sometimes. He’d been an important part of my life for so long, and then poof. He disappeared completely as if an outside force had sucked him away from me and he was lost somewhere, even though I knew he was fine and probably moving on without considering me at all, as if he and I hadn’t ever happened.

“Breakups blow,” I murmured.

“It’s time for Kasey to let that wound heal—you too,” Hazel added, turning to fluff her hair in the mirror. “I really think you two will be great for each other,” she smiled. “Now c’mon,” she said, walking toward her closet. “Let’s get dressed.”

Hazel had a Tosh-like closet, filled with clothes. “I should have just borrowed something from you,” I gasped, eyeing all of the beautiful things displayed around me.

“No way.
I’m like my mother in that aspect. She hates sharing money. I hate sharing my clothes.”

I didn’t ask why, mostly because I didn’t care. The reason wasn’t important to me. I slipped into my new dress and gave myself a long peek in the full-length mirror in Hazel’s bedroom, making sure everything was in place when I heard Kasey’s voice.

“Damn Ryen, you look
hot
.”

Kasey was standing behind me smiling so wide that I thought he would laugh, and for the first time, I noticed a slight dimple in his right cheek.

Hazel poked her head past the closet door. “You’re only supposed to use that key in case of an emergency,” she said, seeming completely unaffected by Kasey appearing out of thin air, when he’d startled me nearly out of my skin.

“Yeah, yeah,” Kasey muttered, stepping closer to me. “I’m sorry about last night,” I blurted, blushing, embarrassed by what I remembered of my behavior.

Kasey smiled, and then kissed my cheek. “Don’t be,” he whispered. He smelled so good. It was ridiculous. I took a deep breath, tasting the woodsy scent of his cologne, memorizing it. “I am a little disappointed that you didn’t call me though.”

“I’m ready to go,” Hazel called, thankfully interrupting us. Surely, he hadn’t actually expected me to call. “You two can make out later,” she added with a wily grin.

Kasey took my hand and escorted Hazel and me outside.

“When did you get this?” Hazel asked of the Mercedes SUV in her driveway.

“I picked it up this afternoon. The three of us wouldn’t have fit in my car.” I felt my eyes go wide for a second. He’d said it as if he’d picked up a loaf of bread or whatever. Like dropping a hundred grand for an extra seat was no big deal. Hazel laughed, but almost like she understood the conundrum and had done the same thing herself in a similar situation.

“We could have taken my car. I’ve got room for a soccer team,” I complained.

Hazel laughed. “Yeah, we could have rolled the lac.”

“The what?”
Kasey asked.

“For some unknown reason my mom bought me a Cadillac wagon.”

He laughed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh, but you sound so unhappy about it.”

“It’s a nice car, but I’m eighteen, single, and childless. I don’t need a backseat at all.”

“Trade it in, get what you want. I’m sure Carolyn won’t care,” Hazel said. “She might not even notice.” That was true.

“I couldn’t…” I began, and then thought, why not? The other members of my family weren’t letting anything stop them from having whatever they wanted. “I wouldn’t even know how,” I said.

“I could go with you. I’ll take you tomorrow if you want,” Kasey offered.

“Okay, “I smiled. “I’ll think about it.”

When we stopped to pick up my ID, Hazel tapped my arm from the back seat. “It’s two hundred.” Something she could have mentioned before I’d left my house with exactly that amount for dinner and drinks.

“I’ve got it,” Kasey said casually.

“No, I can’t let you—” “I’ve already taken care of it,” he said, smiling at me in a way that guaranteed I wouldn’t argue with him any further.

Then there was a knock on Kasey’s window. He let it down about six inches and turned his back to me.
“Looks good. Tell him thanks,” Kasey said, twisting back around in his seat, staring at my new identity. The whole thing had taken all of three seconds. I never even saw a person, just a hand.

Hazel snatched the ID from Kasey. “Wow, this does look good,” she cooed. “I think Chase was right. We’re going to have so much fun corrupting you,” she said excitedly.
I glanced at Kasey and was suddenly looking forward to a little corruption.

When we got to the restaurant, Kasey held my hand again. Our fingers intertwined as we strode inside. The hostess led us to an octagonal shaped private room where Chase, Luke, and Tosh were seated. The room was painted in turquoise and stamped with a silver damask pattern. The table sat in the center of the room beneath a black chandelier.

“What the hell?” Hazel griped. “The whole point of eating first is so we can drink
later.
” There were two champagne bottles turned upside down in an urn of ice in the middle of the round table.

“You’re just pissed that you can’t hold your drink like the rest of us,” Chase teased.

“Yeah, well—we’ll see who’s holding what at the end of the night,” she playfully threatened him, slick grin on her lips.

“Two more of these, please,” Chase looked at a woman standing in the corner, pointing at the urn. The woman nodded and disappeared.

“Happy now?” Chase asked Hazel.

“Ecstatic,” she declared. Then I realized everyone was quietly staring at me.

“Hi,” I said and gave a tiny wave, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

“Damn,” Chase mumbled.

“You look so different,” Tosh said.

“You look like a girl,” Luke added.

Hazel sat down in Chase’s lap. “I told her I want her boobs,” she said, and the eyes that weren’t already there, focused on my chest.

“I bet I know someone else who wants her boobs,” Chase said out of the side of his mouth, making Hazel laugh.

Kasey looked at me as if there was no one else in the room. He leaned in and whispered, “For the record, I thought you were just as stunning last night.” I smiled at him. I was severely crushing on the guy. He was like a dream. Attractive, polite, and well mannered. I’d worn a baggy t-shirt and tennis shoes last night. My hair was in a ponytail and I wasn’t wearing makeup.

The woman who’d been in the corner returned with the champagne, causing Kasey and me to stop staring at each other. The restaurant menu was in Mandarin, so I didn’t object when Kasey asked if he could order for me. He asked me a few questions about what I liked, but I wanted to laugh when the waiter brought out my food. It was coconut shrimp, brown rice, and orange slices. I was expecting something I wouldn’t want to eat on a dare for some reason.

It was after eleven and six empty bottles later before we left the restaurant, which was why Hazel, Kasey, and I got in the limo with Chase, Tosh, and Luke and let Frederick drive us. I thought I could get used to having a sober ride on demand.

Kasey’s cell rang as we piled inside and sat down.

“Change of plans,” he said, after ending the call. “We’re going to Scratch.”

“Why Scratch?” Hazel whined.

“Dale’s in town. We won’t have to wait in line like we will if we go to Lurid.”

“How do you know we’ll have to wait?”

“We don’t have a connection at Lurid yet. Dale’s holding a table for us at Scratch.”

Hazel pulled out her phone and started texting. She was the only one who seemed bothered. Probably because she knew going to a different place would ruin the surprise Carter had planned.

Frederick let us out at the curb near the front door of Scratch; where there was a line so long to get inside that I couldn’t see the end of it.

Kasey took us past the line of people to an entrance on the side of the building where a burly man stood in front of a single steel door. He wore a dark blue suit and Bluetooth headset. Kasey said something to the man that I couldn’t hear, and almost instantly, a girl wearing a very low cut shirt and tight shorts appeared.

“Follow me,” she said, eyeing Kasey closely. Which I didn’t care for.

None of us
were asked for ID at all. I was expecting to have my ID thoroughly examined, but no one even glanced at it.

The girl took us to a corner of the building outfitted with a stark white, U shaped sofa, surrounding a large, wooden cocktail table. I’d never been in a nightclub before, so I casually looked around, taking it all in.

The place was shaped like an arena. The dance floor was in the center while the bar area encircled it. Nooks, like the one we were in, rested against the outside walls. The air was cool and tasted fresh, instead of like cigarettes, which was what I’d expected.

We’d barely sat down before another girl dressed like the first one showed up with a tray of shot glasses plump with an array of colored liquids. Tosh and Hazel—who seemed to be over the change of locale—each snatched a glass with a milky brown filling from the tray.

“C’mon, Maria Wallace!” Hazel recited the name on my fake ID. “Pick one.”

I grabbed a shot that matched theirs. “Liquor before beer...” they chanted before clanking their glasses against mine. Once the shots disappeared, they shouted, “Never fear,” then laughed while I tried to catch the breath whatever was in that shot had stolen from me.

“You can have two more of those before switching to beer. These shots—great kick starters,” Hazel told me before Chase filled her mouth with his tongue, impairing her ability to speak. Whatever it was made me feel warm and tingly, but I’d also had two glasses of champagne at the restaurant.

“They’ve had a lot of practice drinking like they do. I think some Irish would consider them professional alcoholics,” Kasey joked. “One of those is probably plenty for you.” The sudden unevenness of the room served as confirmation. I had to agree with him.

Tosh pulled Hazel and me out on the dance floor. Normally, I would have protested. I hardly ever danced and wasn’t great at it. The feel of the bass in my chest and the excitement of the crowd around us made me not care. Besides, no one knew me there. I could be or do whatever I wanted. Having a buzz, and being with people who never gave a shit what others thought of them also helped me to let loose.

After a while, we grabbed a beer and headed back to our seats to see the boys. Luke and Chase were standing, talking to a couple other guys, and Kasey was in the middle of the U shaped
couch with a girl sitting on either side of him, which stopped me in my tracks and forced my heart to jump into my throat.

Hazel laughed. “What are you
gonna do about that bullshit?” she asked.  I had no idea. “I know Kasey. He came with you, so there’s no way in hell he invited them over,” she added. Then one of the girls put her hand on Kasey’s. He pulled away, reaching for his drink on the wooden table in front of them.

“When you’re thirty with a couple kids and think back to this night, how do you want to remember it? That you ran those bitches off, or that you did nothing?” What the hell was
I
supposed to do? “Let me put it this way,” Hazel said. “If that was you sitting between two guys you were politely hinting at to back the fuck off, how would you feel if Kasey ignored it?”

Okay, that got through to me.

The girl placed her hand on Kasey’s thigh and by then my insides were boiling. He’d already moved away once. The wooden table between us was wide and the length of the couch. I could have walked around it, but decided that walking on top of it would be more dramatic.

Hazel laughed with her mouth wide open, grabbing Tosh to watch as I stepped off the end of the table and sat myself in Kasey’s lap, forcing the girl to move her hand. My heart banged hard in anticipation of Kasey’s reaction to my little stunt.

“Hey,” Kasey said, a fascinated smile stretching across his face.

“Hey,” I smiled back. He slid the fingers of his right hand
between my left. I put my arm around his neck and leaned closer, our tongues meeting before our lips. The girls walked away, one of them calling me a slut as she went.

“That was epic!” Tosh squealed, abruptly ending mine and Kasey’s kiss before it really even started. I slipped off Kasey’s lap and sat next to him, my heart pounding from the adrenaline pumping through my body. The girl with the shot tray resurfaced. I threw back something blue and tangy that time. It wasn’t as good as the milky one, but thought it might help me forget what I’d just done.

Something about the five of them made me feel braver than I was. Like I could do anything I wanted and the universe would give me a pass or something. Part of me felt amazing while the rest of me felt stupid for being possessive of a guy who probably didn’t even know my last name. Kasey smiled at me, staring in awe. Since I was feeling so brave, I thought about trying to kiss him again, but a guy approached and hollered, “Grayson!” Kasey stood to shake his hand. “This is Dale,” he shouted to me over the music. Dale appeared to be barely twenty-one himself and owned the place.