The Risks

September: Chapter 32

"Hey, there they are!" Chris called as Parker and I walked toward them with our breakfast trays. 

"Hey, Chris," Parker said as we sat.

Chris looked to me. "How ya feeling, princess?"

I glared at him. How did I feel? I'd only had three beers and I felt like shit. I didn't feel like drinking again for a long time.

"Don't call me 'princess'," I grumbled, eliciting a few chuckles from Chris and a few of his buddies who were sitting with us.

"Thanks for playing last night," Hannah said to Parker as we started into our oatmeal and fruits. "I can't tell you how much it meant to Wes."

"Haven't seen the kid that happy since his dad passed," Chris added, glancing past us to a table further away where Wes was sitting with a girl who looked to be around the same age as him. "And we haven't heard any music since then. David was a damned good musician."

"David?" I repeated. "The same David that?..."

"Caused the Incident in the elementary?" Chris guessed since I couldn't get the full question to come out. "Yup. That's the one."

"He took it really hard," Hannah told us in a hushed tone. "Still is, I suppose." 

I watched Wes and the girl. She had dark skin and a head full of dark, tight curls. She was listening to something; one ear bud was in her left ear while the other hung loose so that she could hear Wes who was sitting beside her. Her brown eyes were on Wes until she noticed us looking in their direction. She said something to him and he looked up at us while she stuck the other ear bud in her ear. Parker waved him over. He glanced back to the girl, told her bye as he stood with his lunch tray and came to sit with us.

"Hey, guys," he said with a shy smile.

We all greeted him together, but with different phrases.

"So how's Abby doing?" Chris teased.

Wes's cheeks turned a vibrant pink and it was obvious that he had a crush on the girl.

"Leave him alone, Chris," Hannah admonished.

"Yeah," Wes muttered. "Shut up, Chris."

I leaned across Parker. "I think she likes you," I told Wes quietly.

His blue eyes widened, his mouth popping open slightly. "Really? I don't know..."

"She took out her headphones so she could talk to you. That's a pretty big deal," I assured him.

He leaned back in his chair, grinning.

"So, you still up for some lessons?" Parker asked him.

"Oh! Y-yeah," Wes answered, looking surprised. "Definitely."

"When's a good time for you?"

"Um. Well I have classes until one every day, then I help Maggie and Carla and everyone make supper. But I don't have anything going on other than that."

"How about Tuesdays and Wednesdays? Two to three?" Parker suggested.

Wes smiled, causing two dimples to form in his cheeks. "Yeah, that sounds cool. Awesome."

My smile faded. It was kind that Parker was offering to give Wes guitar lessons, but I worried that he might be getting too comfortable here. I'd been putting off talking to him about what our next step should be. I'd already decided that I didn't think we should stay here. Now he was making plans, setting a schedule, getting comfortable.

 "Hey," I whispered to him. "Can we talk? Alone?"

"Sure," he said.

"Either you're in trouble or your morning is about to get a whole lot better," Chris commented.