Page 69 of Hot Mess Express
How do I tell Juni what happened? Where do I even begin? At the part where I sat in Bridger’s lap or when I kissed him?
“I wish I’d worn something cute before going on this joyride with you,” she mumbles, “then we could go to the Saloon instead of circling these roads for half an hour.”
“Just went last night. Goin’ tomorrow. Too dang late, besides.”
“Oh, so youdotalk.” When I sigh, she rests her chin on the wheel as she continues zigzagging down the dark country roadat barely ten miles an hour. “We’ve gone there this late before. They don’t close until four.”
“What’s the point drivin’ all the way out there to spend ten minutes in a club before drivin’ all the way back? You never drink when we go anyway, because you gotta drive, and—”
“It’d be more than ten minutes. I think. Also, we could get a room and stay ‘til Sunday. Then I can get wasted with you.”
“The beds there are like sleepin’ on bricks.”
“You have a nasty gash on your arm.”
“My clumsy ass fell on the stupid pavement earlier today.”
“Clumsiness is only cute until you get an infection. You going to tell me what’s up yet? I’m getting bored.”
I sigh and cradle my head in my hands. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Try. You can do it. Use your words,” she sings, pretending to be a schoolteacher or something.
Suddenly I’m gonna be sick. “Pull over.”
“Oh, you wanna pet a cow?”
She’s going so slow, I don’t care. I yank open my door while the car’s still moving, tumble out of the vehicle, fly over the ditch, grab hold of a fence by the road and hurl. My first thought when I stare into the dark and wherever my vomit went is that if I had known all that money spent on popcorn was gonna end up in the field on the edge of someone’s ranch …
“Are you okay?” shouts Juni from the car, now stopped.
“Uh-huh,” I mumble, leaning on the fence, certain if I let go of it that I’ll go tumbling straight to the dirt.
The crunching of her heels (why is she always wearing heels?) brings her closer, but not too close. Probably afraid of stepping on something. “Did you eat a bad burger?”
“I need a drink,” I groan.
“Oh … You’re doing this backwards. People usually drink first,thenbarf.”
I shut my eyes and lay my head on the fence. “I did something tonight, Juni. Something … really, really … really fuckin’ crazy.”
“Well, I would guess it likely isn’t that crazy, considering the things you might have done. Like rob a bank. Or adopt a pet frog.”
“I kissed a dude.” Juni appears by the fence and lets out a sigh. I look at her. “Did you hear me?”
“We should probably go back. You look pale. I have iced tea.”
“I just said I kissed a dude.”
“Yes, you did.”
She’s leaning against the fence next to me now, staring up at the stars. I’m suddenly annoyed. “That’s all you got to say? I kissed a man tonight. I feel … I feel really confused.”
“What’s there to be confused about? Didn’t you like it?” When she looks my way and sees my baffled face with my jaw hanging, her eyebrows go up. “I … I thought it was our thing.”
“Our thing?”
“Yeah. Like, we go out. See hot guys. I throw myself at them. You don’t. Then we go home, alone together, and get drunk.”
