Adventure in a Cup

The Guy

We cautiously pulled up to the wood house on the edge of a lake, pretty isolated in the forest. Jay put the car into park and we both just sat in silence.

"Are we going in?" Jay asked me looking at the peculiar house.

"Yup," I unbuckled my seat belt, Jay following suit. We got out of the car and made our way to the front door, which was composed of rustic looking cedar. I slowly knocked on the door, already noticing the faint rumble of music and people talking, allowing more nerves to build up in my already nervous stomach.

"Hey!" A guy I'd never seen before swung open the door revealing the crowded inside of the house.

Animal pelts were hanging on the wood panelled walls making me feel like I was back at summer camp. I couldn't decide if I was at someone's summer cabin or if this was actually someone's house. "I don't know you guys, do I?" The guy said without making eye contact. He was now using the door as a crutch, beer spilling out of his red solo cup.

"Tate invited us. We're not really from here." Jay explained.

"Well in that case, come on in!" He opened the door a little bit more so Jay and I could squeeze through, into a swarm of people. We pushed our way into the kitchen, observing the scenery, looking to see if we could find the guy from the coffee shop, or maybe Tate. Jay grabbed a beer of the counter and held it out to me.

"You might as well try to enjoy yourself." I reluctantly grabbed it from him, still feeling uncomfortable in my new surroundings. Regardless, i took the first of many sips for the night.

I was taking what should be the last shot in the game of beer pong, despite the fact i could hardly stand straight, the small white ball found its way into the cup, and the fellow drunken people around me cheered, Jay shaking his head from the opposite corner of the table, trying to hold back a little smirk. At this point the operation had become de railed, but nether the less, i was having fun. After a long embrace with my beer pong partner, i made my way over to Jay whom was laughing at my slow motion victory walk. "I really thought you would have learnt your lesson after last time." he laughed steadying me by grabbing my shoulder.

"Ya know, life to short." I muttered, taking one final sip from a red solo cup before jay grabbed it from my hands.

"I think thats enough." He threw the cup into a trash bag hung on a chair.

"I have to ask you something one more time. Why did you come here with me? I mean, i get if your bored or something, but like, you've kind of gone to an extreme here." His face quickly turned red and less happy then before, as if id said the wrong thing.

"Stop pretending like it isn't obvious." He looked down at his shoes as if there was something wrong with them.

"What?" I said, trying to gain eye contact before I felt a hand grab my shoulder, a little bit too friendly to be a stranger. I swung around to see Tate standing with another guy only faintly familiar.

"Hey Mable and Jad," Tate said enthusiastically, Jay shrugging off the fact that he got his name wrong. "This is Jessie!" A tall brown haired guy was standing beside Tate looking equally uncomfortable and confused. "You know, the guy from the photo." Me and Jay exchanged looks, not really sure how to proceed.

"Um... Hi." Jessie said, trying to start the conversation.

"Hi," I said back figuring out what to say. "One time at this coffee shop you wrote a message on my cup, and, I just wanted to know why." Confusion became even more apparent on his face.

"What? Where?" Jessie asked.

"At Readers," I said back waiting for a response.

"Oh, wait, that wasn't supposed to be your cup." He started to realize. "I thought that was my girlfriend's coffee, it was our anniversary."

Jay and I stood silent for a second, realizing how anti climatic it was. I don't know if it was the alcohol, or just the fact that it was funny, but Jay and I burst out into laughter. "I'm, going to leave." Jessie uncomfortably turned around disappearing into the party.

"Do you want to head out now?" Jay caught his breath, trying to calm down.

"Sure. It's probably really late."

"Yeah it's almost twelve." We navigated out the front door, and towards Jay's truck where he helped me in, then got in himself, starting the ignition.

We drove in silence, rolling down all the windows admiring the almost summer weather. After a little while, Jay broke the silence, "So what now." I sat up turning my attention to him.

"What do you mean?" He looked back at me, before pulling over to the side of the highway, putting the car into park.

"Mable, I was serious about what I was saying before. Originally, this was sort of a plot to get to know you. And yes, I know that the kiss at that party was just to make another guy jealous, but it felt so real to me. Maybe I'm just stupid, but a part of me thought that by finding this guy, you would get the closure you needed to move on." Hi eyes already looked as though they were full of hurt, as if he was expecting rejection. I turned towards him, realizing what was in front of me, and leaned in for a kiss.