Make It A Sweet, Sweet Goodbye

Chapter 22 : I Made A Few Mistakes

“You know, these fortunes in the fortune cookies are never accurate.” Jack said, holding his fortune out in front of him and reading it. 

“Why?” I asked him, using my chopsticks to pick a piece of broccoli out of one of the takeout containers. 

It was now 8:30, and we had ordered Chinese food from a local restaurant and had them deliver it to the venue. We also had set up our ‘camp,’ so to speak. We laid down 2 of the comforters, which were huge, I might add, and were going to use those as our mattresses, even though they weren’t that thick. Then we’d use the other 3 comforters to cover up with. We were using flashlights, lanterns, candles, and iPhones to see, because the lights in the venue weren’t on anymore. 

“Because here’s what my fortune says: ‘Travel is not in your future, your life will be filled with rest and peace.’ That’s a load of bull sh.it right there, considering we leave for fucking Europe soon!” He said, and we all laughed. 

“Rian, what does yours say?” Jack asked. Rian broke open his fortune cookie and pulled the little slip of paper out of it. 

“Mine says ‘Your heart is telling you what your mind cannot.’ What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” He asked, and we laughed again. 

“Okay Alex, your turn.” Rian said, tossing him a fortune cookie. He caught it and ripped open the package, taking the paper out of the cookie. “’Money is not going to be an issue when you grow old.’ Well, it looks like mine may come true. If the band does well, my future’s set. I’d be an old man chilling in a solid gold bathtub.” He said, laying down the fortune in front of him and picking up another cookie. 

“Okay Lei, let’s see how much bull shit yours says.” He said, tossing me the cookie, and I smirked. 

I popped the plastic package open and broke the cookie in half, popping part of it into my mouth. I pulled out the small piece of paper and swallowed the cookie, turning the paper over in my hand so the writing was facing up. 

“’You’ll soon rekindle an old flame.’” I read aloud, and my eyes narrowed a little. We all stayed silent for a few seconds; we all knew who this fortune would refer to if it really came true. 

After the few seconds, I broke the silence. “That’s a load of bull shit. Just like Jack’s.” I said, tossing my fortune into the middle. I could see Zack relax a little bit next to me, and I picked up a fortune cookie and scooted over to him. 

“Your turn.” I said, handing it to him. He took it in his hand, smiling at me, and opened up the package, pulling the cookie out and breaking it in half. 

He pulled out the paper, and unfolded it, looked at it and then laughed. 

“What?” I asked. 

“It says; ‘You’re in need of a day at the gym.’” He read aloud, and we all burst out laughing. 

“Oh yea, I definitely need a day at the gym. Here Jack, I think this one was supposed to be yours.” Zack said, tossing the paper over to Jack and laughing. 

“Hey! I resent that!” Jack yelled, which made us laugh even harder. 

Once we finished eating, Zack and I gathered up all the empty food containers and made our way out back to the dumpster. The walk was relatively quiet until we got outside. 

Just as I had finished throwing the containers into the dumpster, Zack grabbed my waist from behind, spinning me around so I was facing him and placing him lips against mine. It was sudden, but gentle. 

I let a little laugh escape me as I pulled away, and I turned, looking up at him. “What was that for?” I asked, a little breathless. 

“Just to assure myself that you’re still mine.” He said, looking down and playing with my hands. It took me a second, but I caught on to what he was saying.