Bright brown eyes find mine, and her lips tip up. “Do I have a choice?”
I shake my head, bopping her on the nose. “Open your mouth.”
She quirks a sarcastic brow but does as she’s told. I bring the blunt to my lips and inhale, then, on impulse, I lean forward until my lips are just a fraction of an inch from hers, and release the smoke inside her mouth. “Try to swallow.” I coach, watching as her slender throat bobs up and down.
Her eyes go wide, and she sputters, coughing up the smoke, until her eyes water. I brush a tear from her cheek, and bring it to my lips, tasting her. “You’re a lightweight,” I whisper against the shell of her ear.
She grunts, feisty as always. “Am not.”
“Prove it.” I hand her the blunt.
A beat passes.
“The Roni I knew never backed down.”
Another beat.
Her eyes slide up to mine.
A third beat, and just as I’m about to pull my hand back, she reaches for it. The tips of her fingers brush against my knuckle and electricity zaps me. My brow furrows. It’s just Roni, I remind myself and my dick. She doesn’t cause sparks. Mild annoyance and a slight buzz from the residual paint fumes, maybe. But not sparks.
With my brother sniffing around my ex, and my mom getting worse, not better, I don’t have too many good things going for me at the moment. Then Roni appears out of nowhere like some sort of guardian angel. Who gives a shit that she’s hot now? Ours is the only relationship I haven’t ruined, and that’s because she’s been gone for eight years. I force my eyes closed and rein in my attraction. Despite the perfect pair of tits she’s trying and failing to hide under her ugly t-shirt—I can’t go there.
I won’t.
“How do you know the difference between high and drunk?” Roni asks, sliding off the back of Aaron’s truck. I jump down after her to make sure she doesn’t eat dirt.
Chloe untangles herself from Aaron’s arms and grabs her on the other side. “Woah, there girl, I think it’s time I take you home,” she says.
“No.” Aaron moans. “Stay a little bit longer.”
Chloe looks at him then back to Roni, who is smiling up at us goofily. “I gotta make sure she gets home.”
“I got her,” I say, my grip on her waist tightening. “I’m the one who got her so wasted, I should be the one who gets her home safely.”
Roni’s hand flutters up to my face and she bops me on the nose. “You gonna walk me home like you did in the old days?”
I snort, my fingers flexing around her hip and I pull her closer to me. “I promise I won’t let anyone kidnap you.”
“Are you sure?” Chloe eyes me skeptically. I can see the indecision playing out on her face. She wants to stay, but she feels protective of Roni.
I don’t know whether to be pissed off that she thinks so little of me or relieved that someone else has Roni’s back the way I do. “Yeah. I’m wiped anyway, plus it isn’t like it’s out of my way; she lives right next door to me.”
Chloe turns her attention to Roni. “Are you okay with Devin taking you home?”
“Dev’s my favorite person in the world,” she slurs. “I missed him.”
Chloe rolls her eyes. “I’m going to try not to take offense to that but fine. I’ll text you tomorrow for shopping.” They hug and I pry Roni out of her arms before leading her out of the clearing. She stumbles happily along behind me humming.
“You’re wasted.” I laugh as we hit the sidewalk.
“And you never answered my question.”
The stars twinkle high in the sky above us, and I suck in the fresh air. It’s been so long since I’ve just been present in the moment, that I forgot how nice it is. “And what question is that?”
“How do you know the difference between drunk and high?” She yanks at the band holding her ponytail together, and her hair falls around her shoulders. The movement causes her to trip forward, but I catch her before she hits the ground.
“Jesus, you’re still a clutz I see.” I chuckle, hooking an arm around her neck. I tell myself it’s to keep her steady, but deep down, I think it’s to keep me steady. I hadn’t realized how much I missed having her close until she wasn’t. Pursing my lips, I pretend to ponder her question for a bit before speaking. “Being drunk is like being out of control. You don’t realize the mistakes you’re making until it’s too late.”
“And being high?” she asks.
I look up at the night sky, and the ghosts of all my past mistakes circle over my head like vultures. “Being high...it’s like an out of body experience...like you’re floating above the fray. You’re a witness to everything, you can see every possible outcome...think of every possible consequence...but you’re too removed to fix anything, so you just laugh a lot, and eat everything in sight.”
That earns me a belly laugh, and then she goes quiet. I want to ask her what she’s thinking, but I don’t want to ruin the moment. We walk in comfortable silence for a few minutes, our bodies bumping into each other here and there, as we try to re-learn our rhythm.
“I think I’m high,” she finally says.
“What makes you say that?” I ask as we turn on our street.
“Well, I was just thinking about how much I missed you, and how I’m sorry I wasn’t here when your dad…” Her voice trails off and her eyes well with tears. “And then I figured you probably don’t want to talk about that…”
My throat tightens and I choke out, “Not particularly.”
She nods. “And then I was thinking how your girlfriend was a complete asshole to me, but again, probably not something you want to talk about.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“But she was hanging off you like some sort of growth.” She wrinkles her nose in disgust.
“Jealous?” I arch a brow at her.
“Hardly.” She snorts. “I guess I just don’t understand the whole casual sex thing? I mean sex isn’t casual. You literally join forces with another human being; how can anyone do that willy nilly?”
“Join forces?”
“You know, P in the V.” She holds up her hand, making a circle with her thumb and index finger then jabs her other index finger through the center, demonstrating her point.
“No, I get it.” I pull her hands apart. We come up to the house with the crooked blue shutters and she exhales a shaky breath. “What’s wrong?”
Roni stares up at the house wide-eyed. “It’s weird.”
“Being back in Newton?” I ask, leading her up the stairs.
“All of it. Being here. Life. How you think one thing when you’re young, only to realize it’s another thing when you’re older.”
“You’re definitely high.” I chuckle, snagging her keys from her and unlocking the door.
“Maybe.” She gives me a small smile, lingering on the threshold. “Thanks for walking me home.”
“Anytime.” My gaze drops to her lips and the urge to pull her back into my arms overwhelms me.
“Night, Dev.” She wiggles four fingers at me and steps inside.