Subject: Re: Tina
No, but I would like you to hurry the hell up and get out here so we can get this over with. I thought you got off at noon today? (Why the hell do you still work here anyway? You barely show up and the manager hates you…)
Sincerely,
Carter
Subject: Re: Re: Tina
She’s telling all of her friends that you have one of the filthiest/sexiest mouths she’s ever experienced on the phone, and that she can’t wait until you finally “fuck her brains out.” (I honestly have no idea why I still work here…Give me a second to figure that out.)
Do I really have to drive?
—Ari
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Tina
No comment on any of the Tina shit.
Yes. HURRY UP.
Sincerely,
Carter
I leaned back in the passenger seat of my car—continuing to wait on Ari with Josh and two of his fraternity brothers at the marina. I was hoping today would pass by quickly, as I wasn’t sure if I could deal with the three of them for more than a few hours at a time.
“Did I tell you I started a private cannabis club in my fraternity, Carter?” Josh asked.
“No…” I immediately shot Ari another “Hurry up” email, and looked at him through the rearview mirror. “Did you already smoke too much weed today? It’s kind of early for you, isn’t it?”
“For the record, there’s no such thing as smoking too much weed,” he said. “Back to the topic at hand though, I have made it my personal mission to tell the new seniors that they are not to let my weed dreams die next year and to let my goals live on.”
“Let me get this straight, you’re happy about starting a secret club that promotes an illegal drug? Don’t you want to be a governor? ”
“Okay, first of all, weed is not a drug. It’s an herb,” he said defiantly. This shit grows from the ground, just like a goddamn carrot.”
“What about the side effects?” One of his own fraternity brothers countered. “The warnings?”
“What warnings? This herb may relax you and make you overwhelmingly calm, peaceful, and happy? Oh, yeah.” He rolled his eyes. “The side effects are practically lethal. Weed cures glaucoma, helps the blind, and the only reason it’s illegal is because the government knows that if they make it legal it’ll be hard to tax because people might attempt to grow their own untaxable stashes in their backyard.”
“Do you really believe this or are you actually high right now?” The other frat brother asked. “I’m honestly starting to worry about you...”
“Ha!” Josh laughed. “Trust me, when I do become governor—after they expunge my record for all the shit I did freshman year, making weed legal in America will be my number one goal.”
“Will cocaine be your number two?” I asked flatly.
“Screw you, Carter. Hear me out…”
I didn’t bother. I shut my eyes and leaned back in my seat.
Never agree to help Josh with a party again. Never again…
“Look…” one of the frat guys whispered. “I would totally fucking hit that.”
“Hell yeah.” The other one laughed. “Easily a twenty out of ten.”
“Nineteen point five…Half a point deducted for the smart ass mouth. I ran into her on our campus once.”
“We’re talking about looks, not attitude.”
“In that case, I’ll round up to fifty…”
The two of them laughed and I opened my eyes to see just who they were talking about, but the only woman I saw—the woman who was walking toward us, was Ari.
Dressed in a pink tank top and jeans, she was mindlessly walking—not a care in the world. Her long brown hair was waving in the wind, and for some reason I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
Nearly all of the men who were passing her by on the other side of the marina seemed to feel the same. They were doing double takes or staring at her in admiration for several seconds at a time.
“Yep…” one of the guys in the back said as she turned around to yell something over her shoulder. “And I would definitely hit it from the back.”
Normally, I would’ve told him to shut the hell up, but my mind was currently perplexed by Ari—wondering why I’d never given her much of a second glance before today. Even in fourth grade (metal mouth included), I’d always thought she was cute—pretty even, but the woman walking toward us was more than that. Much more than that…
In fact, the closer she got, the more her features stood out in the sunlight: Plump and perfect lips, almond shaped eyes in a light hue of hazel, and a smile that was driving her backseat admirers somewhat insane.
What the fuck…
When she finally made it to the car, she tugged on her door’s handle and groaned. “Really, Josh? I know this was you. Are you doing this to make a point?”