Morose

Chapter Three

I pull into the parking lot of a gas station after work. I head straight to the back of the store. I grab two bottles of pink moscato and carry them up to the counter.

"Do you want chocolate today?" The cute cashier guy smiles at me. Obviously, I come in for cold wine and chocolate during my time of the month often enough that he remembers.

"Not this week." I laugh.

I lean over and eye the bowls in the glass cabinet. Wyatt's birthday is this month. I think about getting one for him.

"I quit smoking weed about a month ago," Cute cashier guy says as he notices me examining them.

"Oh yeah? Why?" I smile at him.

He smiles back. "It messes with REM sleep. I wasn't getting a deep enough sleep. I've been sleeping so much better since I quit. I'm just now getting my appetite back too."

"Doesn't it make people hungry?"

"Well yeah but I smoked so much that I wouldn't be hungry unless I was high. Since I quit I'm finally eating like normal again."

I swipe my credit card and press the buttons. He bags up my wine bottles.

"What's your name?" I ask him. I don't know what's gotten into me because I'm not usually that bold. He looks a bit young with a head of messy brown hair and slight stubble along his jawline, but he is good looking.

"Travis."

Of course, it is. I want to roll my eyes but I smile because he's still cute, regardless of what his name is.

He holds out his hand to me, like we're meeting for the first time and I notice the tattoos on his knuckles but I can't make out what they say.

"Lena." I say and shake his hand. It's surprisingly rough but it's nice. "Good night, Travis."

"Night, Lena."

On the car ride home, I call Wyatt. He's off on Mondays so I figure he's either doing nothing or out with his soccer buddies.

"Lena?" He answers loudly. There's so much noise in the background.

"Hey. You sound busy." I say.

"Yeah. I'm out with Ben and Luke. We're having a few beers and watching a game at Chuck's."

"Oh! Okay, well-"

"It's Lena. Yeah, she went to school with us." I hear Wyatt telling his friends. Then he says, "Do you want to come by?"

"Me?" I ask with raised eyebrows. Wyatt never invites me to hang out with him and his friends.

"Yeah, that's her. She's cute, I guess." He says. I giggle. "Will said that too."

"Said what?" I say.

"That I don't appreciate you enough. You've always been a good friend to me." Wyatt definitely had a bit to drink. Then he says, "So you coming or what?"

"Oh, definitely. I can't pass up this opportunity to hear you say nice things to me." I laugh.

"Plenty of guys are nice to you, Lena. You just ignore them for the bad guys."

"I'm hanging up now."

He laughs.

Ben, Luke, and Wyatt are sitting at a high-top table near a wall. It's small and there's plates of wings and lots of beer. Luke taps Wyatt on the shoulder when he notices me and Wyatt waves me over.

I'd met Luke before. He looks exactly as I remember him from high school except he no longer has a red mohawk down the middle of his brown hair. He smiles at me and I immediately notice the gold grill on his bottom row of teeth. Not my thing but Luke is still a good looking guy.