“That was fun,” I tell Sam. She had stayed in state when we went to college and I ended up moving across the country.
“It was,” she beams. “I’m sorry I have to take off though, I would’ve loved to drive home with you and stop from sushi or something.”
I nod to her and we part. I pull my phone from my back pocket. I open up snap-chat and go through the fifteen snaps from my boyfriend. I’m about to send a flirty smile and message back when I stumble.
“Woah there,” a familiar voice says. “You need to watch where you’re going.”
“I’m sorry I just,” I look up and I stop mid sentence.
“Iridescent,” when I hear him speak, his voice seems far off. His irises are pitch black giving him a mysterious look.
“Jonathan,” I manage to turn away from his eyes and I take in the rest of him. He’s grown taller since I left. He’s a good six foot tall, with toned muscles, and tanned skin.
“It’s been a while,” he says.
“Three and a half years, to be exact,” I reply. He was a year ahead of me in high-school, but I graduated with his class. That made me just a month shy of seventeen when I walked.
“Do you want to go get drinks,” he asks. “It will be just you and me. We can catch up.”
I nod my head, not sure what to say. I put my phone away and start walking to my car. “You remember where The Elephant Bar is right,” I love the sound of his voice. It’s deepened in the last three years.
“They aren’t going to let me in,” I laugh. “I’m a year younger than you.”
“That would make you,” his looks up, calculating my age in his head.
“That would mean I just turned twenty,” I laugh. “I see your math skills haven’t improved,” I joke.
“It’s hard to think around you,” he replies, opening my car door for me. “Meet me there; my truck is only a few rows down.”
*****
“They aren’t going to let me in,” I say again as Jonathan heads towards the front doors.
“Of course they will,” Jonathan laughs. “Aaron’s family runs the place now, and they let him manage the back door.”
“His parents always were,” I pause, searching for the word. “Flexible.”
He leads me around the back and knocks three times on the door in three different spots. The door almost instantly opens.
“Hey look who decided to show her face in New Mexico again,” Aaron laughs. He pulls me in for a hug and then looks at Jonathan. “And look who she decided to come with.”
I feel my cheeks get hot, and I hope the two boys can’t tell in the dim light. I had always had a thing for him, Jonathan. He had started out as a good friend, and then someone I could trust, but he always claimed to not like me in the same way. He’d kissed me before I left, but I hadn’t talked to him since.
“Bottom floor is a club, top floor is a bar,” Aaron informs me.
Jonathan leads me down a hallway, with Aaron close on our heels. We get to the end of the hallway. There’s a door with a keypad lock on it. Jonathan swiftly punches in the code and opens the door. We make our way down the stairs and I take it all in. There are people dancing, lights flashing, and the smell of alcohol fills the room.
Aaron starts towards the bar, and we follow. Aaron orders “on the house” drinks. I take a small sip of mine and my nose curls at the taste.
“Oh my god,” Aaron says, studying the look on my face. “She’s never drank before.”
Jonathan studies me as I take another small drink. I almost gag. “She hasn’t,” he laughs.
“I don’t know how you drink this shit,” I say, handing the glass back to Aaron. “It tastes like Satan threw up and you put it on ice.”
They shake their heads at me. “Three years in college and you haven’t had a drink,” Jonathan says. “Damn.”
I roll my eyes. “Twenty bucks you won’t be able to finish the glass,” Aaron says, playfully punching me.
I take the glass from him, and take another sip. I cough. “This is disgusting,” I choke.
“It tastes good, eventually,” Jonathan winks at me. My heart skips. I take another drink and let it burn as it goes down. I hold my breath and swallow the rest, tipping the last drop into my mouth.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I say. “That was horrible.”
“You’ll live,” Aaron says, setting down his drink. “I have to go check up on everyone upstairs. Jonathan knows where everything is.” He puts a lot of emphasis on the word everything.
As soon as he’s gone Jonathan immediately starts talking.
“A lot happened in three years,” he says, his eyes looking up and down my body. “A lot of good things.”
“Your alcohol did a lot in three minutes,” I retort, taking his glass from him.
“I’ve had less to drink then you,” he says, pointing to my empty glass next to his, which is still half full.
“Shut up,” I whine.
“I meant what I said,” he says, his hand resting on my knee. “I honestly didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“That was kind of on purpose,” I bite my lip when I say it. “You kissed me when you were still with Emily.”
“Iridescent,” Jonathan says.
I stop him before he can start arguing with me. “Maybe I should go,” I say. I turn and start walking.
Jonathan follows me halfway down the hallway before getting a hold of my arm and swinging me around to face him.
“I missed you,” he growls.
“You could’ve called,” I say, emotionless.
“I’m not good at this,” Jonathan argues.
“You did whatever this is; perfectly fine with the twenty other girls you dated in high-school.”
Jonathan throws his arms up in the air.