“Than youexpec—”
She couldn’t finish before Avery cut in, “Well, we better get going. Hailey, I’ll see you at our next game.”
Hailey shook off whatever the hell just happened while she turned back to Avery. “Definitely, ready for domination!” She said with a bit of a growl.
Avery chuckled at her antics. “They don’t stand a chance! Take care until then.”
“Thanks, Avery. Have a good one, guys!”
She walked away smiling and realized it was time for her to start cleaning up her section to get ready to go to the gym. Perfect timing. Hailey didn’t look too much into the fact that Avery definitely talked about her to a coworker. He said it was just about soccer, but the reddening of his face whenever Jeff brought her up told a different story.
Later when she walked to her car after her shift, she got excited thinking about seeing him at their next game, but she refused to admit the meaning behind that to herself.
11
IT WAS FRIDAY NIGHT and everything around Hailey was shaped like a penis.
“Where the hell did you find a penis-shaped purse?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Bridget quipped, attaching her mouth back to her penis-shaped straw.
“Well, yes, that’s the point of asking a question, silly.”
Bridget simply stuck her tongue out at Hailey before saying, “It’s my bach party, bitches! Let’s do shots!”
“Shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots. Everybody!” Hailey shouted. Then she wondered what the hell happened to that music group.
“Yes! This is the girl I’ve been missing! Welcome back to the world, Hailey!”
Hailey toasted her shot glass toward Bridget beforeknocking it back.
“Holy shit, that burns! What the hell was it?
“Straight vodka!”
“Dammit, Bridge. I thought I told you I only likedgayvodka.”
Bridget shook her head, laughing at Hailey. “You’re such a goof.”
“You know it. Can we go dance now?”
“Hell yes! Let’s go!”
The bridal party was in a nightclub just outside of town and the bass was pumping through Hailey’s brain. It was dark with tables and a long bar surrounding the dance floor. You had to walk down a couple of steps to get to it, which Hailey thought was just asking for trouble with a bunch of drunks running around.
As they reached the dance floor, the strobe lights started to flash while the DJ blasted a loud “WAH, WAH, WAH” airhorn sound before blowing fog over them. Everyone on the floor cheered and then went back to dancing.
Hailey and Bridget joined the three other bridal party members just in time for Ke$ha to drown out everyone’s voices.
“Yes! This is my jam!” Hailey shouted before letting loose. She loved to dance and would get lost in the music, waiting for the elusive beat to drop.
She whipped her hair back and forth and shook herass like no one was watching, a pleasant buzz going in her head.
After what felt like a workout, the girls returned to their VIP booth in the back of the club. They flagged down their waitress to ask for another round of shots and more drinks to chase them with. Hailey was craving a Dirty Shirley. She didn’t drive so she was trying to drink enough to forget about everything else going on in her life. It was mostly working.
Sure, alcohol wasn’t the best treatment for her depression, but the dance floor was like a stimulant for Hailey so it evened out. At least, that’s what she would tell Marley.
The waitress returned with a round of lemon drop shots and the rest of the girls’ drinks.
