dead wrong (l.h)

"memory lane mostly consists of you"

chapter eighteen
evelyn

9:02 PM
Saturday, October 8

"Alright, ladies," said Calum as he walked out of my kitchen and into my living room with three shot glasses and a bottle of tequila. We had all been nursing our mixed drinks of choice, but it was time to speed up our pregaming process now that we only had about twenty minutes left before we would need to leave. Martha glanced over in my direction with an unamused look and I couldn't help but laugh; the fact that I had actually gotten Martha to agree to go out at Luke's request had been just short of a miracle. She liked having the occasional night in with a bottle of wine but going out and drinking had yet to interest her. "Is that hesitation I'm sensing, Marty?"

"Tequila?" she said through a groan. "Do you want me to get fucked up after one shot?"

"I mean, I wouldn't mind to see that," Calum teased her which caused her eyes to roll, but I watched as a playful smile appeared on her lips. "I have some peach schnapps downstairs if you'd prefer that... at least to ease into the hard stuff."

"I'd love you forever," Martha told Calum with an overly sweet smile. He let out a breathy laugh before telling us that he'd be right back.

"So, when do you plan on telling Cal you like him?" As soon as the I heard the door click shut, I turned my focus toward Martha as I asked her something in which I had been dying to know the answer. Instantly, her face turned red and she began to stumble over her words.

"Calum? Are you kidding? Ew... gross," she said as she scoffed. "I can't believe you'd even think I like him... that would be so weird."

"It would not be weird," I disagreed through a chuckle. "It would be cute."

"It would be cute until one of us inevitably does something to ruin it; then you'd be left to choose between us," she argued as she crossed her arms over her chest. I furrowed my brows at her and looked at her as though I thought she was crazy; which I did.

"First of all, you bundle of joy, it is not inevitable. There is risk involved in every relationship, yes, but nothing is inevitable. I swear, the second you let yourself realize that love might actually be in the cards for you, I think you'll really start to thrive." I watched as Martha's eyes rolled and I decided not to push her any further; there was no use when she was as stubborn as she had always been. Getting through to Martha was almost always a lost cause. "I think you should have some fun with somebody... and soon. You're starting to drive me crazy."

"God, how would I survive if you weren't so sweet to me?" Martha said with a tone void of pleasantry and a small laugh left my lips. Seconds later, Calum was walking through my front door.

"Just for you, m'lady," he joked as he crossed the room. I looked at Martha and watched as another pleased smile landed on her face; usually, she was good at keeping her amusement with Calum hidden but tonight it was on full display. Calum poured Martha's shot first and then poured two tequila shots; one for me, and one for him. We all counted down before taking our shots together. Calum and I took another two shots of tequila apiece, and Martha took one more shot of the schnapps before Calum managed to talk her into one tequila shot.

Once we were all feeling warm, it was time to head down to the Uber we had ordered.

After making sure we had everything we would need, we left my apartment and walked down the steps of the building before making our way outside and piling into the backseat of the Uber. We made small conversation with the younger guy that was driving, and the drive took roughly fifteen minutes.