Until Now

Chocolate Sauce and Booze

"Who's that?" Vi poked my shoulder impatiently. I shifted the phone to my other ear, shooting her a look. "Who is it?" She moved to stand in front of me, snapping her fingers. I turned, moving across the store. When I got to the counter, I tugged at a piece of paper, yanking it free from the pad of lined paper, a pink logo in the top center, the word Layla's printed under it. Violet scrambled over, her heels clinking across the tile. She leaned forward to rest her elbows on the counter.

Under "Layla's", I neatly printed a message on the lines. I purposely wrote slowly to taunt her. As I wrote each word, Violet recited them out loud, dragging out the last few letters until a new word appeared before her. "What's going on in here?" Hallie stuck her head around the corner from the back where she had been spending a good 20 minutes so far helping a woman find the perfect pair of jeans. So far, no luck.

"Maisie's being a bitch!" Vi growled, finishing the rest of the message in her head, and crossing her arms.

"What's that say?" Hallie hesitantly asked, making her way to the counter, making short stops on the way to adjust the clothes that weren't as neatly folded as she'd like. When the clothes lived up to her standards, she lifted herself on the counter, dangling her tanned legs and pink flip flops over the edge. She took the paper from Vi's hand, reading it out loud: Stop bothering me, Vi. I'll tell you later, God.

I shifted my body around the counter, as Hallie gasped, "That bitch!" I rolled my eyes, flipping them both off as I left the store, the bells dinging as the door closed behind me. The breeze brushed my hair around my face. I was still listening to Tyler blab. "Tyler," I finally said when he took a breath for air, "Just let me talk to him. I'm at work."

"Sorry, Maize," I heard him call out behind him, "Jack! Come talk to Maisie!"

"What? That wasn't the deal, dude."

"Stop being a whiny baby and get your ass over here."

"I don't think--Hello?" I laughed to myself. This was just like most interactions between my brother and his roommate.

"Hi Jack."

"Sorry, Tyler just threw the phone at me, but I don't think that--"

"It's okay."

"Everything he told you was a lie. He's an ass, and he likes to make things up. I've been bothering him to get that checked. I'm convinced he has Compulsive Lying Disorder."

I could hear Tyler laughing in the background. I couldn't help but laugh. "Oh," I paused, enjoying his shyness, "Well he said you wants to take me out tonight."

"He lied," he said a little too fast.

"Oh, that's too bad. I thought it'd be fun,"

Giggles erupted around me in the late night air. There were a few people walking through the city, but yet I knew it wasn't them. I spun around, expecting to see the girls watching. Sure enough, the door was cracked, just enough that the bells didn't jingle, and both the girls were hanging out, eyes focused on me." "Oh, you did?" I smiled again at Jack's eagerness. You'd think for someone his age, with his personality and looks, he'd be used to girls wanting to go out with him.

"Yeah, it's too bad he lies." I stuck my tongue out at the girls, and they giggled again. I turned my back to them, focusing on the phone in my ear.

"Well, I mean, if that's something you'd like..." He trailed off, clearly embarrassed by my brother's interference.

"All right, pick me up?"