Page 35 of I Blame the Alcohol

Hey, it’s still three weeks. A girl needs to have options when it comes to attire.

“I know but I’m going to miss you.” Lou sniffs slightly, her downcast eyes looking at my dorm’s slightly-cleaner-but-still-unfortunate floor.

“I’m going to miss you too, hon. Come here.” I walk over and wrap my arms tightly around my best friend, “I’ll Facetime you every day, okay? Plus, I can’t wait to hear how meeting the parents go.”

Lou squeezes me back with a groan, “I can’t believe Wes talked me into spending a whole week at his house.”

I pat her back in reassurance, “The good news is he gets to suffer the same treatment for the last week of break.”

“That is true.” Lou’s face brightens, “And my dad is supposed to be home for a couple of days this time, so he’ll get to meet Wes too.”

Poor guy. From what I’ve heard of Lou’s ecologist father, the man spends most his time talking about work even on the rare occasion he isn’t at work. Hope Wes has brushed up on Canadian ecological systems.

“This will be a good test for you two. If you don’t hate each other after spending a whole week with each other’s family, you two can get through anything.”

Lou sighs, “I hope so. Do you need help with that?”

The question catches me mid-grunt, while I’m trying to use my body weight to get the zipper of my suitcase to close. This is probably why most people don’t bring alltheir clothes home over break, but I’ve already committed.

The O’Brien’s are stubborn, remember?

“Could you just…” I gesture wildly to the other side of the suitcase and by some miracle Lou gets my message. She walks over and climbs aboard, the two of us barely managing to stay on top of a wobbling suitcase.

“I’ve almost got it!” I tug painfully at the small zipper, the piece of metal cutting into my fingers as I heave it forward, barely moving it an inch.

“Don’t think I want to know what’s going on right now.”

The sound of a male’s voice fills the room and Lou immediately stops squirming beside me. She snaps upright in a way that tells me exactly who has found his way to our dorm.

I huff, not bothering to look at my brother as the zipper teasingly shifts forward, “Feel free to take the other suitcases to the car. I’ll be out in a sec.”

Mo chuckles, the familiar sound making me smile, “And miss the show? Hell, no. Nice to see you again, Lou.”

I’m almost completely upside down at this point but I still manage to see my roommate blush at the friendly nod my brother gives her.

Even with Wes on the scene, I can’t blame the girl. My older brother has a certain aura that commands attention. And when he chooses to bestow that attention on to you, you feel like the most special person on this planet. Doesn’t help that he looks like a character from a gladiator movie.

You know the movie where shirtless guys fight to death? Gerard Butler in all his glory? Yeah, Mo didn’t get his nickname Mighty just for his moves on the lacrosse field.

“Nice to see you too, Mo.” Lou squeaks out the words, her fingers nervously fiddling with the daisy charm on her necklace.

Thank God blood relation and sibling bickering made me immune to his charms.

“Done!”

After forever and a day, the zipper finally gives way and my third suitcase zips itself closed. I hop off the pink material without an ounce of elegance or grace and go charging towards my brother.

“Hey, stranger.” He chuckles as I tackle him in a hug.

“Hey, yourself. You ready to go?” His pale blue eyes do a sweep of my room, a smirk tugging at his mouth when his eyes flick past my closet that is almost completely empty.

“Give me a few minutes to say goodbye and then I’ll be ready to go.”

He nods, shooting Lou a smile before ducking out of the room. I turn back towards my roommate, the girl who has slowly become a permanent fixture in my life and in my heart.

My bravado from earlier starts to wear off and I feel my lips tremble as I hug her one last time, “We’ll talk every day, okay?”

Lou isn’t that tall, but I still have to go on my tiptoes to whisper in her ear. Short people really aren’t built for sentimental moments.

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