Page 64 of Notes About Vodka

Half Latin, half Caucasian, Skipper was blessed with height as well as beautiful caramel skin and bright blue eyes.Even hungover, he’s still beautiful.

“Hey, Laura. Val, glad you came over, too!” Skipper says, his eyes a bit glazed but friendly. “You two need a hit of this,” he offers, holding out a joint.

I laugh. “Maybe later, Skip. Val and I are just going to relax for a bit.”

“Suit yourselves, this would help with that relaxing,” he says, plopping down on the couch and taking another drag. The room fills with the earthy, sweet scent of marijuana.

We settle in, and Val looks around our cozy, slightly chaotic living room. There are mismatched pillows on the couch, a stack of textbooks on the coffee table, and a few potted plants that Skipper insists help with the vibe.

“So, are you going to tell me what has you all upset, Laura?” Skip asks as he joins us in the living room, relaxing in an overly huge red arm chair.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I reply.

“Come on, does it have something to do with…”

“Skipper, just drop it already. I came home early so I wouldn’t have to think.” I should feel bad for snapping at Skip, but I don’t. I’m mentally exhausted.

Val strokes my back. “Hey, it’s okay. Skip, why don’t you go make us one to share.”

“Yeah, sure thing, Val,” Skipper says as he gets up and heads to his room.

Val pulls me into his side, “I really wish you would talk, I don’t like this clammed up Laura. But I get it, when you are ready, I have a really good ear for listening.”

“Thanks, honey,” I say as I look into his dark brown eyes.

“Honey?”

“Yeah, it’s a Southern thing.”

“Oh, I know, I just didn’t expect to hear you call me that.”

“Do you not like it?”

“Laura baby, I love it. I’ll be your honey and you can be my honeybee.”

“Stop it, you are so silly.” I gently slap Val’s chest.

Skip comes back in the room at that moment, grinning ear to ear as he waves a big, fat doobie in our faces. “Come on, Laura, let’s really relax.”

“Fine,” I say as I reach for the joint.

Lighting it, I take in a long, slow drag. Immediately, the weed relaxes the muscles in my back, calms down my hurried mind. I sigh, passing the joint off to Val.

We spend the next several minutes smoking as we argue about what we want to watch on TV.

Deciding to watchMean Girls, soon we're all laughing.

A little later, Rhea comes home, her arms loaded with pizza boxes and a bag of hot wings. “I brought reinforcements!” she announces, kicking the door shut behind her. “Oh, my God, ya’ll. Seriously! We have a patio for this. Ya’ll, it reeks in here.”

“Rhea, you’re a lifesaver,” I say, jumping up to help her with the food. “And don’t be mad, I had a rough evening. But if you’re going to be mad, be mad at Skipper, he’s the one who made the joint extra large. We can’t help it if you don’t like to smoke.”

“Uh huh,” she gives me a knowing look when she sees Val. “Hi, Val. Nice to see you again.”

“Hey, Rhea,” Val replies, giving her a charming smile, his eyes are dark and glassy. “I’ll help air the place out.”

“Please, make sure you do. Not all of us like getting high.” She replies with snark.

We dive into the food, the combination of pizza and hot wings perfectly complementing our munchies. Between bites and laughter, I notice Val is surprisingly comfortable around my roommates. Skipper continues to crack jokes, his humor as light and airy as the smoke continues to trail around him, while Rhea fits right into the conversation, her sharp wit keeping us all entertained.

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