I pinch my nose shut and chug down the drink that Kacey just handed to me.
"Woah girl, slow your horses." She says to me, "That's not a shot, so you don't need to down it like that."
I shrug, my head is cloudy and I don't feel like saying anything out loud. I vaguely feel upset about something that happened earlier, but if I don't think too much about it I can't remember what it is. I childishly shove my empty cup in front of Kacey and she tsks.
"No more for you baby."
Baby? I pout like a baby, is that what she wants? She laughs and pats my head.
Her phone rings and Reese's smiling face pops up as the caller ID. She picks up and grins, "Reeese! Did you miss me?"
Reese says something on the other end that makes her smile quickly flip upside down. "What do you mean?" She listens again, "Uh huh, is she stable now? Do they know what it is? I'll come over right now. Love you."
She hangs up and looks at me with a grimace, "Kitty's at the vet right now. She started throwing up everywhere and Reese had to rush her there."
She pulls her keys out of her pocket and looks at me, "I'm so sorry Lacie, but I really have to go check on her but our dorms are in the other direction of the vet so I can't send you back. Do you think you can call a ride to take you home?"
Kitty is a mangled old cat that Kacey found on the streets. She begged Reese for days before he let them keep the thing, but over time he's grown to love it even more than she has. It was his idea to name it Kitty because he wanted it to live a life it never experienced in its youth. He must have been really scared if he had to rush Kitty to the hospital.
Lacie rushes out throwing an apology over her shoulder and I'm left sitting at the bar by myself. The others are on the other end of the bar lost in their own little world. I don't mind that, I came here for Kacey, not them, and after the whole fiasco earlier I really don't feel like talking to them.
I try to take a sip from my cup and get a mouthful of air. Frowning, I remember that Kacie mixed some of the things in front of me together to make my drink. I grab the bottle shakily with my hands. Woah, its heavy, and my hands are slippery. I try to pour some into my cup but my vision is blurred and I end up pouring it on the table instead.
I give up and drink straight from the bottle before promptly spitting it all back out, the taste of straight vodka wakes me up momentarily from my drunken daze and I see a figure detach from the group and come my way. I blink slowly at it, its Ryden.
He looks down at me, he must be at least a foot taller than me.
"Did Kacey leave you behind?" He asks.
I just blink at him.
He looks at the bottle in my hand and nods at it, "Seems like you didn't like that vodka very much, do you mind if I take it away from you?"
I continue to stare and blink at his handsome visage, my mind not working.
He gently pries the bottle from my hand and takes it away. My eyes trail longingly after the bottle and stay on it after he's put it securely back into its place. He says something and my eyes latch back onto his face.
"Do you need a ride home?"
Home? Ride? "Yes."
"Where do you live?"
I kind of want my vodka bottle again. I reach for it. A large and warm hand gently redirects my arm back to my side and he moves next to my side, blocking my vision of the bar. "That's enough drinks for you tonight." He says.
Looking over at the group, he calls out, "Do any of you remember where Kacey dorms?"
Someone shouts an address over to him and he nods turning to me, "Do you want to go home right now."
"Home!" I say smiling at him.
He looks at me and smiles back, his eyes are so pretty.
A red lady comes over and says, "I can take her home, you should stay here for a bit longer."
I frown, "Red lady, don't you live here?"
Ryden laughs, "The red lady is Sophia, and yes, she lives here. It's okay Sophia, I'll take her back, she actually lives on the way to my place and I was thinking of leaving anyway. Its past 1AM."
Red lady, no, Sophia, seems to turn even redder, and Ryden gently guides me out the door, out the big house and into a big metal box with wheels.
"Put your seatbelt on."
I sit there unmoving.
Ryden pulls something tight around me and I frown tugging at it.
"That's your seatbelt, you want that to stay on."
I continue to hold the seatbelt but stop tugging. As Ryden pulls out into the street, I let a small excited "WEE" come out. He chuckles as I tell him to make the roller coaster go faster but doesn't, much to my disappointment.
He drives me in silence and I secretly peek at him. He doesn't seem to notice so I start openly staring at his sharp profile in the night. I start at his hair which is styled up with hard gel, but I somehow feel as if it would be very soft. His forehead, his brows, his eyes, I trail down to his sharp nose bridge and then finally to his slightly curled lips. They look yummy.
I want to eat him.
Thats not right, I can't eat people. But I want something...what do I want?
I start to get upset because I can't understand what I'm feeling. This upset makes me remember that I was upset for another reason earlier. What reason? Oh yeah, marriage!
We're going to marry him! My brain says.
We are?
I look at the handsome man in the driver's seat and imagine us walking down the aisle together as a faceless crowd of onlookers watches me enviously. He says "I do" and then its my turn. I smile at him and say "I do", everyone cheers and someone says, "You may now kiss the bride."
I take a step towards him and he pulls me in close to him, looking down at me with a smile and slowly moving down. Our lips touch...I blush and look down at my hands, wriggling them in shyness at my own imagination.
"Are you oka-?"
"Lets marry!"
Ryden hits the brakes a little too hard as the lights turn red.
"What?"
"Marry me!" I say confidently.
Ryden does not respond to me and I pout. I turn in my seat to look at him and he reaches out a hand to gently press me back down, "Stay put."
"Marry me marry me marry me marry me marry me." I chant.
"Why?" He asks.
"Because! Marry me!" I don't know why he's asking so many questions. Ryden in my imagination, said "I do" so easily I'm disappointed that real Ryden isn't doing the same.
The car pulls over to the side and I see the familiar outline of my door. Ryden turns off the ignition and turns to look over at me. The interior lights turn on, momentarily blinding me and I blink rapidly before looking at him stupidly.
"Marry-?"
"me, yes I know," he finishes off for me, "Lacie, you're drunk right now. You're just repeating words you remember from the day. You're home now, do you need me to send you up?"
I don't like how he's evading the question.
"Yes or no?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you're drunk."
"Then I'm not drunk!" I huff.
"That's not how drunk works." He leans over and unbuckles my seatbelt for me. I grab his warm hand and look down at it, my fingers sliding over his fourth finger.
"Where's your ring?"
He starts laughing, his hand still in mine. "I'm not married so I don't have a ring silly."
I don't know who he's calling silly, because I certainly am not.
"I'll give you a ring! My friend has lots and lots!" I say proudly.
He continues to laugh, "Yes, Kacey has a lot of rings but I don't think she'd be too happy if you gave one of them to me. And they wouldn't fit on my finger anyways."
"Then I'll buy you one! Will you marry me now?"
"Again, no."
I pout.
"Why do you want to marry me?"
"Handsome!" I say smiling.
He grins, "Thank you, I think you're pretty too."
"Then let's marry!"
"That's not how it works Lacie," he says shaking his head. He looks at my crestfallen expression and adds on, "we can talk about it later. Would you like that?"
I nod my head fanatically. Yes, I want that.
"Can I have you phone number so I can contact you?"
What's a phone number?
He sighs, "Then can I give you my number?"
I stare at him.
He seems to change his mind and opens his door and gets out before opening mine and helping me out of the car. "Here, I'll take you into your building."
We walk inside and he turns to leave me but hesitates and looks back at me. I stare at him, what does he want me to do?
"Aren't you going to your room?" He asks cautiously.
"What room?"
"Right..." he says, and glances around, "Do you have a key?"
I feel around in my purse, "Here!" I say, presenting the small metal piece to him like it's a treasure I found just for him.
He squints at it trying to read something off of it, "Third floor..." he mutters and glances at the stairway and me before going up to hit the up button on the elevator. The door dings open and we both step into it. We go up in silence until the door opens on floor 3.
Ryden steps out but I stay inside motionless. I want to take the fun ride again. He takes a few steps forward before realizing that I'm not with him and turns back to come and corrale me out. We walk down the hall until we reach a door that says "324".
"Hey! I know that number!"
"I would hope so, you live there." He says and unlocks the door for me.
I go inside and he puts the key back into the purse clutched in my hands. He waits for a second or two before closing the purse for me as well.
I stare at him expectantly, waiting for him to come inside, and he stares blankly back at me.
"What. Aren't you going to close the door?" He asks.
"I'm waiting for you to come inside handsome."