Faith wasn't as thrilled about going to her mom's as I'd hoped. She also wasn't as upset about it as I'd feared. Once she got home, we got her packed up for the weekend, made sure she had both her phone and tablet, then Meredith showed up. That got a little tense as the woman gawked around the house, but I didn't give her the chance to get comfortable.
By a quarter after five, Faith was gone, and the house felt a little bit strange without her in it. An hour later, she hadn't called me in a panic, so I started to hope that this would be ok. Then, we all started getting ready to go have our own fun. I ended up sharing the bathroom mirror with Cy, the pair of us making sure our beards were perfectly trimmed, our hair was put in place, and that we would look good enough for the woman we were both going to chase.
It was nice and comfortable, and yet I was nervous as shit. We were going into Denison, a place where we wouldn't know anyone, but we were still going together. All four of us. One big thing - whatever this mess was called. This shit wasn't done in the real world, and I didn't want to hide it, but I was scared shitless how this was going to go down.
I was still doing it, though.
I drove there. Cy said he was going to drive home, which meant Ash and I could drink. Violet made it clear that she was definitely gonna. Ash had ended up with the little thing she called a wallet, Cy had her phone. I'd been tasked with lipstick and a tube I was pretty sure had eyeliner. Now, sitting in the seat beside me was the prettiest girl I'd ever seen in my life.
Violet had curled her hair, but it wasn't big. She had on a lavender dress with little beads that shimmered in the light. Paired with some cowgirl boots, those long legs of hers were going to be one hell of a distraction. In the back seat, the guys were a bit less impressive, but only because they hadn't tried as hard. Both of them wore t-shirts that fit a bit too well. So did I, in all honesty. Ash's jeans were painted on, but in the best way. Cy's hung low, which was just as nice, and he had my straw hat. Naturally, I was wearing my black one.
When we got there, the place was packed. Together, the four of us waited in line to get our IDs checked. Once we were cleared to enter, we stopped again to pay the cover charge. Ash stepped up and took care of that. All of us got our hands stamped, and then we stepped into a massive room with country music playing much too loud. Smiles instantly took over my friends' faces.
Lovers?
Partners?
For a moment, the world paused as it dawned on me that this could be normal. This was us, and I didn't even know what to call the group as a whole. But Violet spotted a table. I tapped Cy's arm and tilted my head to the bar. He nodded, and we split, gesturing to show the intention. Violet just smiled, but it was the real kind, and it was big, kinda like she was honestly having fun.
At the bar, I paused to lean over it. "I need two shots of whiskey, a Bud Light..." Then I pointed to Cy.
"Corona and a Long Island iced tea," he finished.
I just looked over. "So, Ash is getting trashed?"
"Not as much as you think," he assured me. "Remember, they lived in Europe for a while. This is my one drink for the night, so I'm going to be nursing it."
"Sounds good to me," I promised.
We waited for a bit while the guy behind the bar started mixing things up. He paused to slide a beer to someone else, but was right back at it. Then someone flopped against the counter beside me. A second later, Cy moved closer as the same thing happened to him. It was a pair of girls, and they were both smiling - right at us.
"I'll let you buy me a drink," the one beside Cy said.
"Honey, I'm here with someone," he said.
"What about you?" the brunette beside me asked. She looked a little too familiar.
"I'm so taken it's not even funny." But I still smiled at her. I couldn't fucking help it. "Not gonna happen tonight."
"Your loss," she teased before turning to a guy a little further down.
"Tonight?" Cy asked, tossing over a bill as the bartender started piling up our drinks.
"As opposed to last winter when I went home with her," I explained. "The blonde beside you tried a few months before, but she was too drunk."
Cy just pushed half the drinks my way, claiming one of the shots, the mixed drink, and his own beer. "So youarea slut." But he sounded mostly amused.
"Yep," I agreed, leaning in so he could hear me over the music. "I'd say I was, but not so sure screwing three people doesn't count. But I'm gonna dance with our girl."
"Me too," he promised. "Just don't push shit too far. This is not a gay bar."
Somehow, that made me feel a little better about the expectations. A little part of me relaxed, but another got mad. Why shouldn't I be able to dance with a guy? Right now, there was a pair of girls dancing together, laughing it up. That was no big deal, and they were probably just friends trying to keep the men away, but still. There was something wrong about this, and I was starting to see it. Ever since Cy had kissed me, it had become more and more obvious.
I pushed it out of my mind when we got to the table. The first shot I passed Violet, she downed like a pro. Then Cy handed out the drinks he had. Ash took one hell of an impressive gulp, and Violet shot back the second, then jumped to her feet.
"Who's dancing?" she asked.
Cy waved me to her, and I wasn't about to pass up the chance. "You know how?" I asked even as I steered her towards the dance floor.
