Page 59 of F*cking Shattered

“Are you ready?”

“Already? I didn’t think we were going until later?” I replace the cap on my pen before standing.

“Nope. This is check off day!” He pulls me against his chest.

“What’s check off day?” I look up at him and see a gleam reflecting in his eyes.

“The day we check everything else off that list, all in one day.” He looks completely carefree and happy. It warms every part of me.

“Seriously? You think we can do the rest all in one day?”

“If we hurry.” He takes my hand and pulls me towards the door.

“Where are we going first?” I ask him as I drive down the road.

“Turn here,” he directs, pointing right.

I turn and follow along with his directions until he tells me to stop at a house. “Where are we?”

“I just met this guy. His name is Dave. Anyway, he’s having a house party and guess what he has.”

I feel my face wrinkle up as I look at the run down house with the grass growing up and trash overflowing from the garbage can that’s still on the curb. There are used tires stacked up at the corner of his garage, bikes leaning against the front of the house, and a porch that seems to be a catch all for anything he can’t fit inside his house. “A hoarding problem?”

He laughs. “No, a keg. You can do your keg stand.”

“Oh, great," I say not all that excited about a keg stand. Compared to the other things I have checked off, this one is boring.

River leads me to the door and knocks before a big man wearing a white tank top answers. He’s completely covered in tattoos, even his bald head. He reaches out his hand. “River! Glad to see ya bro.” The guys shake hands. “And I’m glad you got your girl to come with you.” He opens the door and lets us in.

“River told me all about your bucket list and I think it’s great,” he says as he leads us through the dirty house and out to the back yard.

“Here is it.” Dave motions toward the keg. “Mark it off. Get your pretty ass up there.”

I feel my face flush. “I have no idea how to do this.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll help you out.” He gets behind me and pushes me a couple steps closer. “Put each hand on the side of the keg,” he directs.

I’m nervous but do as he tells me.

“River is going to get one leg and I’m going to get the other. The only thing you have to remember is to keep your arms locked. You don’t want to land on your face.”

“What?” I ask just as the guys lift my legs up. I scream, but before I know it, I’m upside down.

“Are you ready, babe?” River ask me as he raises the tap to my mouth.

I nod and open up. He pulls the trigger and beer floods into my mouth quicker than I can swallow it down. I choke and sputter until I get the hang of it.

Just as I feel like I might pass out from the blood rushing my head, the guys let me down, setting me on my feet.

Suddenly, I realize why people do this. The beer I drank feels like it has an instant effect. My head spins and my eyes blur.

River grabs me up in a bear hug and spins me around, cheering. When he puts my feet on the ground, I wander off to the privacy fence and release every last drop of beer from my body.

“Oh,” Dave says. I can tell by his muffled tone that he’s covering his mouth.

When my stomach is emptied, I walk back over to them and hold out my hand. “I’m Jovi.”

“Dave,” he says, shaking my hand.

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