***Reagan***
Iwasn’tproudof how I escaped poker night, but I’d been desperate. And under the influence. It was the only reason I could give for why I’d stood up at the table and announced that I had gas. Lisa had cackled like a mad woman, the girls had giggled because their aunt was talking about farts in public, and the men all just looked at me like I was insane. I felt like I was. I’d walked out of the dining room, feeling like I was moving normally, until Russ called me out for barely inching along.
By the time I got down the stairs to my bed, I felt like I’d been traveling for forty years and all I could do was lay down while the room wobbled around me. I considered looking at my phone for a while before deciding that was too much work. My entire body was tingling and I couldn’t remember ever feeling exactly that way before in my life. I wasn’t even sure if my body was still touching the bed, honestly.
I had no clue how much time had passed. I thought I’d heard vehicles leaving at some point, but it could’ve been the blood rushing in my ears. I was in the middle of trying to lift my hand so I could see if I still had all five fingers when I heard something move close by.
Lifting my head felt impossible, so I just sighed dramatically. If something had fallen over, I’d just pick it up later. If I didn’t float away first.
It was a testament to how under the influence I was when Charlie’s face appeared over me and I didn’t scream. I just stared at him. “Hey.”
He grinned, his dimples so cute that I couldn’t help myself. When I reached up and poked one of them, he caught my fingers in his hand and pressed his lips to my palm before holding my hand at my side. “You’re baked out of your mind.”
I pouted. “Lisa drugged me.”
“Are you feeling okay?” He brushed my hair off my forehead and looked me over. “You look beautiful tonight, by the way. I wanted to tell you earlier, but, you know, I didn’t want to give your brother a stroke.”
I curled onto my side, around him, and rested my head on his knee. “I’ve never been so high in my life.”
“I accidentally had one of Lisa’s special brownies before, too. That woman is made of tougher stuff than any of us. I felt high for two days.”
I pouted even harder and made a pitiful whining sound. “I can’t be high for two days. I have stuff to do. How do I fix it?”
“Just try to relax. You’ll sleep it off.”
“How did you get in?” I glanced around the basement and then back at Charlie. “Does Russ know you’re down here?”
“Truth?”
I nodded. “Always.”
“I drove down the road, parked, and snuck back in through the basement door. Like a fucking lunatic.” He raked his hands through his hair and studied the top of my head. “Sneaking into your room to see you was something I had to stop myself from doing so many times when we were younger. I guess I figured there was no use stopping myself now.”
I buried my face against the rough denim of his jeans and grinned before giggling. Groaning afterward, I tossed my arm over my face and peaked out at him from under it. “Ignore that.”
He took my arm and moved it away from my face. “Not a chance.”
“I can’t believe you snuck in.” I shifted deeper into the bed and looked to the empty spot I’d made, hoping Charlie would take the hint. When he laid on his back next to me, the bed dipped and I rolled into his side. Moving away was impossible as my body felt ten times heavier, thanks to Lisa. “Sorry.”
Charlie tugged me on top of his chest and only grunted in pain when I dug my elbows into his chest while trying to adjust so I could see his face. “That’s better.”
I was so close to him that I could see each blonde piece of stubble in his beard and a lighter blue starburst around his pupils. I got lost in noticing the details as my head buzzed. “Wait. Did you say you wanted to sneak into my room when we were younger?”
He nodded. “Yes. Starting junior year of high school. The summer before, really.”
I fought through a cloud of fog as I thought back. “That was the summer I—”
“You worked the summer camp out at Big Norm.” He folded his arms behind his head and I was pretty sure he flexed his arm muscles a little extra for me. “You were the best swimmer they had, so they assigned you lifeguard duty.”
“I didn’t want it. I had to wear a bathing suit and Jenny and her friends made fun of me nonstop.”
“They were idiots. I remember hanging out in the yard, playing football, watching you come home on your bike. You’d still be wet from the lake and you only ever put your shorts back on when you came home.” He smiled, his eyes moving over my face as he blew my mind. “It was torture to pretend not to stare and to hide the fact that I got a semi every single time you got off your bike and swung your hair around to look over at us.”
“That was the summer I grew boobs.”
“Yeah, I was aware.”
I rested my chin on his chest and felt my head swimming with a thousand thoughts. “I never knew. I was so awkward and ugly.”