“What are you doing here, Abby?” I asked as they joined me in line. I gave Abby a quick side hug, while the blonde scanned me from head to toe as a smirk played across her face.
“We just needed to pick up some drinks. It was a long week at work.” As she lifted the black bag and pointed to the convenience store.
“It’s Wednesday,” I said pointedly.
I laughed as she replied, “Exactly.” I shook my head, and we moved forward in the line. The blonde cleared her throat and nudged Abby.
“Oh shit, my bad. Theo, this is Carina. Carina, Theo.” We shook hands, and a wicked smile stretched across her face.
“Well, good to know what’s been getting Lennon all worked up,” she stated. Again, her eyes skated across me and twinkled with some unknown secret. I shifted my weight back and forth, waiting for a follow up comment that never came. Abby bumped her with her hip and the two burst out in laughter.
My lips lifted up in a confused smile. “Are you a friend of Lennon’s, too?”
She rolled her eyes like it was something I should have known about this complete stranger. Abby answered for her. “Don’t mind her attitude. She’s like this with everyone. Carina is basically our other sister.” Carina’s smile softened at Abby’s declaration of sisterhood, and a small part of me was happy there were more people in Lennon’s life than she led on.
I expected them to head out as I stepped up to the window to give my order, but they lingered to the side, huddled together. My foil wrapped burrito appeared, but before I could tell them goodnight and head to my car, they approached me again. If they were twins, it would be a lot creepier, as they moved in unison as they walked toward me.
Carina spoke first and asked me if I was busy this weekend. Besides my parents and Lennon, there was really no one here I spent time with. The only other people I knew that stayed in this town were the same ones who would make it easy to lapse back into a lifestyle I had no business being a part of. I shook my head no and skeptically let her know I was free. My eyes bounced from Abby’s shining face to Carina’s mischievous one, waiting for them to let me in on their secret.
“Perfect. The three of us are going out on Friday for my birthday, and I think you should join us.” Carina’s eyebrows lifted in a way that said this was a demand, not really an invitation. She was about a second away from becoming a movie villain and tapping her fingers together like there was a master plan behind her statement.
“Why does it feel like I can’t say ‘no’?”
“You can, but you shouldn’t,” Abby replied and Carina’s head bobbed in agreement next to her. If Lennon was the softer side of Abby, then Carina was the wild side. In this small amount of time, they’d worked up some plan, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious. My tongue dragged across the inside of my bottom lip. I didn’t have a reason to say no, and it would mean more time with Lennon.
At this point, I’d take any excuse to be close to her.
When I agreed to meet them on Friday, they cracked twin grins. It was super creepy.
Abby said she’d text me the details, but more than likely, they’d be at Liquid Alchemy. Since I moved out of Fairvale at eighteen, I’d never been on the bar scene here, but I knew the name. It was an average town bar—live music, overpriced drinks, and probably dancing. Not my scene, but it was not my birthday. I made my move to start heading back to my car when Carina stopped me. She placed a single finger on my shoulder before I turned away, stopping me from leaving and said “Oh, and Theo? Let’s keep this a secret from Lennon, yeah? Think of it as a birthday present of sorts to me.” They left me standing in the parking lot as they laughed their way back to their car. I was dumbfounded about what had actually happened.
But I would keep the secret as I was curious about what their motive behind all this was.
By Friday night, I was twitchy. I had seen Lennon for lunch, and she went on about the bar Carina picked, exclaiming they were in their thirties and couldn’t party like they used to. “I’m thirty-five, Theo. Which means I’m tired by eight and will have heartburn by nine. I have no business being out in a bar,” she rattled off to me, causing me to choke on the water while laughing. None the less, I kept quiet and didn’t tell her I had met Carina, let alone that she invited me out to her birthday.
My phone pinged from where I threw it on the bed and Abby’s messages flashed on the home screen.
We’re heading out now.
Meet us in about forty-five?
It was after eight, so I hopped in the shower to kill time before I needed to head out. The warm water pelted at my back, and I used the time to let my mind wander. As always, all roads led to Lennon. It was summer, and I let my mind conjure what type of outfit she might decide to wear. Bare legs were the only thing I could think of. Would she have her hair pulled up off her shoulders, exposing the long lines of her neck or down in erratic curls, which was a personal fan favorite of mine? Before my mind went too far, I finished up and stepped back into my room. I slipped a pair of black slacks over my legs and a white polo shirt and sneakers. I toweled off the remaining water droplets in my hair and raked through some product to keep my curls in place.
Small towns had their perks, one being it took me only ten minutes to get to the bar. Ten minutes to get anywhere, really. I spent longer looking for a spot to park. The street was alive with people walking in and out of restaurants and a few other drinking spots on this end of Main Street. The other end was usually deserted since it was mainly office buildings. The music blared from each building as I walked by and made my way to Liquid Alchemy.
Standing out front was perhaps the largest man I had ever seen. He blocked the door, checking the ID of every patron before allowing entry. He nodded at me like we were old friends and stepped to the side to let me pass after I presented him with mine. Even though it was dark outside, it was darker in the bar somehow, as my eyes still needed time to adjust when I stepped inside.
The cement flooring stuck to my shoes while the air was already thick with the smell of spilled drinks, sweat, and desperation. Everything was tinged in a red glow as the large dingy chandeliers hung from the ceiling. There was a stage in a corner with the band blaring through the speakers and the bar scaled the length of the other side of the room. The place was packed with people as they leaned on tables or against the walls, talking and laughing, and the dance floor was full of couples who were glued to each other.
Maybe Lennon was onto something. I was feeling very old in the midst of this crowd.
My eyes scanned the room, and like a magnet, my sight landed on her. They were gathered at the far end of the bar, pressed against the wall. The bartender set three small glasses in front of them. Lennon’s face pulled into a grimace as the two other girls coaxedher into taking the shot. By the time I reached their spot, their heads all tilted back in unison. Abby and Carina spotted me first as I slid up to the bar next to them.
“Can I get one more round for them, please?” I requested from the bartender. Lennon’s eyes flew open at the sound of my voice with a lime still wedged in between her teeth.
Abby slung an arm around my shoulder, or at least tried, but I stood about a foot taller than her, so she’d stretched up on her toes and pulled me down to her height. “Theo, what a coincidence running into you here. Don’t you think so, Carina?” These two were trouble as they fell over each other, laughing.
Lennon blinked from where she’d pressed herself further into the wall as her forehead creased. “What are you doing here?” she questioned, eyeing her sister and Carina, who were still gasping for air over their master plan. Her hand drifted up to pull on her necklace, sliding the charm back and forth, waiting for one of us to reply. I’d leave it up to them. Better she knew I was invited, not that I just showed up after she had told me where she was going to be. I had done enough showing up out of nowhere.
