I smiled into Derek’s mouth.
I didn’t care if he was here because of her.
I didn’t care if this was a setup.
All I knew was that for the rest of the night, Sage and I were having the best time we’d had since summer died.
They were from BC.
They played lacrosse.
They were loud and stupid and fun and bought us drinks and spun us around the dance floor until my legs ached and my face hurt from smiling.
At one point, we all ended up outside at the ATM, shivering in line with a dozen other drunk people.
Cold wind. Breath fogging.
We took turns pulling out cash for cover charges and shots.
When it was Sage’s turn, she smiled, said, “Bathroom,” and slipped away with her little clutch.
I barely noticed.
I was too busy laughing with Derek.
Ten minutes later, I glanced out the bank window.
And there she was.
At the payphone.
Again.
Quarters in one hand. Receiver to her ear. Not talking. Just… listening.
I laughed to myself.
Sage and her quarters.
God, she was weird.
I turned back to Derek, kissed him again, forgot all about it.
Near closing time, we exchanged numbers with the kind of optimism you only have at two in the morning.
“You better text me,” he said.
“I will,” I promised.
Sage and I stumbled into a cab together, giggling like we were twenty-one again. Back at my mom’s, we kicked off our boots, peeled off eyelashes, smeared makeup remover everywhere.
She logged onto my laptop to check her balance.
I did the same.
Overdraft avoided. Barely.
We crawled into bed and passed out still laughing.
