Meet Me at Midnight - Jessica Pennington Page 0,21
have to get up ridiculously early tomorrow.”
Sidney just shakes her head.
Sidney
I scan the room, letting my eyes wander over all of the people I don’t recognize.
“He’s not here yet,” Kara offers with a smile that tells me she knows who I’m looking for. “He mentioned at work he might be late. They moved him from the The Grill to livery crew.”
“Livery crew?”
“The guys who pick up all of the canoes at the end of the line. They had some equipment to track down from people who got out at the wrong spot and just abandoned their canoes.”
“Ah.”
Kara tips her head toward the kitchen. “You wanna go see what’s up over there?”
“Sure, I’m up for whatever.”
Kara laughs. “Yeah, that sounds like you.”
I pull on the little nubbin of fabric at the back of her shirt and she squeaks out a little hey. In the kitchen, the countertops are covered in plastic glasses and various partially empty bottles of alcohol. There’s a giant case of cheap beer at one end of the counter, and a clear glass bottle filled with a greenish-brown liquid that just says NOT YOURS on it, in black marker. Beyond the kitchen, there’s a little dining room area where a long wooden table fills most of the space. A big blue tarp is spread under it, and the top is littered with more red cups.
Near the table, Asher is throwing back a shot of something with two guys. I’ve never seen them before, and I wonder if he even knows them, or if he’s just being Asher: friend to all. He tips the glass back, and when his head comes down, his eyes meet mine.
“You wanna play?” Kara says, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the table.
Asher is at one end, standing with another guy. Kara and I take our places at the opposite end.
“Can we play?” Kara says. “Wilson, you think you can handle double-fisting? I’m not drinking tonight.”
The guy smiles and snorts, like Kara’s being ridiculous. “For sure,” he says, leaving his side of the table to join ours.
“All three of us?” I say.
Asher laughs. “You’re with me, Chipmunk.”
I growl and Asher laughs again. Is this an alternate dimension I’ve fallen into? Does Party Asher have no self-control? “Why can’t Kara and I be a team?”
“Because neither of us is drinking.” She shoves a hand against my back. “Get over there.”
Asher hands me the Ping-Pong ball. “Try not to suck, okay?”
I stick my tongue out at him and he pretends to grab at it. “What the hell?” I can’t help but laugh, because it’s such a goofy, un-Asher-like thing to do. “Get a grip on yourself, Marin.”
Asher smiles and waves a hand toward the table as if to say it’s all yours.
Unfortunately for Asher, I really do suck at this game. It takes me three shots to not over-throw and even make contact with the cups.
Asher doesn’t tease me again. He shouts “so close” and “next time” whenever I miss, and high-fives me like I just won the Olympics when I finally sink my first shot. He’s dramatic about each glass of beer he has to drink, throwing his head back and chugging loudly, even though the glasses are only half-filled since the guys are doubling up. It’s utterly surreal to hang out with Asher like this—maybe it’s all the beer he’s had to drink because of my horrible hand-eye coordination.
When we finish—not win, because Kara and Wilson absolutely annihilate us—Asher tries to pitch a cup into the trash and I slap it out of the air. “Hey! Those can get washed or recycled.”
Asher lets out a booming laugh. “Okay, Little Kris.” Asher pats me on the head. “Your mom is really rubbing off on you.”
I narrow my eyes and turn back to the table.
Asher comes up beside me and whispers in my ear. “I’m just kidding. I love your mom. Please don’t tell her I said that.” I smile, and we’re standing like that, Asher’s lips by my ear, when Caleb walks into the kitchen.
Asher looks from me to Caleb, and says he’s going to go get something from the kitchen. Kara trots over to my side of the table and gives me a high five.
Caleb looks nervous but happy when he makes his way through the kitchen to us.
“You came,” he says, like he’s both surprised and glad that I’m here. He sidles up next to me and puts an arm out. I carefully try to give him a hug while avoiding the