“Hi,” Kai says, giving her no attention at all.
Hmm. Interesting. Allison is one of those girls that all the guys drool over. Not him. He seems different.
“Do you want to walk with me?”
“S-sure,” I stutter. I need to get over this shyness if I’m ever going to have something with him.
“When did you get here?” he asks, sipping his slush. Thesmell of the slush has a strong, distinct odor. I wonder what flavor he got.
“A couple of hours ago. It’s barely picking up.” I wiggle my nose at the smell of his cup. “Do you come here often?”
“Sometimes. Usually just when my brother comes or when he lets me borrow his car.”
“Oh. You have a brother?”
That’s perfect. Paige could date his brother, and I could date Kai.
“Yeah. He’s older than me.”
“How old is he?”
“Twenty.”
The people who come to hang out here are all of different ages. No one usually asks me my age. I’ve been told I look older than I am. “What flavor of slush did you get?”
He gives me a side-eye. “Wanna try it?”
“Sure.” The second the gulp hits the back of my throat, something burns, and I gag. I’m trying to catch my breath through all the coughs. Tears are burning my eyes.
Kai laughs as he takes the cup from me and sips it. “You weren’t supposed to take a gulp.”
I don’t think it matters how small of a gulp I make; that shit is nasty. “What the hell is that?” I ask, wiping the tears from my eyes.
“It’s vodka.”
My brows rise toward my hairline. Vodka? Ew!
“You’ve never drank before?” he questions.
I’ve had sips of my mom’s drinks when she’s not looking. I’m not telling him that, though. “I have. I guess I was a little caught off guard since I didn’t know what was in there.”
He chuckles. “Do you want to go to a party with me later?”
“What time?”
“We’ll probably head over theresoon.”
The time on my phone reads 11:00. My mom wanted me home by midnight.
“If you have to be home, it’s cool,” he says.
“What time doyouhave to be home?” I ask him.
He shrugs his shoulders. “Whenever my brother drops me back off. I stay with him and his friend at their apartment. That’s where the party is.”
“Your parents don’t care?”
“My mom’s the only person I answer to, but she doesn’t know what we do exactly. She thinks we play video games all night. But I sort of live with my brother now.”
