“I can’t believe we’re hanging out here just because Kyle bailed on you … so I’m just a back-up now? You’re hurting my feelings,” Hazel protested as they were sitting on Jan’s rooftop in front of her bedroom window.
“Hey … no fair … you’ve been hanging out with Lee too, how is it with you two, anyway? Have you kissed him yet?”
“What?” Hazel threw a tissue at Jan, “It’s not like that, we’re just talking, played video games … he’s cool and friendless … kinda like me, ditched by you and Kyle.”
“Talking? Come on … are you telling me you guys are not into each other? ’cause I think I’ve seen couples that are less friendly than the two of you,” Jan opened a can of beer she took from Kyle.
Kyle was supposed to sneak in a six-pack to his house when his parents came home, so he gave the beer to Jan instead and canceled their night together at his house. Hence, she was back home and called Hazel to come over.
Hazel took a third can for herself, it was the first time she ever tried a beer and she kind of liked it. “I don’t know, there was a moment when he taught me how to dance that felt like we were about to kiss … but, that’s just weird, right? I mean we never said anything about being more than friends.”
“Maybe you’re just not sure how to do it … neither does he, he’s never had a girlfriend you know?”
Hazel touched Jan’s arm, “You’re kidding, right? I always wondered if he ever had one, I never found the right moment to ask him … but I mean, he’s cute and everything, and he danced like …” she rolled her eyes.
That made Jan laughed, “So you do like him that way? Why would you wonder if he ever had a girlfriend or not?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know … I mean, sometimes I think he’s cool and everything, and then I come home and see Theo … he’s so …”
“Don’t say it … hot? Jeez, you’re hopeless, you know that? … look, the next time you get that moment again with Lee, I think you should go ahead and do it … see if he’s into you … I personally think he is, ’cause the way he’s been looking at you … damn, I’d do anything if Kyle would look at me that way.”
“Really? You think so? I didn’t notice that … how did he look at me? But … how do I kiss a guy? I always thought that a guy should make the first move, don’t you think?”
Jan laughed, “Well if the both of you have no idea what you’re doing, you might as well make the first move … come on, I’ll show you … kiss me.”
Hazel grimaced, “What? But … you’re a girl?”
“So? It’s just practice, stupid … who else are you going to do it with? Your brother?”
“Eew … no …” she drank her beer and sat facing Jan who was getting ready.
“Okay … look at me,” Jan instructed.
Hazel looked at her, she drank her beer again, took a deep breath, and steady herself. Then she burst into a laugh, “This feels ridiculous.”
“That’s why … imagine you’re doing this for the first time with a guy who hasn’t done it either, no one will make the first move … right? This way, you’ll be prepared.”
She realized her vision was a little blurry, and her head felt a little light, “Can you get drunk from a beer?”
“Of course you can, are you drunk?” Jan giggled.
“I don’t know … is this how it feels like to be drunk?” she was laughing too.
“Okay … okay … focus … look at me, pretend I’m Lee.”
Hazel covered her face, she felt embarrassed just pretending that Jan was Lee.
“What? Or pretend I’m Theo … or Harry … whatever works for you.”
“Oh God … do you know how lame this is?” Hazel protested.
“No … it’s not, come on, concentrate.”
She sat straight and inhaled deeply, “Okay … alright … what the hell.”
“Right … look deep into my eyes and come closer to me,” Jan said.
She tried it a few times and failed, she always ends up laughing. She tried again for the fifth or sixth time, her face came really close to Jan’s.
“Oh … Hazel … your lips are so red and plump … I bet it will feel squishy when I put my mouth on yours,” Jan said in a pretend boy’s voice.
Hazel laughed her head off, “Oh God … that’s not what he’ll say, do you think? That’s just not …” she couldn’t finish her sentences because she couldn’t stop laughing.
“No, he won’t say anything, he’ll just do this,” Jan pulled the back of her neck and kissed her lips. She even lingered for some time to make it feel as real as possible.
Her lips felt soft, warm, and wet, and then it felt strange because Jan was opening her mouth and catching her lips with hers. She froze at first, and then she realized if that was what a kiss like, she would have to respond. She opened her mouth too and caught Jan’s lips with hers.
“Mickey?” a voice interrupted their kiss.
Hazel broke away from the kiss and shrieked. She fell on her back when she realized there can only be one person in the world that calls her Mickey.
Jan was laughing hard, and wooing her after the kiss. “That’s my girl! You got this girl!”
“What are you girls doing up there?” Theo was driving his car and stopped in front of Jan’s house when he noticed them on the rooftop.
“Oh my God! That was … Jan! Nothing! There’s nothing to see here!” she shouted from where she sat.
“That didn’t look like nothing to me … are you drinking?” Theo noticed the beer cans.
Hazel lifted up her can and drank the rest of what’s in it, “Apparently so … what are you doing here?”
“I was just passing by, do you want to go home?”
Jan was still giggling in the background.
“Uhm … I don’t know … what time is it?” her eyes were glassy and Theo can see from where he sat, she was not sober.
“It’s time to go home, I think, Mickey … come on, I’ll take you home, I was just going there anyway,” he said.
Jan grabbed her arm from behind, “Go with him … who knows, you might practice some more with him tonight,” she whispered in her ear.
Hazel slapped her best friend’s arm, “No way … I’m not gonna do that with him … you know you just took my virginity back there? I can’t believe he saw that, this is so embarrassing.”
Jan gave her another can of beer, “Here … have one more … it’ll be less embarrassing when you’re super drunk.” They laughed.
“Well … what’s it gonna be Mickey? Are you coming?” Theo asked again.
“I’m coming!”
She said her goodbyes to Jan in a hurry, they will have a further conversation about what just happened by phone later. She slowly climbed down from the ladder that was hanging from the roof to the front lawn.
That’s when she felt something was definitely wrong. She struggled to get her footing on the ladder, her head felt wobbly, and it felt like her surrounding was moving. She had a can of beer on one hand, and when she looked down, she felt dizzy.
She was so focused on getting down safely, she didn’t realize her mini skirt was caught in one of Jan’s mom’s plants. She saw Theo was walking over to her and then she felt a breeze on her butt. When she finally realized that her ass was on display, Theo was already behind her.
“Oh my God …” she shouted and pulled her miniskirt down. “Tell me that didn’t just happen… oh my God.” She was blushing in all shades of red and it was not just from the drinking. “Did you just see my underwear?”
Theo was smiling in amusement, “And half of your butt, don’t worry about it, Mickey, you got nothing to be embarrassed about … are you okay?”
She turned around and they were facing each other.
“Wow … you … are drunk, your face is so red,” Theo laughed lightly, “How much did you drink?”
“Oh, I don’t know … three? And this is not opened yet,” she burst into a laugh.
Theo took the can off her hand, “Okay, I think that’s enough drinking for you tonight … have you ever drank this before?”
She shook her head, bad idea, it made her even dizzier, “Nope.”
“Oh dear … okay … let’s just get in the car … we’ll go somewhere and get that buzz down a little, your parents are home, I don’t want to have to explain what just happened here … okay?”
She started to feel something trying to come up from inside her stomach. She burped. “Sorry,” she covered her mouth with the back of her hand. “Yeah, I think I’m drunk.”
Theo smiled, he opened the can of beer and drank it. “Let’s go, Mickey … it’s gonna be a long night for you,” he rested his arm on her shoulder and escorted her to his car.