BETTER OFF

18

LOGAN

I text Kenzie that I'm here, like she told me to. She didn't want to wake up her roommates so she meets me on the drive way.

"Your 'hippie crasher' ma'am," I hand her the blue tube, bowing to her.

She's still wearing my clothes.

"Thank you!" She smiles with a small laugh. She takes the tube, rocking on her heels, "Uhm, do you wanna come in? We can share it?"

Yes! But instead I casually answer.

"Sure," I smile at her, "I picked up one of my own so, we could each have one."

"Or split them both," she smirks excitedly.

"I like the way you think," I nod at her, stepping up beside her. I wrap my arm across her shoulders, just to test the water. She doesn't flinch she just looks up at me.

"Do you have the other joint?" She asks.

"No," I laugh and immediately turn around to grab it from my car. Kenzie laughs behind me.

We make our way inside and to Kenzie's room, which is the exact opposite of mine. She's got a freshly made bed, all done up with light green sheets and comforter, she's even got multiple decorative pillows. There's lights hanging like curtains along the wall at the head of her bed and a big window on the connecting wall right above the length of her bed.

"Uhm, do you want a water? Or we have soda and maybe beer." Kenzie offers, digging something out of her bedside table.

"Just water, please," I nod watching her pull out a small pink lighter.

"Here's this," she hands me the lighter.

"I also have this," she bends down to open another drawer. Some things clang into her drawer but then she pops up with a rolling tray. "It's the closest thing I've got to an ash tray."

"You have a rolling tray?" I question as she sets it on the table.

"My sister used to make me roll because I have like no nails and she always had them done," she shrugs before she walks out of the room saying, "I'll be right back, but make yourself comfortable."

I slowly sit down on the bed and take in my surroundings. Across the from where I am is a TV hung up on the wall and a dresser.

I look to my right and there's a desk with a mirror, I assume that's where she gets ready. On the door of her closet is a collage of photos. My curiosity gets the best of me and I get up to look at them closer.

There's a lot of photos of Kenzie and her sister, Macey, and there's a few of the UCLA dance team. And a couple of her and her Dad, but none with her just her Mom, her Mom only shows up in one Christmas family photo.

Theres also just random photos Kenzie has taken of things, like trees, flowers, beaches, random signs. 

It's easy to tell which photos are newer thanks to her cutting her once waist long hair to her shoulders. Side by side are one of her with long hair and then one with her short hair. She's got the same pretty round face and big smile on her face but she looks more relaxed in the newer photo with her arm around some girl I don't know. In the photo with her Dad at her graduation she looks stiff.

"I grabbed some snacks too," Kenzie's voice pulls my eyes away from the collage. 

"Did you spot yourself?" She asks with a smirk, setting everything down on her bed and joining me by the wall.

"I'm on here?"

"Not on purpose," she scoffs but I can tell she's just being sarcastic, "You're in the background of," her voice trails off as she spots the photo.

"This one," she points to a picture of her and Macey at a school assembly and there I am standing on the bleachers in the background while the twins smile big in matching green and gold cheer uniforms.

"Uhm," I tear my eyes away from the wall and turn to look at her. She's back by her bed moving the snacks to the table beside her bed, clearing us a place to sit.

"When did you start smoking?" I ask because I've been curious since she called me earlier.

"After the accident. I used to just take these CBD gummies that helped with the pain and they helped get me through practice," she steps onto her bed to open the window, "Sometimes Mace and I would share a preroll or whatever Brandon's cousin could get us," she explains stepping off the bed, picking up the little blue tube.

"Now, I normally try to avoid it during the season," she pops the lid of the container, looking at the tube, "But I just need to relax and coach doesn't care if a small trace of weed shows up on our drug tests, we're in California, she knows it's going to happen."

I walk across the room as she slide the joint out of its chamber and into her palm. I pick up the lighter from the bed.

"Well then let's relax," I pick up the joint. A small smile pulls on her lips as I place the joint in her fingers and light the end.

I watch her put the filter to her lips. I taking a few steps back, I don't need to be that close to her but I like being that close to her. I watch her close her eyes as she takes in her first drag of the night.

"Wanna watching something?" Kenzie asks, slowly opening her eyes before she picks up the remote from her bedside table. She takes one more short hit before she passes me the joint. I take a drag off it as I sit on the edge of her bed.

She looks over at me and I just shrug blowing the smoke out towards the window.

She rolls her eyes with a huff as she sits down beside me while the TV in front of us powers on.

I hand her the joint back and she takes a long inhale before handing it back. She moves some of her pillows from the head of the bed to build a little soft backing for us to sit back on.

"Don't sit on the edge like a freak,
get comfortable," Kenzie says as I take a drag.

"Sorry," I chuckle blowing out the smoke and simultaneously starting up a coughing fit.

"Don't drop the joint!" Kenzie laughs as  she practically dives forward to rescue the said joint from my hands as I keep coughing. But she's laughing and then my coughs turn into laughs. 

"I'm okay by the way," I'm still laughing as I scoot back on the bed.

"I was trying to get you water but also make sure you didn't drop that and start a fire!" Kenzie says handing me a water bottle.

I nod, "Well good job."

I open the water and taking a sip while Kenzie takes more short hits sitting beside me as she scrolls through Hulu for something to watch.

"27 Dresses?" She asks a little while later, turning to me.

"Never heard of it," I look down at our hands as we exchange the joint from my hands to her's.

"We're watching it. You'll probably hate it but I don't care," she clicks the movie and it starts up.

I shake my head laughing as she hands me the joint again, it's almost gone.

"Finish it, we'll light the other one after this movie depending on how we feel."

And we do, but after giggling our way through the whole first movie. Who said a man can't also enjoy a good rom-com?