Private Ale

24 - Billie, You Should Sit Down

The rich smell of coffee beans hits my senses like a brick wall as I step into the heavily air-conditioned cafe. My hair is thrown up hastily in a messy bun and I feel slightly self-conscious of the fact that I have no makeup on. I get in line behind two men in business casual attire who are holding briefcases.

"What'll it be, miss?" The short, tan-skinned counter girl asks.

"I'll have four plain bagels with cream cheese and a small iced coffee."

"Alright, that'll be four dollars and twenty-five cents."

I hand her the money and then make my way over to the side of the store to fix my iced coffee. My brain feels slightly fuzzy from the last few nights. For whatever reason, I've been getting absolutely no sleep. My mind keeps me awake until almost four in the morning, racing with thoughts. I almost trip over my own two feet as I walk over to grab a cup and fill it with ice.

Billie and I have been officially 'dating' for the past two weeks now. And these past two weeks have probably been one of the best in my life. Almost every night, I sneak out to see Billie and it's a new adventure. Sitting on the abandoned bridge and talking about life. Going on romantic dinner dates in dumpy little restaurants. Smoking weed together and laying down to watch the stars. Vandalizing churches with spray paint. (I know, I know.) The other night, when I couldn't sleep, I called him on the phone and he convinced me to sneak out at two in the morning, so I sat on his living room couch and he played guitar for me until I fell asleep. I've never felt so... happy? Alive? It probably sounds so stupid, but it's the truth.

I realize I've been pouring the creamer into my coffee this whole time and now my iced coffee is a shade of off-white.

Damnit.

"Stella? Is that you?" I hear a sultry, feminine voice coming from behind me.

I turn around quickly and my purse knocks over the carton of creamer sitting on the counter, spilling it all over the floor.

"Jesus." I mutter under my breath, feeling my face get hot, as I search for napkins to soak up the mess. "Oh, hey... Erica, right?"

"Of course." She playfully winks at me, almost flirtatiously. "Here, let me help you."

She reaches over and grabs a big wad of napkins, soaking up all the creamer on the floor, and then wipes the remainder away.

"Thanks..." I stutter, "I'm so fucking klutzy. I'm running on like no sleep."

She chuckles, running a perfectly manicured hand through her mousey brown hair.

"I feel you, girlfriend. A lot of big changes have been happening in my life, and sleep is one of my last priorities at this point."

I smile warmly, pausing to reflect on how cold she seemed when I first met her when she interrupted Billie and I's date on the bridge. Today, she seems friendly and bubbly.

"I'm sure you can relate." She continues. "Being single for so long and finally finding a relationship, your life must be so different now. It's a big change."

I hesitate, but then reply, "I mean... well, yeah. I mean, I'm happy. So, um... Billie's great." I stutter, feeling scatterbrained.

"Yeah, ever since I left him he didn't seem to be doing so well, but I'm glad you make him happy. Maybe he's better now."

I cross my arms in front of my chest, squirming at the thought of Billie being with another girl in the past.

"Yeah, we're really happy." I reply defensively.

"Who are those extra three bagels for that you ordered?" She questions, twirling her hair around her long finger.

"My friends."

"Billie, Mike, and Tre?" She shoots back quickly.

"Yeah, anyway, I gotta go bring it over, I'm late anyway, but nice talking to you." I say, looking at the ground.

"I can come with, if you want. Did you drive here? I can give you a ride." She beckons, widening her smile.

"No really, it's fine," I reply, trying to hide my agitation, "I like walking on nice days like this. They only live a few streets down."

Her smile dims, "Alright, then. See you around, Sarah."

"Stella." I mutter inaudibly as I walk past her and out the door. "Was it just me or did that get weird?" I think aloud, as I quickly check behind me to make sure she wasn't there.

It's about noon so the sun is getting stronger. The warehouse is only a few blocks down, but feeling sticky and uncomfortable in the midday heat, I quicken my stride, panting a bit. I finally reach my destination and I pause on their porch, taking a moment to catch my breath. At this point, my iced coffee is more like lukewarm.

I knock and Mike opens the door.

"Hey, Stell. Oh great, bagels!" His face lights up. "Hey boys, wake up, Stella's here!"

"Woohoo!" Tre excitedly yells from his room upstairs. "Where's my pants?!"

A few moments later, they both come down and we gather around the living room.

"You guys want anything to drink? I'll fix it for you." I offer.

"I'll have some iced tea, it's on the top shelf in the fridge." Mike replies.

"Same for me." Tre jumps in.

"I'll have water, baby." Billie says in a husky tone, his voice still weak from just waking up. His blue hair is pointing in every direction from a terrible case of bedhead, but somehow it still looks good. He kisses my cheek as I get up to grab their drinks.

We lazily waste the day watching mindless cartoons and getting into deep conversations on menial topics. Tre brought out the weed and we all smoked up at around three, but now it's starting to wear off, since it's almost dinnertime.

We're in the middle of a very intense Monopoly game. Billie and I are one team and Tre and Mike are another.

"You guys can't keep buying all the good properties, you gotta save some for us or we'll never get ahead! Billie let me buy the boardwalk off you!"

"You can't do that, you moron!" Billie shoots back.

"You can do anything you want, America is a capitalistic free marketplace and we live in a democracy, damnit!" Tre crosses his arms.

"Tre, this is Monopoly, not real life." Mike reasonably replies.

Suddenly, we hear a loud knock on the door.

"That's probably the pizza guy." Billie says, escaping the tension. "I'll get it."

He swings the door open.

"Hey guys..." Erica shyly waves, peering into the living room.

My face starts to get hot in anger, but I hide my expression. Why does she think she can just keep showing up everywhere we go?

"I have something really important to tell you, Billie. It's the real reason why I moved back to town... you should sit down."

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so guys, I'm back! Also, if you've been a ghost reader I'd really appreciate if you'd leave a comment down below, anything helpful or what you think so far! It would mean the world to me because hearing back from you guys is what motivates me to write more and more.