Until Now

Underage Drinking

   "What am I supposed to do?" I questioned, looking up at Hallie with wide eyes. Her smile comforted me as she rested her head against my shoulder. 

   "I'm not sure, Mace. I'm really just not sure."

   "I like them both."

   "Do you, though?" she questioned, standing up and glancing over her shoulder to where Violet had wandered toward the dressing rooms. 

    I hesitated before answering, my voice quiet, "What do you mean?"

   "Maisie, don't play dumb." Hallie laughed, and I was struck by just how beautiful she was. I hadn't seen her face light up that much in quite sometime. I figured this was related to my brother. My mind flashed to him, and I wondered if he'd have any advice about my current situation. 

    "I'm not playing dumb," I defended. "Of course I like them both, or we wouldn't have this problem."

   "If you really liked one," Hallie paused for a second to shout to Violet that one of the dressing rooms needed to be swept, "you wouldn't have this problem."

   "That isn't true," I stated. She only shrugged, patted my shoulder, and ran off to help Violet, leaving me and my thoughts alone. 

    If I had really liked Jack, I wouldn't have even considered starting anything with Logan, but if I really liked Logan, I wouldn't be hesitating. Jack and I had broken up; nothing was holding me back anymore. Part of me wanted to run across the street, jump into Logan's arms and kiss him. Another part of me wanted to drive to Jack's apartment and do the same to him. 

    It wasn't until I stood there, watching as Violet and Hallie danced around the store, each with brooms in their hands, that I realized that I wanted nothing more than to stay right here. I, without another second of hesitation, leaned over to flip on the radio, spinning the dial to turn the volume up all the way. I glanced back to the girls who had been startled enough to freeze, their eyes settling upon me. Each clutched their broom, holding still. 

    "Maisie?" Violet questioned, wide-eyed. 

    Without another word, I ran to them, pouncing at each of them. Each of my arms wrapped around their necks respectively, pulling them into a group hug. The music died down in between songs, but our laughter filled the silence of the room. As another song began to play, we broke from our hug, each spinning and dancing throughout the store. 

    That was the first night in a while that I felt free. I was happy. I was myself. I didn't need any boys in my life at that moment, and I especially didn't even need to be in a committed relationship. 

***

    "Hey, you." I heard a familiar voice come behind us as the two of us sat on bar stools, swinging our feet. The room was already spinning a little too much for my liking. We turned over our shoulders, Hallie's eyes lighting up as she beamed. 

   "Hi," she whispered as Tyler leaned down to press his lips against hers. 

   "Hey," I interrupted the kiss by poking Tyler's shoulder. 

    He pulled back, laughing. "Sorry, I didn't see you there, Maize." His cheeks turned red in embarrassment. He only had to take one good look at me to raise his eyebrows. "Are you drunk?"

   "No," I giggled, "Why would you think that?"

   "Maize, you're drunk." Tyler stated. His voice was stern. 

    "Oh, re-la-ax." 

   "Hallie," he looked toward her, "You let her drink?"

    Hallie only shrugged. I reached across the counter, grabbing the drink that was sitting in front of Hallie and tossing it back. While a small part of me was thankful for the opportunity to drink more, most of my intentions were to prevent Tyler from knowing that Hallie had drank some herself. While she was barely even tipsy, I knew Tyler was extremely against underage drinking, even if he had done a fair share of it himself. He grabbed the now-empty shot glass from my hand, slamming it down onto the wooden bar. 

    "No more." He pointed his accusingly at me. I rolled my eyes in response.  "You either, Hal," he whispered, resting his hand on her shoulder. 

   "You aren't the boss of her, Tyler," I barked. "Just because you're dating her now doesn't mean you can tell her what to do." I knew that while I was only trying to defend Hallie, it came off sassier than I had intended. Tyler turned to face me, his eyes staring straight into mine. 

     He kept his voice low when he spoke, "No more." I nodded in agreement. "Now where's Violet?" Hallie glanced around the crowded room. I only shrugged, which earned an eye roll from Tyler. 

    "Hallie, how much did you drink?" Tyler questioned, raising his eyebrows. 

   "I didn't drink anything."

   He narrowed his eyes accusingly, "I could taste it when I kissed you."

  She only shrugged, shaking her head. 

  "Maybe I was wrong. Let me see." He leaned forward and pressed his lips on hers once more. I was actually impressed by how smooth my brother was, but I fake-gagged along side of them. Hallie leaned back, shooting me a look. I only laughed. 

   "You don't have to lie to me." Tyler wrapped his arm around her shoulder and tugged her to lean into him. Hallie nodded, looking up at him. "So you drank?"

   "A little," she admitted. She turned to look at me, quickly, "But not as much as Maisie did!"

   "Ouch." I placed my hand over my heart, acting offended. "Way to throw me under the bus, Hals." 

   "Let's get you girls home," Tyler suggested, but I shook my head. 

   "You two can," I responded. "Bring Violet, too, would you? I don't want to look after her. I want to stay a little while longer." 

    "Maize, I'm not going to leave you here all alone." 

    "I won't drink anymore," I promised. "I'm not even that drunk. Please?"

    Tyler hesitated, looking toward Hallie. "What do you think?"

   "She's done it before," Hallie noted. Tyler raised his eyebrows, and I shot her a look. She clasped her hand over my mouth, blushing. When Tyler looked behind him to scan the room for Violet, she mouthed 'Sorry.' 

   "You sure you'll be okay?"  Tyler questioned. "You'll call me if you need to get home?"

   I promised. 

    Hallie stood up, stumbling a little, and Tyler wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her. The two of them moved across the crowded floor towards Violet, who we had spotted dancing mid-room, swaying to the live music. The three of them wandered toward the door, Tyler shooting me one last look over his shoulder before leading the girls out. 

    "Hey." 

   I turned toward the voice, finding that an attractive guy had settled onto the barstool beside me. 

   "Hi." I smiled. 

   "Can I buy you a drink?"

   I hesitated briefly, glancing back at the door to see if Tyler had left. I turned back, facing the boy beside me. His bright blue eyes held my gaze, waiting for my answer. 

   I nodded. "Sure. I'm Maisie."