Uncle Eddie’s always telling me I’m clumsy, and Moses just shakes his head whenever I accidentally drop stuff.
With these things in mind, I turn on the TV and let myself zone out to the shows I stream.
Monday morning rolls around, and I’m strategically dressed in a scarf and loose sweater. My attempt at hiding what’s left of my bruises. They’re looking marginally better than they had yesterday, but still vaguely resemble awkward splotches on my brown skin.
Unc’s already passed out in his room by the time I leave the house and head to Wheaton U.
Yvette’s the first person I see once I make it to campus. A broad smile spreads across her face and she nudges me in the side.
“Hey, Blackout,” she teases. “I heard about you and Kel.”
My brows push together and I stop midstep. “Blackout?”
She laughs off the question. “It’s a joke! Don’t you remember? Outside the club we were giving you shit because you couldn’t hold your liquor. It’s no big deal. Remember how Spencer started calling me Shots because of the tequila thing at New Year’s?”
“I didn’t go out with you guys on New Year’s. I wasn’t invited.”
“Oh yeah… girl, it was wild! We used the IDs to get into?—”
“Excuse me, I have to go.” I rush past Yvette before she’s even got a chance to finish her sentence.
I stride down the walkway, weaving between other students either loitering or on their way to their next class.
Wheaton University’s big enough that most students don’t know each other. But as I hurry down the hall at a brisk walk, I do recognize a couple familiar faces. People in my year who glance at me and seem to recognize me too.
Some of them smirk as if amused by my presence. As if there’s some joke I’m not aware of.
I’m practically jogging by the time I reach the end of the walkway and almost crash into the exact person I’m looking for.
Kel’s arms shoot out to catch me before we collide, holding me back by the shoulders.
“Damn, Solana… you alright? Almost took me out,” he says.
I step back, jerking the strap from my bookbag higher up my shoulder. “Kel, what the hell? You’re who I was looking for! You’ve been avoiding me.”
“Avoiding you?” He releases a short laugh and shakes his head, his dimpled smile coming to his face. “Nah, yesterday… I was out. Down for the count all day. Didn’t even wake up ’til it was dark. You know how shit got Saturday night.”
“Do you remember what happened?” I ask. I glance around as people walk by us, a couple sneaking interested looks our way. I drop my voice into a whisper. “Kel, I woke up in yourbed.”
He laughs again and then slides his arm around my shoulders. We fall into step together as we start going in the opposite direction I came from.
“Stop playing. You know we hit it off. You’re saying you don’t remember? You came back to my place and we had a good time. I wanted to see you today.”
“You… did?”
“Yeah. What’re you doing Thursday night? Want to see a movie?”
“A movie. The two of us?”
Once again, it’s like I’ve said something funny. He chuckles and nods his head. “Yeah, the two of us. How about it? You free?”
“Um, yeah… I am.”
“Cool. Then I’ll text you later. Sound good?”
Kel walks off before I can even process what’s happened. He’s asked me out. That’s after he said we hit it off Saturday night.
Did I really black out so bad I can’t even remember?
