Page 30 of Love Legacy

The weather so far this fall has been unusually mild, still having sunny, warm days in late October, early November. So, we were still meeting up on a weekly basis. This week was my turn to bring the food, so naturally, I bought my go-to munchie food—Taco Bell. I ordered two supreme taco party packs, six large Baja Blasts, and a crap ton of hot sauce. As I wait for the order to be filled, my phone pings with a text.

Naomi

Hi Sage!

What are you up to today? I just got out of class and I was wondering if you wanted to hang out.

I definitely wanted to spend time with Naomi, don’t get me wrong, but these smoke sessions were part of my routine, and knowing her limited exposure to any kind of substance, I don’t know how she’d feel about joining us.

Sage

Hey Naomi! I was actually getting ready to meet up with Alex and a few friends to smoke.

You can join us if you’d like, otherwise, maybe we can do something tomorrow night instead?

A Friday night hang out might be too date-adjacent, but I’m in class for most of the day, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to take her out on a date anyway. My phone pinged again.

Naomi

Smoke? As in *leaf emoji* smoking? Aleka’s tried to get me join her a couple times.

I don’t know if I’ll join in, but I’ll still hang out, if that’s okay with you.

Sage

Absolutely, the more the merrier. I’ll pick you up on my way back from grabbing food. I’m leaving Taco Bell now.

Alright, I’ll see you in a little bit. *smiley face emoji*

My name’s called out, signaling that my order was ready. With the help of one of the employees, I carry the order out to my car, putting everything down on the floor of the backseat. I start the drive back to campus, stopping at Naomi’s apartment building first and texting her that I’m downstairs.

After a few minutes, she comes downstairs, smiling when she sees my car. She is wearing a flowy romper, a pink top, white floral shorts, and a blue denim button-up shirt. She has a brown leather crossbody bag slung across her chest, and she is wearing white Converse with her outfit. Her hair is braided back into two Dutch braids, tucked into a low bun.

“Hi, Sage!” she says excitedly, getting into the car. “Hey, look at you wearing shorts!” I say, poking fun at her as I pull out of her complex’s parking lot. “I know, right? It’s almost as if I canwear what I want, and the groundisn’tgoing to open up and swallow me whole.”

She grins, throwing on a pair of brown sunglasses. “So we’re going to go smoke with some friends?”

“No,I’mgoing to smoke with some friends. You’re hanging out with us as a sober buddy.”

“What if I want to smoke with you guys too?”

I glance over at Naomi, trying to keep my focus largely on the road. “You’re joking, right?”

She doesn’t respond, fidgeting with a stray curl that escaped her updo. “Oh, you’re not kidding…” I say, pulling into the commuter lot on the far side of campus.

She shrugs, picking at her cuticles. “Maybe… I haven’t decided if I want to. But I haven’t ruled it out either.”

I turn the car off, turning toward Naomi. “Well, if you do decide to ‘partake,’ let me know. I brought a mix of products, so you’ll be able to try a variety.”

She nods, looking around. “What are we doing all the way out here?”

“You’ll see,” I say with a wink, getting out of the car. “Help me with this food, will you?”

We make a short trek through the woods, following the smell of weed. The scent is nearly indetectable from the parking lot, but it grows stronger with every step we take further into the woods. We approach the clearing to see that the crew has already set up. They laid two queen-sized quilts out in the grass, separating us from the stream.

Raven and Chase were stretched out on one of the blankets, Raven sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her, leaningback on her hands, and Chase laying on his back with his head in her lap. Those two are like an old married couple already. They met during freshman orientation and haven’t been apart since. They just fit so well together, and they’re so happy with each other.

Alex, Stephanie, and Noah were sitting on the other blanket, passing a blunt between them, each one taking a hit when it was their turn. “Hey, look what the cat dragged in,” Raven says, looking in my direction.

---