Page 60 of From Air

Chapter Eighteen

JAYMES

I hide in the bedroom with Melissa while she does her hair and makeup. And I don’t leave the room until she does. She’s my buffer. I don’t trust myself alone with Fitz. Yet that’s precisely what’s on the agenda for this afternoon.

“I’ll be back by four to change my clothes for the party. What are you two going to do?” She hikes her purse strap onto her shoulder and eyes us while I sit on the opposite end of the sofa from Fitz.

“I’m thinking day drinking sounds like a solid plan.” I press my lips together.

She laughs as though I’m not serious.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Fitz adds unexpectedly.

Melissa shakes her head and opens the door. “There will be plenty of alcohol at the party tonight. Maybe stay sober until I get back. Byeee.”

The door clicks shut behind her.

We remain idle.

Silent.

Gazes pointed at our laps.

Finally, Fitz clears his throat. “If we stay here—”

“We’re going to spend all day having sex.”

“Pretty much. Were you serious about day drinking?” He glances over at me.

“Were you?”

“I’m not opposed to it.”

“I’ll get my purse.”

The nearby bars are not open before noon, but we find a café that serves mimosas. Several drinks in, I start spilling more about my life than Melissa did the previous night. Sadly, no amount of alcohol makes Fitz share his past.

By noon, we’re sitting in a booth at a sports bar, eating greasy burgers and drinking on-tap beer.

“Tell me more about Miguel,” Fitz says, relaxed in the corner of the booth, one hand holding his beer, his other hand on the table, fingers drumming it.

It takes me a few seconds to remember Miguel while I stack my fries like a ladder next to my half-eaten burger. “He was older. His dad worked nights, and his mom was a waitress who always worked.” My nose scrunches. “I don’t know when she slept. Do you suppose she was a vampire?” I giggle, feeling a warm buzz.

He gives me several slow blinks. Is he considering my question? Or is he too drunk to know whether it’s possible for Miguel’s mom to be a vampire?

“We had to be quiet so we didn’t wake his dad. And we had to be quick.” I snort. “I think he jizzed himself before he wiggled out of his pants because it only went partway in.” I hold up my finger and slowly bend it. “He was limp.”

Fitz continues to blink slowly—a blank expression.

“But I gave him a second chance the following week, and he did better. Popped the cherry.” I make a popping sound with my lips. “What about you? Did you have success on your first time?”

He narrows his eyes at my plate. “Wanna get out of here?”

“Where do you want to go? We shouldn’t drive.”

He stands and holds out his hand to me. “We don’t have a car.”

“That makes sense. I guess there will be no sobriety tests that involve you kissing me,” I mumble, taking his hand after scooting out of the booth.

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