Candles

23 | J A U N T

"That's not what I meant, Sydney."

I sighed, "Look, I'm sorry for being a brat in the car, okay? You know, I'm stressed out about looking for this second job. Accusing me of having feelings for someone I do not have feelings for is not cool, Greysen. These little confrontations of yours need to come to an end. Maybe then we'll be good."

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn't have left you on the side of the road like I did. Did you make it home all right?"

"I'm alive, am I not?"

"No problems, then?"

"No problems. My blisters—"

He smacked his forehead, "Shit, I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't thinking when I pulled over. I wasn't supposed to pull over, was I? You were telling me to but I wasn't supposed to listen, right?"

"Well, I mean, I was yelling at you."

"That's no excuse. Anything could have happened. I'm just glad it was blisters and nothing else."

I glanced down at my somewhat sore feet, "Yeah, me too. I soaked these bad boys for hours."

Greysen smiled, "Come on, then. They're waiting for us in the kitchen."

I followed Greysen down the hall and my hair bounced against the back of my neck, tickling me slightly. I noticed how he shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants and when we entered the kitchen, he joined the others at the table. There was a bottle of tequila and three shot glasses and Jillian was drinking out of one. Greysen poured himself a glass and threw his head back, downing the liquid before slamming the glass back on the table. My eyes widened a bit. If I had known we were just going to be lounging about with alcohol, I would have came in my work clothes.

Harry stood in the corner of the room with his eyes glued to his phone. The third shot glass was empty and it looked as if no one had poured anything into it. His fingers moved quickly across the screen and he looked so determined. This reminded me of when he text me after the kiss...the text messages I never once bothered to read. Maybe if I got drunk enough tonight, I would bury myself in bed and read them like a bedtime story.

Sounded like a decent plan.

"Sydney!" Jillian exclaimed and Harry looked up from his phone. "You look gorgeous!"

"Thanks, I—"

"I like this dress better than the other one you wore," Greysen pointed out, nodding his head in approval.

Harry shot his friend a look of confusion and I shrugged my shoulders as I joined them at the table. Jillian grabbed the bottle of tequila and poured some into the empty shot glass. She then pushed it in my direction and I raised my eyebrows, causing her to laugh. Her eyes squinted just a tad bit and the red lipstick on her lips made her teeth look whiter than usual. I picked up the shot glass without hesitation and downed it like Greysen had done; however, I carefully placed the glass back on the table. I did not want to start the night out with breaking Harry's dishes.

"Are you sure you don't want a shot, Harry?"

He shook his head, "Someone has to be able to drive us there and back."

"Where are we going?" I asked, looking at everyone. They all shrugged, even Harry. "Oh, come on. This 'It's a Secret' game is getting too old." Still, no one acknowledged my question. "Are you trying to get me drunk so you can kill me in the woods? Because let me tell you something. That isn't cool or right."

"No one in this house wants to kill you," Jillian laughed and Harry raised his eyebrows, matching mine.

"Why are we drinking now if we're going out?" I wondered, taking the conversation in a new direction.