Page 7 of More Than Chemical
Then Priya started to giggle. Loud and uncontrolled. “Texas.” She belly laughed. “Omigod, you kissed Texas.”
We made it to the dorm. Thankfully, the lobby was empty.
Emma brought us to our room, and I foraged for snacks and fluids.
Priya lay down on her bed and moaned.
Emma sat in our saucer chair. “Are you going to tell us what happened?”
I crawled into my bed, closed my eyes, and rested my head on my pillow. Even though I thought I’d had the perfect amount of alcohol to doze off, I was never going to be able to fall asleep now. Never. All I could think about was that kiss. His touch. This was terrible. Because with the amount of alcohol in my body, it wouldn’t be safe to take an Ambien to shut off my brain either.
Outside the door, squealing and shouting echoed in the hall. Other girls from our floor must be back.
I glanced at my periodic table blanket, folded at the foot of my bed. He’d known what it was. He’d remembered it. I reached for it and pulled it over me. It was our shared secret.
“Well?” Emma asked.
I cringed. “He might be what you say he is, but I’m not going to lie. He’s a great kisser.”
Emma sat back and folded her arms. “I knew it. The bad ones are always so good at it.”
“Ade and Texas sitting in a tree,” Priya bellowed in a singsong voice.
“Please,” I said, “not now.”
“K-I-S-S-S-S-I-N-G,” she continued.
“Stop it.”
More laughing outside in the hall. Rustling. Footfalls scampering away.
Emma retrieved a piece of paper from the floor.
“Where did that come from?” I asked.
“Under the door.” Emma twirled a finger through her dark-blonde hair. “Omigod.”
“What?” Priya asked.
Emma’s shoulders shook. Her face crinkled, and she laughed. So hard that she could hardly breathe. She passed the sheet to Priya.
Priya, even in her stupor, screeched.
“Give that to me,” I said.
They handed it over. Surrounded by colorful squiggle marks were words drawn in large bubble writing. It readDebbie Does Dallas.
What?
I tossed the paper, and it floated to the ground. I dropped my head back on the pillow. “Who’s Debbie?”
This sent the girls rolling. They couldn’t talk. They just kept laughing.
“Oh, Ade.” Emma finally found her breath. “It’s a 1970s porn film.”
Priya pointed a shaky finger up at me. “And you’re Debbie.”
My face turned hot. How embarrassing. Not only could I not sleep, but now I didn’t want to leave this room. And next time I saw Texas, I was going to have to walk…no,run…the other way.
