Page 20 of All the Way
“Yeah. This isn’t that kind of party. Unless you really want me to bring you home so you can change into your ballgown.”
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We sing along to our mix tape filled with songs that are much older than just the year we have been apart until we get to Josh’s house. I’ve been to his place before, but now that I’ve got Jess with me, I feel like I’m seeing it again for the first time. The narrow gravel driveway leads to a tight two-car garage, and a light-up plastic Santa stands crooked on the front lawn. The front door to the house is open, and the light on the porch is coming from a yellow-tinted old metal sconce affixed to the wall under a little tin awning.
“I guess he doesn’t have a wife or girlfriend?” Jess comments, then puts a hand over her mouth. “That came out wrong. I just mean it looks like a cute house and this is a nice area, but what’s with the lone Santa out there? And the dated paint job?”
“Yeah, Josh isn’t really one to settle down,” I reply, putting the truck in park and cutting the headlights off. “His grandparents left him the place and he’s just been kind of floating around town for a while like I have. Let’s just say he has a lot of parties. Doesn’t like responsibility. And I guess he doesn’t really feel the need to get a real job or start a family any time soon.”
We get out of the truck and slam the doors behind us, stepping around a few beer cans and innumerable cigarette butts on the way to the front door. “I see. I guess my invitation got lost in the mail.”
“Jealous?” I say, pushing my hair away from my face and looking up at the house. She’s right. This place is a fucking dump. But I look over at Jess and she looks excited to have a beer and do something a little different this Christmas. “We’ll just go in and say hi and be out fast,” I say, grabbing her hand.
We take the three stairs up to the front door and step inside.
“Um, ding dong?” Jess calls out, her words bouncing off the cold, dark walls. “Merry Christmas?” Loud music thumps from upstairs, and Josh appears in the hallway with a Santa hat on.
“Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!” he says, stumbling toward us, a lit cigarette in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. “My man, I’m so glad you made it.”
“Okay man, thanks for having us,” I say. He’s giving Jess a funny look, the kind I know he wanted to give her earlier at the tree farm, but the difference was then he had only been working with a case of beers all day. Now, he had something stronger in him. He reeks of hard alcohol and looks like shit.
“Nice to see you again. Jess, was it?” Josh puts a hand on her shoulder and squeezes it. I know he’s just being friendly, but a fire revs up inside me at the fucking bullshit he’s pulling. I know it’s just a touch, but the irrational part of me wants to grab her and get the fuck out of here, even though we’ve just arrived.
“Yes, we met yesterday. Nice to see you again too,” Jess replies. She looks around the entryway to the small house like she’s trying to find something nice to say about it, but can’t find anything.
“Come, come,” Josh says, waving at me and Jess to follow him into the kitchen. There’s stacks of unopened mail piling up on the kitchen table, and a sink full of dishes. A TV in the corner of the living room is on mute and playing a football game from a week ago.
“What can I get for you?” Josh says, rooting around inside his fridge. “Beer? Wine? Soda?”
“I’ll have a beer,” Jess says, perking up.
Josh slides a few bottles around inside the fridge and I look over at Jess. She’s so interested in what Josh is doing and observes him like he’s a doctor performing surgery and she’s his student.
“Here we are,” Josh says, tossing a can of crap beer to her. She flicks the tab open and a little foam hisses out.
She raises it to her lips and winces as she takes a little sip. “Yum!” she says. I can see that she hates it, but she’s trying to be polite.
“Remind me to subscribe you to a beer of the month club,” I say, grabbing a beer for myself from the fridge as Josh steps aside. “You’re a real connoisseur now, right?”
Her lips purse together into a tight line and she nods sarcastically. “Yep!”
The three of us make our way upstairs, the stench of stale beer and cigarette butts filling my nostrils. I’ve been spoiled being with sweet Jess’ family for the past day and a half.
“Hey.” Josh hangs back as Jess makes her way excitedly up the stairs, each footstep bouncing faster than the last.
“What’s going on?” I ask, my chest and throat becoming tight as my eyes trail toward what he’s looking at. He’s staring at Jess’ ass like a drooling wolf.
He smacks his lips, Jess unaware that he’s leering at her like this. I can feel my nostrils flare with anger as I see her pretty face turn back to us, a naive smiling pulling at the corners of her lips.
“She with you?” Josh says, sticking me in the ribs with an elbow. My mind swims with what to say to him. “I might have a girl for you,” he adds with a whisper.
“Yeah. She’s with me.” The clenching in my jaw matches the clenching in my fists as I see Jess slip around a corner into a bedroom where there music is coming from. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Woah,” Josh says, stumbling up the last stair. “Are you going to knock me on my ass or something?” He laughs, but I don’t find this funny.
“I’m not interested in anything but her. Don’t you get that? You can have the girl with the skirt and no panties. I’m withher,” I hiss, pointing to the bedroom. “I don’t want to be an ungrateful guest, so let’s pretend this conversation never happened.”
“You’re right. I apologize. I just thought maybe you’d like to share. You know,” he adds, taking a swig of his skanky beer, “in the spirit of the holiday.”
