The Bar Stool

Who says you'll make a home run?

The natural alarm clock my brain has set for me each day goes off first thing at ten a.m. Even when I try to fall back asleep to rid of my massive headache it doesn't come.

Carly and Bella are still asleep as I climb out of my sisters bed and head straight for the medicine cabinet in the kitchen where I find my dad cooking up breakfast.

I move around him, a calm silence filling the space around us as I reach for the ibuprofen and spill four in my palm.

"Did you have fun last night?" He asks flipping the french toast on the skillet.

"If you call countless rainbow shots and being dragged out by a mad man because he thinks I've had too much to drink fun...then yeah I had a blast." I gulp down my pills and the whole glass of water in hopes this will kill the pain.

"Let me guess, this Tanner guy right?" He turns to me, spatula in hand with a tight grip.

I sigh, my shoulders slumping. "Yes."

"What's his deal, you can't just let him run you like that Tayzley... have respect for yourself." His eyes roll, he turns away from me flipping the rest of the French toast on five plates. "Get everyone up breakfast is ready."

I get that my father is trying to protect me, but I'm almost twenty-two. I know what's right for me.

When I wake up my friends I'm not nice about it. I flip the lights on and off like a strobe light and horribly sing a made up wake up song.

"Please Tayzley whatever you do, don't quit your day job!" Bella groans, throwing the covers off her body.

"What time is it?" Carly groans as well. Her face still shoved against my pillow.

"Time for your lazy ass to move." I jump on the bed and slap her butt. "Up and at'em sunshine, breakfast is ready."

"I will murder you one of these days."

"Empty threats my friend." I move from the bed and grab her feet about to tug her out, but she kicks me away and moves our up the bed sending me a warning glare.

"You really love pushing buttons don't you?"

"Only yours Carly," I laugh, following her and Bella our into the kitchen. Carson must have smelt the food, because there is his piling extra food onto his plate.

"You smell like the bar." He complains, his nose scrunching upward.

"Thank you Carson, best observation you've made in months since you've had your face stuck in those damn videos games."

"I have you know that's my job you noob." He nudges my shoulder. "And its better money than you make and I'm still in high school."

I flip him off, half tempted to shove his ungodly amount of breakfast food in his face. "Go away." My annoyance running thin.

"You two need to quit arguing, its quite old." I hear my dad complain from his room but ignore him, sitting down at the dinner table, where my friends are silently nibbling at their food.

***

Me: so what the plan today... I'm slightly nervous, my stomach has been in knots since last night. I'm honestly surprised I ate my breakfast and then some this morning.

Tanner: be ready in about an hour. That's all I'm telling you.

It's not that I hate surprises. It's the fact that I'm meeting someone I'm sure is close to him. We aren't ready for that. We aren't even dating. Just a casual, hot steamy make out session every other day. Where he has tour feeling rip from the core of you then get sucked back inside to stay till he does it again.