“You wouldn’t be one to know, Anne.” I mock her.
“What? Me? I’m shocked.” She giggles, flabbergasted.
“We all know about the guy behind the trees,” Artemis lays it out for her.
“Good, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to make an announcement.” She smirks, blowing smoke in my face.
“Details, bitch!” Mimi, now fully intrigued, sips her mojito and sits closer.
As they drift off in their conversation of how Anne had torrid sex with a crush she’s had all summer behind the trees in a hotel’s backyard, I stop listening, looking around, taking in the surrounding scene, and “Like A G6” plays, erupting more people to dance on top of the tables and chairs. I absorb the energy around me, when Tyler walks in.
He is wearing a white button shirt rolled up to his elbows with a gold bracelet and jeans that make me swallow my drink a little harder. He looks more handsome every time.
Call me intrigued.
When he approaches the table, hands in his pockets, green eyes, short hair on the sides and longer in the front, I almost want to brush it away.No.
“Birthday girl,” Tyler says, looking at none other than me.
The girls all look up at him, mouths gaping a little. I see Mimi’s mouth especially, so I close it for her with a tap to her chin, which makes Anne choke on her smoke.
“Well, look at what the cat dragged in.” Artemis says with a tone that implies she doesn’t like him very much.
“Tyler, hi! Sit.” I scoot over Mimi to make space for him.
He smiles and sits beside me, his whiskey wood cologne smacking into my senses. For a nineteen-year-old guy, he has a masculinity I don’t expect and haven’t had time to meditate on.
“You didn’t tell us you had a crunchy snack coming for dinner!” Mimi exclaimed.
“I may have forced her hand a little,” Tyler says, smiling and staring into my eyes.
“Very forced indeed.” Artemis laughs.
Whelp,Tyler isn’t a shy guy as his fingertips land on my thigh, innocently, dare I say, as if he has done it plenty of times.
“You look beautiful.” He inches himself close to my cheek, sending warmth to my core.
“Thank you.” My words and eyes land on his mouth. The alcohol has warmed my insides a little too much.
After we were done with our dinner, which was delicious, Anne brought a cake from home decorated with beautiful edible flowers, with a waxy pinup plastic mermaid poked into it.
“They don’t have birthday cakes here.” Her voice goes low. “So, I made it, but I don’t think I ever should again.”
“I love it, thank you, babe, it looks delicious.” I kiss her on the cheek.
Mimi does a shot of vodka and tells a joke about how the last time she had to drink that fast was for a love spell she wascasting on her next prey, and Artemis spits seltzer across the table. For the first time in months, I feel the giddy, weightless heat of laughter in my chest—like the return of blood to a limb after it’s been asleep too long.
“I haven’t seen your smile this much.” Tyler’s gaze find mine.
“It’s been hard to find reasons to lately…but this feels good,” I murmur under my breath, not expecting him to understand, but his eyes flash with a sense of compassion, and I can’t say I haven’t been yearning for that.
They make me give a speech, blow out the candles, all nineteen of them, because no one does anything half assed around here, singing at decibels reserved for stadiums and Christina Aguilera concerts. I blink hard and try to wish for something, but the only thing that comes to mind is Joe, so I let the flame go out and pretend it is enough.
Artemis cheers her drink with me and leans over, snapping another photo of the table with her phone. Her sleek, long light brown hair, which reaches her butt, catches the light.
“You look hot. Tyler’s practically drooling,” she whispers in my ear and I feel myself blushing.
With a wink, Anne hands me another cocktail as I laugh and turn to her. “I swear this is your last one before I confiscate your glass.” As I take a thankful sip, my cheeks feel warm, my pulse light, and I'm buzzed. This is what it feels like to be free.
