Dani laughs. “I know, but I always wanted to say that. Seriously, run!” She flies by, and I give her the finger.
“What the fuck do you think I’ve been doing?” I mumble.
Samy, Apolo, and Joshua also pass me. Oh no, them too? I’m officially the last one. I’m about to panic when I see Ares come back for me. He grabs my hand to literally pull me after him. The dogs are barking loudly behind me, and I don’t even dare look.
How did we end up being chased by four dogs? Let’s just say alcohol and bad decisions played a part—with emphasis on bad decisions.
I had the bright idea to continue the celebration after the party at Ares’s house was over. My idea was to drink at my house and listen to music, but, of course, that wasn’t enough. Dani, my so-called best friend, came up with the wonderful idea to show us a lake she found last week while jogging or whatever. So, obviously, all of us with alcohol on the brain bravely let her bring us there. But what Dani didn’t know is that the lake isn’t open to the public because it’s not for the public. It’s private property, part of a ranch guarded by dogs.
And that’s how we ended up running for our lives.
With Ares’s help, I jump the fence—the fence that should have warned us initially that it wasn’t public land—and we leave the dogs on the other side. I fall to my knees dramatically, my heart pounding in my ears, in my head, everywhere.
“I’m . . .” I can only breathe heavily for a moment. “I’m going to die.”
Ares, Marco, and Apolo look like they haven’t just run for their lives. They’re not even sweating. To my relief, Dani and Samy are a few steps away from me, grunting and breathing just as heavily as I am. And Joshua, well, let’s just say Joshua is not in his right mind.
Samy can barely speak when she says: “I’m going to kill you, Daniela.”
“I . . .” Dani raises her hand in lieu of speech.
“That was . . . unbelievable!” Joshua says. We all give him a what-the-fuck look. He runs his hand over his face. “It was like a video game, live play, the adrenaline, wow.”
Okay, there’s a chance that some of us are still very drunk. Dani laughs out of nowhere. Scratch that possibility; we’re all still drunk. Joshua’s sweet brown eyes fall on me.
“And I have to say, if this were a video game, you’d be so dead, Raquel. I would never choose your character to play.”
For the second time that night I give the finger to someone. Alcohol is making me rude. I raise my eyes to the sky, surprised at how clear it’s getting.
“Oh shit. Is that the sun?” I ask. Dani laughs again, and Joshua joins in. Apolo follows my gaze.
“Oh, it’s dawn.”
At what point did the night pass us by? Alcohol made us lose track of time.
Marco watches Samy, and the adoration is obvious in his eyes: he’s so in love. He and Samy are dating now, and I’m glad. Samy deserves to be happy, and he’s a good person. My eyes fall on Apolo, who’s looking at Daniela discreetly. I wonder if there’s hope for them or not.
The delicious new summer weather settles against my skin, warming it. It’s so nice to be outside like this with no coats or jackets. I missed this.
“It’s a perfect day to go to the beach,” Dani says.
“You’re right, I wish we could go.” Samy pouts. Joshua paces back and forth. He gets very hyper when he drinks.
“Why don’t we go?” he asks. We all turn our heads toward him, and he continues. “Ares and Marco are sober, and we can all fit in their cars.”
“Don’t go around making decisions for others,” Dani says, hitting him with her elbow, but Ares smiles.
“No, I think it’s an excellent idea,” he says to Joshua, and Apolo nods in support. “Yeah, this is probably the last time we’ll all be together like this.”
While Dani, Joshua, and I will be attending the same college, I can’t say the same for the others, including Ares. It hurts so much every time I think about it that I’ve pushed it to the back of my head. It’s as if refusing to think about it makes it less real.
Joshua raises his hands in the air.
“To the beach, everybody!”
I can’t help but smile. His enthusiasm is contagious, and I’m so happy to see him happy, especially after everything that happened to him. I was thrilled when I found out that he was going to attend UNC with me. I want to be close to him, not only because I want to take care of him, but because I want to be there if at some point he relapses or feels lonely. Depression isn’t something that can be cured overnight. It takes time, and there may be situations that could lead to a relapse, and if that happens, I want to be there for him.
Samy narrows her eyes, looking behind me.
“Is that Gregory?”
I turn around. Sure enough, Gregory is walking toward us with a bottle of what looks like Jack Daniel’s in his hand. But what . . . ?
“Finally, I’ve found you guys!” he shouts, approaching us. He told us he would catch up with us, but that was about an hour ago, and when he didn’t show up, we assumed he wasn’t coming.
“How the fuck did you get here?” Marco asks, laughing. Gregory shakes his phone.
“Uber.”
Marco pats him on the back. “You’re like a damn cockroach. It’s so hard to get rid of you.”
Gregory acts offended. “A cockroach? Really?”
“Haven’t you heard that cockroaches would survive radiation from a nuclear blast?” Samy intervenes. “It’s a compliment to your endurance.”
Marco smiles at her, looking pleased, but says nothing. I have noticed that, although he is not very expressive and affectionate with her, his look says it all. I find it sweet when a cold boy falls in love.
“I don’t care,” Gregory shrugs. “At least I got here, and I think I heard someone say beach. Count me in.”
Joshua looks at Ares, Apolo, Gregory, and Marco, and mutters: “Wow, you guys are incredibly handsome.”
We all laugh, and Gregory winks.
“Single at your command.”
Joshua gives him a tired look. “No, I mean you guys are the first male friends I’ve ever had, and you’re too good-looking; this isn’t going to work.”
“You’re breaking up with me,” Gregory says, pretending to run out of air. “And we haven’t even started?”
Joshua ignores him. “I mean, if I go out with you, I won’t get girls.”
I turn my gaze to him and grab his cheeks.
“You’re handsome, too, Yoshi.”
I can feel Ares’s heavy gaze on me, and I slowly lower my hands.
Marco grimaces. “Yoshi? Like the turtle in Mario Kart?”
Apolo laughs a little, but I give them a stern look.
“It’s not a turtle. It’s a dinosaur.”
Gregory grabs the bridge of his nose. “Can we focus on going to the beach?”
Samy nods. “The cockroach is right, it’s a two-hour drive, so let’s go.”
Dani worries about the logistics of the affair, and I admire her for thinking about it when we have been dawn-drinking.
“We don’t have bathing suits or food,” she notes.
Gregory clears his throat. “As my grandpa would say, ‘no matter what you lack, you will find it somewhere along the way.’”
“Didn’t your grandpa leave your grandmother for a woman he met on the road?” Marco asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Exactly, he lacked love and found it along the way. Hey, stop ruining my cool moments.”
With Marco and Gregory arguing, we started walking to where we left the cars.
Time to travel.
Ares is driving with the window on his side open. One arm rests on it and his other hand is on the steering wheel. He’s shirtless, wearing only a backward cap and sunglasses. The sun streams through the window and slides over his skin, highlighting the definition of every muscle in his torso.
Virgin of Abdominals, why did you bless him this much? Why do you bring such a being into this world? So that poor mortals like me must suffer every time we see him?
Gregory’s head appears in the middle of our seats.
“I feel like the son back here,” he says. “Mom, I want booby.”
I tap him on the forehead with my fingers.
“Very funny.”
“Child abuse,” he says, moving to the other seat. He grabs Ares’s shoulder and shakes him. “Dad, aren’t you going to do anything?”