Fallout Dreams

ava 05

"the night's all down here from hill."

gari-jean's slip of the tongue sent mia into a giggle-fit on the kitchen floor. "down HERE from HILL?"

ava grinned and shook her head. as the only sober girl, it was her job to mix the vodka with the tea and to pour it into six solo cups on the counter.

gari-jean draped herself on mia's arm. "girl, i love that you're a total slut."

"women don't call each other sluts," mia whined.

"don't give me that trigger-warning bullshit. if your vagina had a password, it'd be one-two-three-four."

"yeah, well at least i don't buy plan b at costco!"

gari lost it. she reached for the first full cup, missed, and laughed harder.

"hey!" dean shouted from the couch. "can we connect to these speakers?"

"you can try," ava replied, "but they're a little spotty."

mia added, "they hate country, psychedelic rock, and rap."

dean looked at himself then the guys at his side. "i guess that leaves the boys out!" he laughed at his own joke then went back to rolling a joint on the coffee table.

gari-jean regained enough composure to balance the drinks on a platter.

mia grabbed the first cup, shoved it in ava's hands, and whispered, "it's lite on the booze."

"i'll drink it later."

"now. you're NOT gonna be a buzzkill."

ava rubbed her thumbnail against her rippled pelvis, then snatched the cup and swallowed hard.

gari-jean moved in. "you gonna make a move, girl?"

ava glanced at nolan sitting between his friends. his eyes were fixed firmly on mia. "he's not interested."

gari shrugged. "i'll give ya thirty minutes to decide, then i'm going in." she grabbed the platter, sauntered as soberly as possible to the living room, and served the men like an obedient housewife.

"this is delicious," nolan said.

"family recipe." mia crossed her legs on the love seat beside gari-jean.

ava sat in the chair.

dean folded his baggie of weed, slipped it in his preppy shirt pocket, and downed the first half of tea. "these guys are the reason i'm becoming an alcoholic. gary taught me to like beer. nolan taught me to like wine... and i already liked hard liquor!"

mia cackled, drunk and desperate.

"this would be a great place for a party," gary said. "our frat house is epic, but—"

"—but the boys would love this vibe," dean added.

"my new besties are already throwing a party," gari-jean said, "but it'll be for the tri-delts." she turned to mia. "winning them over is gonna be cake!"

"greeks..." nolan muttered.

gari-jean fluttered her lashes. "you're not in a frat?"

"FRATERNITY," dean interrupted. "you don't call your country a cunt, so don't call my fraternity a frat."

she kept her gaze on nolan. "you're not in a fraternity?"

"no, ma'am," he said. "never saw the need."

"mmm... i won't hold it against ya." she winked.

dean traded his tea for the joint and muttered, "mia, mia, mia... missing in action." the snap of a lighter; the stench of skunk and freshly-mowed lawn.