Weathered Love

SUSPICION

"DAS BOOT!" someone yelled from the kitchen. This party had gotten out of hand. Ivan was right, I had to be extra careful to make sure I didn't get body-slammed by any of the completely inebriated people that had invaded our house.

I'd already had two drinks and was just wading through the crowd, trying to avoid getting bumped into while I cleaned what mess I could to minimize the clean-up we'd inevitably face once the house had cleared out.

"IVY!" I heard someone yell. It was Albert, and he was a whole new level of drunk I'd never encountered before.

"Hey Al," I lightly greeted, not wanting to interact too much with him. I didn't want him getting the impression that there was anything between us.

"You lookin' fine Ivy," he slurred to me. I knew he was too far gone at that point, if he was complimenting my appearance.

"Do you want some water?" I offered. He vigorously shook his head.

"Have a drink with me," he insisted.

"I'm good," I tried to politely decline. He put his arm around my shoulders and led me to the drink table. I didn't have the strength to fight him off, but I figured I didn't have to take a drink once we actually got to the table either.

"Here," Albert said, handing me what I assumed was fruit punch and vodka.

"Really Al, I'm not in the mood," I tried to excuse. But he wouldn't take "No" for an answer and shoved the cup in my hand. He then tried to push the cup up to my lips. "OK, I'll take a drink, just don't rush me," I insisted, hoping he would stop trying to get me to drink and I could pretend to sip on the poisonous concoction.

It did look tempting though. I thought about it and wondered how much damage I could really do to my one kidney if I had just one more drink. As I contemplated and slowly brought the cup to my lips, I saw a hand place itself between the cup and my lips.

"Hey Al," Ivan stated, turning to look at Albert who still had an arm around my shoulders, "I think Lorenzo's looking for you. Something about a beer pong challenge or something," Ivan stated. Albert looked slightly angered, let go of me, and walked away. Ivan then turned to me. "You said I could stop you," he reminded me.

"Indeed I did," I responded, relieved he came along when he did. Ivan gingerly took the cup out of my hand and directed me away from the alcohol table. I spent the rest of the night sitting on the couch and just chatting with Ivan. We talked about everything and nothing at the same time. I couldn't remember the last time we just talked for the sake of having conversation. We talked about our excitement over the coming semester, dreams we hoped we'd fulfill, plans to be famous artists in the future... We were so ready to take over the world together, and no one was going to stand in our way.

Before I knew it, the party had dwindled to the few that were too drunk to actually make it home safely on their own and were going to crash on our couch and floor. It was 4:00 am at this point. "I can't believe we just talked the whole time," I stated in shock. I wasn't even the least bit tired.

"I can believe it," Ivan stated. "We used to do it all the time. It's us against the world, remember?" I smiled. Of course I remembered.

"I guess I should go to bed," I began to yawn. I walked up to my room, Ivan close behind to make sure I made it to my room safely. "Goodnight," I yawned again.

"Goodnight kiddo," Ivan teased. I didn't have the energy to give him a death glare so I settled for a very weak smack on his arm. I noticed his sweet chuckle and smiled to myself. I needed this conversation. I entered my room and painstakingly put on my pajamas. I was just about to hop into bed when I got a knock at the door. I was surprised Ivan was on the other side of the door.