VII. Principles

lisiagho

by lisiagho

Story
2020 – 2022

Finding a hotel is easy. The hard part is finding the right alcohol, lime and salt.

By the time we leave the restaurant, the stores are all closed and we end up at a gas station. I still don’t know his name. And he doesn’t know mine. He hasn’t asked me any of the usual questions. He’s hardly asked me about myself at all, which is a relief because I’m not in the mood for that. We’d spent the evening flirting, ordering more margaritas, flirting, making fun of strangers in the restaurant and, oh, did I mention flirting?

My phone lit up about six times during our time at the restaurant. I only glanced at the screen to make sure it’s not an emergency but otherwise ignored my sister. I saw him looking, curiosity in his eyes, but he never asked.

“What do you say to body shots with apple juice, an orange and uh… Tic Tacs?” My words slur.

He laughs again. I’m starting to really like his laugh. “It sounds absolutely revolting. Why not?”

“Because principles,” I say, shaking my head.

“Because we’re so good at chugging down alcohol,” he muses. It’s generous of him to say we because he’s the picture of sobriety while my world is spinning. “Leave the apple juice. If we’re sinking that low, I have sherry in my bag.”

“Sherry?” That’s a strange thing to carry around. “How come?”

“Nostalgia,” he says.

He hasn’t asked me about my overactive phone so I don’t ask about his sherry.

Speak of the devil. My phone lights up yet again and I shove it deep into my bag. Shove. Deep. Even my bag is getting more action than me.

“So I’m going to be licking Tic Tacs off you and chugging it down with sherry?” I ask.

“Who said anything about you doing the licking?”

I giggle in alcoholic bliss and give him a shove.

He catches my hand, taking it in both of his. He has large, warm hands that swallow mine completely. My stomach jolts and I have a sudden fantasy of lying there on the gas station floor and letting those hands run down, down—

“Walk straight, please,” he says.

“I can’t!” I giggle again, and he ends up half-carrying me to the hotel.


© lisiagho 2023-08-31

Genres
Novels & Stories
Moods
Hoffnungsvoll, Adventurous, Lighthearted, Funny
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