She strapped the seat belt around her on the front seat, she studied his face from the side, “What’s the occasion?”
He started driving with the roof down and shrugged, “Do we need an occasion? Let’s just celebrate … let’s hang out and have fun.”
He was a free man, he thought. He was single, he’s got nowhere to go, his best friend is out of town and God help him he really tried but his best friend’s sister was the only one he could think about.
He thought he would drink himself to sleep that night, but the more he drank, the more he wanted to see her. So he drove himself to her house before he had too much to drink. His glassy eyes were a little droopy but he was sober enough to drive.
“Have you been drinking?” Hazel noticed something was different about him.
He kept his eyes on the road, “Not enough … that’s why I thought we’ll buy some booze and drink at your place, how ’bout that? I know how much you like to drink given the minibar bill from that hotel in Goldstone.”
She burst out laughing, “I’m sorry, I’ve been meaning to pay you back.”
“No, no … you don’t have to, I’m glad you had fun, it was the least I could do,” he shook his head, “You know speaking about Goldstone, I have something to tell you.” He thought she deserved to know what happened with her tickets.
“They’re in my pocket, just get them,” he didn’t want to divert his attention from his driving.
She reached into his shirt pocket.
“No, my jeans, you know what happened at Prom night?” he wanted to tell her about that too.
She hesitantly opens his jeans pocket with her fingers and timidly reached in with her other fingers.
It made him laugh, “Just grab them, Mickey, you’re not gonna accidentally touch anything in there.”
She blushed, but she managed to reach something and gasped at the sight of it. She put her hand on her mouth.
“I found them in Peyton’s room at Prom night.”
“That’s why you broke up with her?”
“Oh you heard have you?” he sounded sarcastic. “Of course you have, apparently I’m the jerk who broke up with the cheerleader at Prom night, but can you blame me?”
“Oh my God … did she do it on purpose?” she kept looking at the tickets in disbelief.
He shrugged, “She said she did, and I was too angry to let it go … so what happened … happened …”
She looked at him for a moment, “I had no idea, I’m so sorry.”
Theo glanced at her in amazement, he smiled, “Why? She did a terrible thing, I mean if I could … I would break up with her in a more elegant way, but she wasn’t even sorry for doing that, … do you think I’m a jerk? I feel bad about doing that to her, but it was inevitable, it couldn’t have gone any other way.”
She sensed his guilty conscience as he blurted it all out, and for that, she was sure he was not a jerk. Far from it. “No, you’re not a jerk, I’m just sorry it happened that way.” She touched his arm.
“Thanks … that means a lot to me.” It meant everything to him. If anyone’s opinion mattered, it was Hazel’s. “I mean … look at you, you’re not even angry finding out what she did, you wouldn’t do anything like that would you? Out of jealousy, or envy, or whatever it was.”
“Of course not,” she exhaled deeply, “I still couldn’t believe she did it on purpose, but it’s in the past now … there’s nothing we can do to change it … let’s just grab those booze and drink it all away,” she laughed it off. “Oh … and Lee is coming later,” she remembered he was stopping by after Mischa’s party.
Theo was not surprised to hear it, but he was hoping they would spend the night just the two of them. He tilted his head to one side, “Let’s get some for Lee then.”
They got into the mini supermarket to get some beers and chips. Theo was already drinking from the can even before he paid for it. He filled the cart with four six-packs as if he was going to have a binge party.
“Isn’t that too much?” she giggled, they were starting to look like alcoholics.
Theo finished his can and winked at her. He took another six-pack and put them in the trolley. She laughed.
It was a bad break-up, he had every reason to drink that night. To mourn and to celebrate. If Max was there, they would be having boys’ night out and party like it’s the end of the world, or more like the end of a bad relationship. But for that night, to be with Hazel felt even better.
“Oooh … Pop Rock Candy!” she took two packets from the counter and put them in front of the cashier. She likes the way those things pops and the sound they make when she opens her mouth.
The man behind the counter lowered his glasses to study her face, “Are you old enough to buy these beers?”
“Oh I’m not buying … my brother is,” she pointed to Theo who stood behind her.
The man looked at Theo and stopped for a while, “Hmm.”
Theo looked more like a college student than a senior in high school. His athletic posture and facial hair almost completely diminished his boyish look. He’s never been asked for an ID even before he was 18.
“You’re not going to drink these with your sister are you?” the man felt responsible to ask.
“No, Sir, it’s to stock up for my parents,” he quickly responded. He wasn’t really lying since Hazel was not really his sister.
“What kind of parents asked their children to buy alcoholic beverages?” he asked as he put the stuff in a bag.
“A very bad kind, Sir,” he managed to keep a straight face, and Hazel was hiding her laugh on his back.
The man looked at them suspiciously, but they got out of the store as quick as possible before he stopped them from leaving with the beers. They burst out laughing and ran to the car.
“Oh my God, my mom is so going to kill me if she finds out I’m doing this … she’ll kill you too,” she hopped on the front seat.
“Your brother’s gonna kill me too,” he seconds that. “Our little secret?” he offered her a fist bump.
She smiled and bumped her tiny fist against his.