Page 32 of Scoreless Nights

“I want to come up and see your place,” Angel suggested, making me panic.

“It’s still early,” I teased, even though I would have killed to go to bed. “Want to grab a drink first?” I didn’t drink, but I could pretend to drink.

Her face grimaced like she was reliving a bad night with a bottle of tequila. “We can walk down the strip and see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into, but I may not drink anything but diet coke.”

I loved her.

“Sure,” I shrugged, not really knowing what I was agreeing to. Honestly, the wordstripmade me uneasy. Where I was from, that meant you lost your clothes. But if I had to strip to keep Angel from realizing I was staying with Cruz Martin, then I was glad I wore my red panties.

Knowing how hard Jackie was crushing on him had convinced me that keeping that secret was vital. Especially until I got to know more about her. The whole night was hot and cold with her, and while I was ultimately thankful for her friendship, I couldn’t forget how uneasy she made me feel when she first got in the car. And I definitely didn’t want her using me the way she did Cruz’s cousin. I hated that continuing to lie to Angel was a side effect of that fear.

So,” I tried being detached with my tone. “How did Jackie get our tickets again?”

“She used to work with Cruz Martin’s cousin, which makes her think she knows Cruz, himself,” she laughed. “It’s the first time she’s asked for tickets, and he came through. Poor guy, though. Not sure Jackie will stop at just tickets, now.”

My return laugh was fake, and I had to force myself not to voice my concerns. The crazy thing was, Cruz seemed to think he and Jackie were supposed to have plans. Jackie was taken off guard by that, but then acting all night like Cruz was already hers.

There were so many lies, and so much miscommunication, and I seemed to be the only one that could see it all. Of course, I was the one doing most of the lying, so I shut myself up.

Angel parked along the sidewalk near all the bars in South Beach. She pointed at a sign lit up that said, Ignite, and took my hand as we jogged across the street.

“It’s Wednesday so the crowds are somewhat manageable.” She had to be kidding, because there were people everywhere. Probably more than were in my entire home town.

We got lucky and found two empty stools at Ignite, an outdoor bar that faced the main sidewalk. It was perfect for people watching while we chatted.

Angel ordered two colas and I pulled the maps app up on my phone, trying to gauge how far I was from Cruz’s apartment so I had a plan for getting back.

“Are you lost?” Angel teased.

“Just checking what’s all around here.”

“Everything is around here,” she nudged me. “I hate that I don’t make it out here very often anymore.”

“Did you used to spend more time in South Beach?”

“Yeah,” Angel snorted. “Every weekend. We would go to the beach all day, then shower in one of those outdoor showers, change into club clothes and hop to all these places down the strip.”

“You’re still young, why stop?”

“College,” she started ticking off on her fingers. “Work. Bills. Money. Life.”

Angel was two years older than I was, but started college after I did. She took more time to know what she wanted to do, but she was still young. Though, I got what she meant. We all had to grow up at some point.

“I never lived the night life,” I admitted. “My vibe was a little moreloner. Probably still is.”

“You told me stories about some of the parties you went to in college.”

“Those areliterallymy only stories,” I laughed. “I’m a sad situation.”

“Well I love you the way you are.”

I beamed at her words and took a sip of my cola. “So how did you and Jackie meet again?”

“We worked together. She and I have both waited tables, and became roommates when I decided to start college. It's easier to pay the bills when I only have to pay half so that the other half can go toward school.”

Jackie and Angel were the same age and they seemed like the perfect roommates when we would Facetime. But seeing them in person was changing my mind. They were so different.

“You know,” Angel leaned in close to me with a smile. “Once you move here, we can get a three bedroom and all be together.”

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