“This is us,” I announce. It takes me a couple tries to get the key in. I flip some lights on after stepping through the door.
It’s not much, just a tiny two bedroom, but Valérie is very clean and organized and has cute decorations like plants and little string lights shaped like turtles. It always smells like her vanilla candle in here, even when she hasn’t had it on for a while.
“This is nice,” Zach says after taking off his shoes and walking into the living room. “Nicer than me and Paige’s place.”
“Ben, you and Paige both decorate like men.”
He stops in the middle of the living room and looks around, like he’s wondering if he should sit.
“Zach.” I’m still standing at the edge of the little front hallway that leads to the kitchen.
“Yeah?” His voice has gone all raspy and quiet.
“What are we gonna do?”
I don’t have to explain. He knows I’m asking what we’re going to do about this, about us.
He closes his eyes for a second and sighs. “We’ll figure it out, but right now, you’re going to drink about three glasses of water, take some Advil, and head to bed.”
I lean against the wall and laugh. “Okay, Mom.”
“You’ll thank me in the morning. Here. Sit on the couch.”
I’m still sleepy from the car ride, so I don’t put up a fight. I walk over and collapse onto the couch cushions, then listen to him banging around the kitchen before he comes back with a glass of water.
“Drink up.”
He sits beside me while I gulp it down.
“Merci,” I thank him once I’m done.
“You want more?”
“In a second. My head is really itchy. I—Oh.” I stop scratching my head and pull my fingers away to find a leaf pinched between them. “I forgot I had this thing on my head.”
I try to get the wreath out, but it’s all wrapped up in curls and pins and twisty braids.
“Câlice. Whatever. I’ll sleep in it.”
“Here. Let me.”
Zach shifts on his couch cushion and motions for me to spin around so I’m sitting cross-legged with my back to him. His fingers start untangling my up-do. All the bridesmaids got their hair done this afternoon, and so many hours of pins and hairspray has me feeling like my scalp is about to fall off. I sigh as the pressure loosens.
“That feels nice,” I murmur.
The sleepiness is already setting in again. My chin droops forward onto my chest. I hear Zach chuckle, and the sound seems like it’s coming from far away. His hands feel so good playing with my hair, and everything is warm and peaceful and quiet. I make a little humming sound.
Enough minutes pass that I’m sure I must be dreaming, but when I mutter, “Did you wear that tie to match my hair?” I swear I hear him laugh and tell me he was hoping I would notice.
Twelve
Zach
PICK ME UP: any beverage consumed with the intention of easing the effects of overindulgence in alcohol
I don’t know where I am when I wake up. There’s an Indian tapestry hung across the window instead of a curtain, and the light that filters through it casts the whole room in a red and orange glow.
I do know that I’m cold. I look down and find myself curled up in a ball under a thin, knitted blanket that’s not big enough to cover my feet. I’m only wearing boxers and socks. Scanning the room, I find my suit in a heap on the floor next to the brown couch I’m lying on. I spot my pink tie, and it all comes flooding back.
I’m at DeeDee’s place. I took her home last night.
Sitting up, I rub the back of my neck before stretching my arms above my head. Then I throw the blanket over my shoulders for warmth.
I hear water running in what must be the bathroom and jump to my feet, digging for my pants in the pile of clothing while trying to keep the blanket from sliding off. It really is damn cold in here. I’ve managed to get one pant leg on, and I’m frantically hopping around to get my foot through the other when the bathroom door opens.
A girl I’ve never seen before walks out.
She pauses and stares me as I hit the edge of the couch and fall back onto the cushions.
“Salut, cutie.”
“Uh, bonjour.”
She clucks her tongue. “English?”
Is my accent really that bad?
“Either or.”
She switches to English for me. “Usually when girls bring boys home from weddings, they sleep in the same bed, but who am I to judge? Do you want some breakfast? I just popped in to change and grab some food before work.”
“Um...” I’m still trying to process the fact that I’m sitting here with a blanket around my shoulders and my pants around my knees while a strange woman with fire-truck red hair asks me if I want breakfast.
“Or just a coffee?” she prompts.
She’s wearing a black pants and shirt combo that looks like she works at a restaurant or cafe. I stare for a moment longer before it clicks.
Roommate.
“Uh, yeah. Coffee would be great. Thanks. I’m just gonna excuse myself for a sec...”
I stand up to escape to the bathroom, and my pants send me stumbling right back onto the couch.
Red hair girl laughs. “You’re pretty cute.”
She disappears into the kitchen, and I hitch my pants up before grabbing the rest of my clothes and hurrying to the bathroom. My face feels like it’s on fire.
After throwing my shirt on, splashing water over my face, and squeezing some toothpaste onto my finger for a makeshift brush, I head back into the living room. A steaming mug of coffee is waiting on the table in front of the couch, and DeeDee’s roommate is pulling her shoes on by the door.
“Gotta run, strange boy. Bonne chance avec DeeDee.”
I accept the offer of good luck with a nod and sag back into the cushions as soon as she’s gone.
Yesterday replays in flashes as I sip my coffee: DeeDee walking down the aisle in that long green dress, a bouquet of flowers clutched in her hands. The sight of her laughing at the head table. Glimpses of her through the crowd as she took the whole dance floor by storm.
The unguarded honesty in her eyes as she said the words that shifted the ground under my feet.
I want you.
I could have kissed her. I could have pulled her to me and never let her go, told her that whatever was holding her back couldn’t hold a candle to what would grow between us if she’d just give it a shot.
I wasn’t so swept away that I couldn’t see it was the absolute wrong time for declarations. What DeeDee really needed last night was water and sleep.
Feeling her hair in my hands, hearing those little sighs she made when I rubbed her scalp—maybe it’s the small town boy coming out in me, but I swear I was in heaven. When she nodded off and fell back against my chest, I could have sat there all night listening to her breathe.
I do pride myself on not being that much of a creep, and to be honest, sleeping upright on a couch with a girl leaning on you sounds more romantic than it is. Mostly you just get cramps, so I scooped her up as gently as I could and took her to bed.
I was planning on leaving after that, but just as I was closing her bedroom door, she called out my name. She sounded like she wasn’t even fully awake, but I answered her anyway.