If Only

Chapter 9 - Floating

"Me too. I've never been to a bar before," I revealed, and his eyebrows rose slightly.

"You're in college," he stated, but I just shrugged.

"My friends don't go out to bars much," I offered in response.

"Guess that's true."

"You all don't have the time. You work like dogs," I joked.

"More than you know," he responded, an amused look in his eyes.

Light applause surrounded us, and I looked to see that the bearded man with the guitar had finished his song and was giving thanks. It didn't take more than a minute or two before he launched into the next one, this one still an old country song, but a bit slower than the one he had played before.

"Got your dime," Greyson suddenly said, and I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face.

"I don't like to be in debt," I grinned bashfully.

"You still have interest," he taunted.

"That's not fair," I argued.

"I don't make the rules here." I opened my mouth to respond, but was cut off by a shouting voice on my right.

"Let's go get drinks!" Paige all but yelled, and I just shook my head at her antics.

"Another bet? I'll let you off the hook with the interest," Greyson said, leaning down closer towards me so I could hear him better.

"I'm going to go broke if I lose this... What's the bet?" I asked, prompting Greyson's smile to broaden, and I watched as a small dimple on the left side of his face formed.

"Should I be worried I'm introducing you to a gambling addiction or something?"

"Possibly, yes. But I am a very reckless type of person, in case you forgot?" I teased, words falling from my lips as soon as I thought them, no hint of awkward unsurety that I seemed to acquire when talking to anyone else I had just met. It was odd, but I certainly didn't mind it.

"Right, my bad," he answered sarcastically.

"Who's getting the most drunk?" he revealed, which shocked me slightly.

"You're not drinking?"

"Nah."

"Why not?"

"You're gonna need someone sober to keep you company," he claimed, and my heartbeat picked up once again. I wasn't sure how to respond when he was saying nice things like that, so instead, I placed my bet.

"Marco."

"Alright, I'm going with Paige," he said, smirking knowingly at my obvious avoidance of his question.

"Deal."

"Sammy?" A voice suddenly cut in.

I looked up to see someone I never thought I would see again.

"Oh my gosh, Ben?" I laughed, my eyes wide with shock.

His face hadn't seemed to change too much since the last time I had seen him, despite maybe the addition of a few more wrinkles around his lips. Laughter lines, is what he always called them. His hair, while much grayer than before, was still styled short and out of his face. And those blue eyes looked just as wide and bright. He held out his hand towards mine, and my laughter increased as I took a hold of it, proceeding to complete the routine of our handshake that had been performed hundreds of times before.

Ben had been the janitor at the hospital my mom stayed out, and due to our frequent time spent there, I had gotten to know him pretty well. He was always kind to me, and I had always enjoyed his presence. He was... loud, but also fun and light-hearted. I often felt that he was larger than life, with his never-ending positivity and energy, despite his age.