Page 61 of More Than Chemical
I could feel the alcohol just a bit and needed to use the bathroom. So I excused myself and left the table, but halfway there, I realized leaving the three of them together might have been a bad idea.
I sped up, and of course when I got there, there was a line.
I waited and waited. Just as I became the next up for a stall, my phone dinged. I pulled it out.
PRIYA
Emma and I left. Have fun!
What?
I typed a furious response.’
Wait for me!
PRIYA
Stay. Dallas will bring you home. He promised us.
I went to the bathroom as fast as I could and ran back into the tent. Sure enough, there was Dallas, sitting by himself, Priya and Emma nowhere to be found.
Twenty-Two
The View
Iforced my legs to move even though it was like walking against a fast-flowing river. This time, instead of sitting next to him, I sat across from him, my stomach doing front flips.
“So I guess I’ve been ditched.” I put my hands under my knees.
He smiled at me, his eyes alive and sparkling. “I wouldn’t say that. More like you’ve traded up.”
“You think I’ll have a better time with you?”
“Of course.” He stood and held out his hand. “Let’s go.”
I stared at his hand, then back up at his face. “Go where?”
“Not sure, but I think it has something to do with my car, a bottle of wine, and a view.”
It was the view that got me. I couldn’t imagine a better one than staring at him. I put my hand in his.
His car was parked a few blocks away on the street at a meter. It was a blue Subaru Impreza. We got in, and I looked around. The interior wasn’t spotless, but it was orderly and empty of belongings. He warmed up the car, and we took off.
“I have an important question for you,” I said.
“Ask away.” He made a turn.
“Why didn't you say that the reason you couldn’t go to the ice cross event with me was because you were in it?”
“I had no idea how qualifications were going to go today, so I didn’t want to make plans. Like I said, a new sport.”
“And if you sucked at it, you didn’t want me to know.”
“Maybe.” He smiled. “Guys have egos, you know.”
We pulled into a parking lot at a liquor store.
“I have another question.”
