𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐓 | #𝟏 ✔️

𝐓𝐖𝐎﹗

She holds it up in the air, high enough for me to not be able to reach it. I'm cursing at her internally for using her 5'9 ass to an advantage. "Let me read it first and I'll tell you!" I try to take it from her, but her hand on my chest restrains my movement. She stands up and is finally able to read the email, her eyes scan the small screen and my heart is racing.

The anticipation makes my blood rush, I'm biting my lip anxiously and picking at the skin of my fingers. I've always been the worst at situations like these, calm is the last emotion that I can be. Rainer must've written a five page essay with the pace that Salem is forcing herself to read at, but I notice her eyes widen ever so slightly as she reaches the last few sentences.

Salem's expression sends me into shambles. Her mouth is hanging open, covered by her hand, but her eyes show a hint of sadness. "Salem.." My voice is low, and it's like I've lost all hope. I part my lips to say something, but Salem interrupts.

Her laugh fills in the atmosphere of the room, and I want to smack her right then and there.

"I'm just kidding, you passed!!" She smiles, pulling me close to her and squealing like a little girl. It takes a moment for me to process it but when I read the words 'It is with great pleasure that we welcome you into our team.' on the screen, I knew she wasn't lying. Salem is having a whole fit of laughter, she throws one fist up into the air, celebrating her victory of fooling me.

"Fuck you.. Don't scare me like that, Sal!" I hit her shoulder, looking at her with a scowl expression before holding her close. We both chuckle, staying in each other's arms for a while. The laughter dies down and it's just silence, besides the shuffling of bedsheets as she puts my laptop down on the bed. Her other hand goes to my back, rubbing it gently and my arms are wrapped around her waist tighter than ever.

I've never felt this comfortable with a person before.

Being in her arms feels warm, and I'm grinning from ear to ear. Her other hand moves up to the back of my head and she ruffles my hair slightly, making me laugh. Even when there are no words coming out of our mouths, we understand each other clearly, that's the kind of bond we have.

Fourteen years isn't nothing. She has seen me through my ups and downs, she has lifted me up off of the ground, and pushed me into pursuing my dreams. I'll never know how to thank her for that.

Salem is my best friend, she always has been. I thought I was going to live like shit for the rest of my life, until she came. That one day, when her dog, Stacey, accidentally ran into me at the beach. We ended off our day driving on the highway late at night in her Ford Mustang Convertible. I don't know what I would've done without her, we're inseparable.

"Now how about we go and get a few drinks, hmm?" Salem tilts my chin up with her finger and we make eye contact, laughing.

───

'Shots by LMFAO & Lil Jon' is playing in the club, and everyone is doing exactly what the lyrics say.

I'm unaware of the time, all I know is that we've been here for many hours. A few drinks became countless shots and now I'm stumbling through the bustling crowd, trying to get to my seat. The club is full of people, the bar, though, still has empty stools around the seven ones occupied by my friends and I.

"Shots, shots, shots!!" Salem yells with her shot in the air, our glasses clash with the three other men and two women that we shared interests with at the club. We all say 'Cheers!' Before chugging down our drinks, I see Salem take a sip of her Pepsi right after and I only chuckle. Due to the amount of drinks I previously chugged down, I started to grow numb to the strong feeling.