Page 23 of Let's Get Textual

“You got it, dude.”

I groan and pull my phone out of my back pocket, thankful it wasn’t stolen too.Who to call… Who to call…

Caleb!

I spin around on the stool and search the bar for my ex. He’s nowhere to be found.

Great.

I turn back around and eye Zoe, who’s now passed out on the bar top.

“You’re a mess, Zoe,” I tell her sleeping form. “What in the hell are we going to do?”

My phone buzzes.

Zach: You still doing okay?

Me: No. Everything is shit.

Zach: What? Why? Did something happen?

Me: My wallet was stolen. I was about to call a cab because I promised a friend I would, but I think I’ll have to walk home with my drunk roomie now.

Zach: You arenotwalking. No. It’s too late.

Me: It’s only a few blocks away. It’ll suck trying to force Zoe to walk straight for that long, but I’ll be fine.

Zach: NO.

Zach: Where are you?

Me: Why? How do we know we even live in the same state?

Zach: Area codes. We aren’tthatfar from one another.

Me: No way? I never even thought to investigate.

Zach: Yep. Now, where are you?

Me: Lola’s in Wildwood.

Zach: Give me five minutes.

The noise of the bar comes back full force as I pull my attention from Zach. I reach over to brush back the hair lying over Zoe’s face and shake my head at her.

“Only you go out to celebrate your friend and get drunk off your ass. You’re lucky I adore you.”

My phone shakes on the bar and I quickly snatch it up, unlocking the screen to read the message.

Zach: A cabbie will be there in five minutes. He’ll help you get your roommate in the car. The fare and tip are all taken care of. If he doesn’t arrive, call me and I’ll handle it.

Me: Zach…

Zach: Delia…

Me: You didn’t have to do that!

Zach: Are you kidding me? Yes, I did. I wasn’t going to let you sit there with all the wild drunks during the thirty or so minutes it’d take me to drive there, so I went with the next best option.