I chose to ignore him. Marlowe, on the other hand, didn’t. Even though the man towered over her five-foot-three frame, she shoved his shoulder with her entire body weight as they passed each other. “Piece of shit,” she muttered as the man stumbled away. Marlowe turned to me when I took my seat inthe chair. “I’m going to go grab some chips. I’ll be right back. You guys want anything?”
As soon as Marlowe asked her question, Nicki’s irritating laughter penetrated my eardrums. “Fuck this.” I pulled Marlowe into my lap, and she wrapped her arms around my neck, eyes widening in shock. “We don’t need snacks, groupie. Right, Dex?” When I asked him the question, I nodded my head toward Nicki so they both hopefully caught my drift. Reaching my hand up, I snaked my fingers around Marlowe’s neck and pulled the side of her face close to mine. “Can you play along with me tonight, Mar? If it’s too much, tell me. But I need Nicki off my ass.” Marlowe pulled back slightly, giving me a questioning look. “Please, Mar.”
She cupped my face in an incredibly sweet gesture I never expected. It took me by surprise. “Oh, yeah. I got this.” She smiled.
Nicki approached and whined my name, “Bunny…”
“Goddammit,” I muttered. Dexter began to fidget with a stick in the fire.
Marlowe slung her Converse-clad feet over the arm of the pool chair. “Oh hey, Nicki.” Marlowe’s tone was casual and carefree. Just like how she speaks to customers behind the bar at Captain’s. I bit my lips to hold back my laughter and glanced over at Dexter, who was smirking and had pulled Marlowe’s feet up onto his chair. Marlowe reached a hand at Dexter for the bottle of liquor. She tossed back the bottle with practiced ease before looking over at the blonde and smiling.
As if on cue, a heavy beat dropped on the speakers from the shed and Nicki’s jaw dropped as she took in the scene in front of her. “Uh, Marlowe…” A disgusted look was painted across Nicki’s face. “Could you get up so I could talk to Bunny?” She crinkled her nose like she had smelled something foul.
“Hmmmm, no, I don’t think so.” Marlowe looked at me, then Dexter before returning her gaze to Nicki. “I’m good here. If you need to talk to Bunny, you can do it right here. I don’t need to move.” She took the bottle and set it on my bottom lip. “Open up,” She whispered.
What the fuck?
Marlowe poured just the slightest bit of the herby liquor down my throat.
Leaning into her, I whispered in her ear, “You’re a little too good at this, Mar.” I saw goosebumps rise on her neck and I nipped her earlobe. I was going to have as much fun with this as I could.
When I looked over at Dexter, he gave me a questioning look, and I winked at him. He knew I would fill him in later, and I would as soon as Nicki was gone.
“This is ridiculous!” Nicki stormed off. But not before tripping over a lounge chair on her way to the back door. Marlowe huffed out a laugh.
I noticed the guy in the lime green hoodie again. He helped Nicki stand back up from where she tripped. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“TJ!” Nicki whined. “Let’s go. This party is lame anyway. Take me home, would you?”
“Oh please…the two of them would find each other. Like a fucking rom-com or some shit.” Marlowe groaned and rolled her eyes before lifting the liquor bottle and taking a swig.
Dexter chuckled as he sat back in his chair and lit a cigarette. He then handed Marlowe and me each a cigarette. We smoked and passed the bottle of Jäger between the three of us until it was gone. Explaining the situation with Nicki to Dexter wasn’t difficult. He knew I had been trying to shake her for a few months. Explaining how Marlowe got brought into the situation was a little more complicated. Trying to get my cross-faded brainto process that it really was just perfect timing was a challenge. Marlowe and I just kept laughing, trying to explain it.
Music still played loudly from the shed. System of a Down’s Toxicity album played; it was the last album in the stereo. It was getting late.
Marlowe had shivered once, and I wrapped her in my giant jacket, zipping her up in it with me. We sat there cuddled together until the fire died, the music stopped, and everyone had left.
Dexter was finally the one to break the silence. “Are we going to sleep out here on the pool chairs or what?”
I busted out laughing. “Fuck no. Let’s go inside.” I unzipped my jacket so Marlowe could get up.
Dexter stood and scooped Marlowe up from my lap. She yelped, “Ahh, Dex, put me down! I may be shitfaced, but I can walk!”
“Yeah, but this is more fun.” We were all laughing together as we stumbled inside.
Running in front of them, I opened the sliding glass door, flipped the switch to turn off the lights to the back yard, then shut and locked the back door behind me.
Marlowe was staying here tonight. That was a given. There was no way she was driving back home. It was late, and she was drunk. Pushing the door open to my room, I reached into a drawer that I knew should have something that Marlowe would be more comfortable in. I grabbed a pair of gym shorts and an old band t-shirt.
When I walked back out to the living room, Dexter sat on the couch, and Marlowe sat on the floor, flipping through television channels. She finally landed on late-night cartoons, perking up a bit when the creepy dog made his appearance.
“Mar, you’re just staying here tonight. I got you some more comfortable clothes to sleep in. Take my room, and I’ll sleep outhere.” I set the clothes on the coffee table and made my way to the kitchen for a beer. “Either of you want a beer?” In unison, they repliedyes.Grabbing them, I returned to the living room.
When Marlowe stood at the commercial break, she grabbed the clothes and the beer. “Thank you, Bunny.” As she walked past, she kissed my cheek.
Not just a sweet peck like she’s given me before. But a kiss.
Eyes wide, I looked down at Dexter, who was staring at me with eyes equally as wide. Gripping the neck of my beer bottle, I chugged the contents. Quickly, I went to the kitchen for another drink. When I returned, my gaze landed on Dexter. “What the fuck?”
