“Hey,” I said, nudging her playfully in the ribs. “It’s hard to spend time with you if you’re not here.”
It wasn’t a lie, either. Any family member of an alcoholic would tell you the same thing.
Carly ignored this, reaching for another drink. Jason, for the first time all night, was looking kind of awkward again. His incessant rambling might have saved us this time. Instead, a heavy silence weighed over our table as Carly continued to drink. Finally, when our server arrived at the table to take our orders, I had to help Carly order because she was too drunk to look at the menu.
“Could I also get another one of these?” she asked the waitress, draining her glass. The server nodded and hurried away. When I looked back at the table, Renee was now looking at me. I couldn’t read her expression and wasn’t sure I wanted to. The night had barely started, and this was already the date from hell.
“So,” Jason said, clearing his throat. He peeled the wrapper off his straw, avoiding mine and Carly’s faces. Instead, he turned to Renee, pretending the rest of us were no longer there. “The funniest thing happened today in class. So, I was—-”
I was only halfway paying attention because Carly had pushed her empty glass aside next to me and was now sitting back in the seat. The red flush from seconds ago was gone, and now she was pale, ghostly white, and her arms were folded over her stomach like she was trying to keep it all in.
Shit.
“Hey,” I whispered to Carly, dropping my tone so Jason couldn’t hear us. “Are you okay? Do you want me to take you home?”
Carly shook her head as the server returned with another refill for her and our appetizer. The food seems to have tempted her good mood because she dove into the spicy nachos like a ravenous teenager, moaning in ecstasy. I was a big fan of a girl who could put away good food like that, but I couldn't shake the feeling that everything she was eating now wouldn't stay where it was supposed to.
“So, Daniel, right?” Jason said, finally looking at me. There was a slight smirk on his lips, and my knuckles flexed under the table.
“It was Jake,” murmured Renee before I could correct him. Her eyes met mine, but only for a moment before she looked back down, focusing on the plate of nachos Jason dished up for her.
“Jake,” I confirmed. “And you’re Joseph, right?”
Carly snorted into her drink. At least I could make someone laugh.
“It was Jason, actually.”
“Right.”
“So, Jake, how do you know Carly and the girls?” Jason asked. He was finally looking at me, and seeing his steady gaze was almost impressive. He was not really intimidated by me, it would seem, but I still couldn’t figure out what Renee liked in the guy. He came off as superior, like he knew he was smarter than the rest of us. He probably was, but there was no need to brag about it.
“We met at O Malley’s,” Carly piped up with a hiccup. “He actually came to our table and hit on Renee. Funny, huh?” She was giggling, red-faced again, and even though she was sitting down, I was pretty sure she was still swaying a bit.
Jason didn’t say anything to this at first, but he looked at Renee, who cast her eyes on the tabletop. That was all the answer he needed, I guess, because for the next ten minutes, it was Carly talking instead of Jason, and nobody else was even trying to get a word in.
I couldn’t keep my eyes off Renee as we ate our meal. I knew that would happen, of course, but being near her in such close proximity was something I didn’t realize would affect me. Even seated across from her, I could smell that sweet perfume she wore. Her hair was softly curled—Carly’s work, probably—and the bit of makeup made her green eyes pop even more than they usually did, and the red-tinted lips were luscious. Even though Carly was sitting practically attached to my hip, I couldn’t pay attention to anything else but Renee.
“Excuse me!” Carly turned in her seat in the middle of dinner to flag down the server for another drink. I noticed that Renee’s face fell as this happened, and I knew she didn’t want Carly to drink anymore. Neither did I, for that matter. Some people could hold their liquor, and some people couldn't. Carly just happened to be the latter.
Then again, she had downed half the restaurant’s liquor supply. I was morbidly impressed that she wasn’t yet face down in her own vomit in some alleyway, to be honest.
“Babe,” I said gently, touching her arm. It didn’t feel like ababymoment, but I knew she liked the pet name. Girls like her always did. “I’d like to enjoy the rest of the night with you. Could we get some ice water instead?”
Turning away from the server, Carly turned in my direction, head swiveling like a bobblehead, brows furrowed deep. For a split second, I thought she might punch me out for even making a comment.
“Why? Just because I enjoy a good drink doesn't mean—” she stopped, mouth snapping shut abruptly, and when the color drained once more from her face, I knew what was coming next.
Carly stumbled to her feet before I could help her, shoving past the irritated server, who looked absolutely disgusted at the thought that one of her customers might be sick. I wanted to blame her, really, for giving Carly so many drinks and probably finding it funny at the time, but I couldn’t. There was no one to blame now but Carly, and she was in no position to be blamed for it.
“We’ll be back,” I said to Renee. Jason was staring after Carly slack-jawed as though what was happening now was the worst thing of his existence. I could see the judgment in his eyes, and I wanted to punch him.
He wouldn’t understand this.
But I do.
I understand it all too well.
I followed Carly to the women’s bathroom because I wasn’t comfortable enough to leave her in there by herself. She made it to the toilet with barely a second to spare, falling to her knees and heaving chicken tacos all over the inside of the toilet bowl. I grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser and dampened them in the sink, then kneeled down next to her, gathering bubble-pink hair between my fingers to hold it back for her. Carly was sobbing now, heaving, and I rubbed her back with my free hand, wishing I could do something more for her than just this.
