Morose

Chapter Five

"You're here!" Mara squeals as I walk in through her front door, holding a bottle of rum.

I grin and give her a one-armed hug as she approaches. I shyly wave at her girlfriend and walk up to Reina, who's sitting at Mara's round dining room table, giving her a hug around the shoulders.

"Hey beautiful!" Carmen calls from the kitchen. Beside her stands a tall, tan man, who nods at me briefly before looking back down at the cutting board in front of him. I'd met him before at Mara's house, so I know they're friends. I just can't seem to remember his name.

"I brought rum," I say, holding up my bottle of Bacardi Gold.

"We thought you'd bail," Reina chuckles. "A day-drunk nap and meeting two new people were good enough reasons for you to ditch us."

I laugh along with them. These girls know me way too well. I didn't let my shyness get in the way of coming by to socialize tonight.

I go around the kitchen wall and place the rum on the counter, right next to where Mara's friend is chopping up zucchini. He puts the knife down and wipes his hands on a towel.

"I'm Trevor." He nods and holds out his hand for me to shake.

"I'm Lena." I smile, and as he clasps his fingers around my hand, my breath catches. I look up at him and his smile reaches his eyes.

He pulls out a tall glass from Mara's cabinet and hands it to me with a chuckle. "I didn't want you to struggle to reach it off the second shelf."

I giggle, and not in a silly school-girl way either. It was genuinely funny but also cute. "Thanks."

I make myself a rum and Coke, and take it with me to the dining table. Carmen and Reina are sitting around the table picking at a meat and cheese tray. Mara, who is far from tech-savvy, is struggling with getting her Alexa to play music off her phone. Her girlfriend pushes herself off the couch and goes over to help her before she gets too frustrated.

Carmen pats the seat beside her and I plop into it, taking long sips of my drink to try to ease my shy nerves.

The music starts and Trevor walks out to the porch with the chopped veggies to start grilling them. Mara and her girlfriend join us at the table and Mara pulls out a pack of cards. She begins shuffling them and says, "Let's play Spades."

"Um..." I begin to say.

"Oh wait! Lena, this is Candace!" Mara grabs hold of her girlfriend's arm as she introduces us. "Candace, Lena. She's the librarian at my school."

I feel my face get hot with shyness. I turn to look out at the porch. Trevor's back is to the sliding glass doors as he grills.

Reina chuckles and puts her hand over mine on the table.

Candace smiles at me and holds out her hand for me to shake. "Hi Lena. Nice to meet you. I've officially met Mara's whole gang now."

I shake her hand quickly and pick up my drink again for a couple more big gulps.

The porch door slides open and Trevor walks in. Seeing us gathered around the table with the deck of cards out he says, "Don't start Spades without me! It won't take long for the veggies to be done."

"I don't know how to play." I pipe up.

"See? We won't start yet," Mara tells Trevor. "I'll give her a run down of how to play."

Everyone is grabbing burgers and hot dogs from the kitchen and making their plates while Mara sits with me at the table, trying to explain the game to me. I'm a visual learner so I struggle to follow her words as she describes the rules. I finish my rum and coke, probably way too quickly, and Mara sees my eyebrows scrunched together as she finishes talking.